Buyer’s guide to mountain bike pedals | Bike Flat Pedals

With a footprint of 110mm x 105mm and a low profile, these pedals inspire confidence while barreling through the rockiest of trails.

"An idiot looking at his cell-phone veered into the bike lane right in front of me, forcing me to flip him the bird," he wrote.

Guinness World Records have a very detailed definition, minimum of 18,000 miles, 2 antipodal points, and no significant East/West backtracking …

Most riders will want to pair the Hellcats with a clipless pedal that offers a decent platform, like the Crankbrothers Candy or Shimano M530 pedals. In spite of the deep recess, clipping in took very little extra effort compared to shoes with a more front-and-center cleat placement.

As well listing as the top performing clipless pedals we’ve tested, we’ve also written a ’Buyer’s Guide’ to give you all the information you need when making that decision – Clips vs. Flats. To see the full verdict of each pedal, just click on the picture of each to go the review of that pair.

Some folks find pedals like the M520s a bit small. The PD-M424 pedals are an excellent alternative. Intended for mountain biking, they have a tough plastic platform around the pedal mechanism that supports more of the shoe. This works really well with shoes that have more flexible soles and are therefore easier to walk in.

Lauren Aguirre, a Republic digital producer, moved here from Dallas in May and she’s never owned a car. She lives near the light rail in north-central Phoenix and uses it to get to work every day.

Finally, FiveTen has done a good job with the cleat recess on the Hellcats. Walking across concrete in a pair of clipless mountain bike pedals tends to sound like a tap-dance routine, but I find the Hellcats to be quite stealthy. That’s because the cleats — at least the Crankbrothers ones I run — are at precisely the same level as the sole (or maybe just a hair lower).

Noting the comment about the GCN findings on power I am not entirely surprised – (i) with a seasoned rider who has been using cleats for some time, they would still naturally put their foot in the right place on a flat pedal for maximum power (ii) the upward stroke point, and, decent flat-pedal-to-shoe adherence for kick and pulling back point, both I have just mentioned. The reality is however, outside of test conditions, that most flat pedals don’t have good grips and owners don’t place their foot in the most efficient place on the pedal

Advantage 2: Flats are forgiving. While they may readily show flaws in your technique, they also give you a saving grace: you can dab, even at speed, without having to worry about clipping back in. When cornering, you can throw your inside foot out moto-style to get your centre of gravity further forward, giving more grip to your front tyre. If things go really wrong, you can even throw the bike away. If you’re trying something new, flat pedals are ideal for giving you the security to bail.

Tubeless provides perhaps the best of all choices in every regard. They have lower rolling resistance than even great clinchers (thanks to the lack of hysteresis between the tube and tyre found in clinchers). With sealant inside, they can repair small- to medium-sized punctures as you ride (sometimes you won’t even know you got a puncture).

I really liked using these and was happy with the pedal body, the low weight and the simple engagement system. If Time can work out how to resolve the squeaking I experienced then the score would be higher still.