Buyer’s guide to mountain bike and gravel shoes | Bike Flat Pedals

Moving up in the ranks, we get to Shimano 105 pedals. You can get the pedals to match the full 105 groupset and they’ll perform just as admirably as the rest of the drivetrain does.

"I would also expect to see an uptick in a smaller platform pedal that has a higher quality to it," he said. "Currently platform pedal trends are for large platforms but this rule affects younger riders who will have smaller feet and won’t need an extra-large platform pedal. They will still want the traction of modern pedals so I would expect to see a few size options there."

I’ve got the M324 pedals mentioned above on my pub bike. They are great for what they are, but you do have to watch it if you’re clipped in, as it’s very easy to catch the cage on the floor when cornering.

I am using Shimano PD-T420 CLICK’R pedals on my road bike. Using my bike also for communting, I can easily pedal with my leather shoes for office on the flat side.

Or just buy a shoe from their RT range which are road shoes with smooth ‘touring’ soles. I have RT82s currently. They use the same last as my XC mtb shoes so it’s an easy swap and I know I’m comfortable in either.

Also, at 470 grams they were the heaviest pedals. In use, neither the weight nor thickness affected my ride at all. I was mainly impressed with the smooth bearings, wide platform, and solid ride.

The stack height is just 13.5mm, which makes you feel engaged with the pedals and able to eke out every ounce of power. There’s also plenty of float when you need it, but out of the saddle I didn’t sense any unwanted lateral movement. The float is courtesy of Time’s Bioposition technology, which allows for 15 degrees of frictionless lateral movement and some angular float that is designed to move with the natural movement of the ankle, knee and hip joints.

Flat pedals can also work as an educational tool. If you’ve ridden clipless pedals long enough, you know you can simply pull up on them to get you and your bike over an obstacle. Switching back to flat pedals forces a rider to learn how to actually bunny-hop in a controlled manner, without the clipped-in crutch.

The influence of the SPD sandal can also clearly be seen in Mavic’s skeletal €1,000 Comete Ultimate shoes. Perhaps with the obvious weight savings to be had, 2018 will go the other way and be the year of the performance cycling sandal?

The unobtrusive mechanism means that out of all the pedals, the X2s were the grippiest and most flat-like if you’re not clipped in. When you are clipped in, stability is insanely good. Knowing that you’re not going to be accidentally ejected off the bike is a huge confidence booster in rough terrain.

You might get a little bit of occasional chain rub on the chain set because the chain won’t sit quite straight on the chainwheel sometimes, and…

Beginner riders and those looking to hone their MTB skills are returning to old-school flat pedals with lots of new options on the market.