Crank Brothers Stamp 3 Pedal Review | Road Bike Clipless Pedals

Weighing a mere 403 grams, the Black Kat pedals by Deity take the award for lightest pedals tested. They also have the smallest body platform, measuring in at just 100mm x 100mm.

It’s an issue also reported by James, and one that he has remedied in the past by changing to aftermarket cleats from Exustar.

So, just in case you didn’t get the message, it’s definitely a small number of us who are experiencing the squeakiness! I tried them on multiple pairs of shoes to no avail, and the Teflon spray seemed to stop it for a while only for the noise to return a few days later. So my own anecdotal theory is that it’s something to do with excess friction exacerbated by my grinding pedalling action and low cadence putting extra pressure through them (and my super-huge power output, of course).

That said – definitely not a beginnner setup. Tightening the cleat screws even .5nm too much and you can compress part of the housing enough to give you issues with the spring. Breaking in the spring must be a hell of a time for a light rider, and if the missus moves on to them (I have bought her some, but after realising the initial learning curve she lost interest), I’ll have to break the spring in for her. Also actually finding the pedal isn’t just step down and go – you have a few cm wide circle under you foot that you need to mount so like Keo’s etc, you still need to develop muscle memory.

I currently use some carbon soled MTB shoes with M520s.  Would I honestly notice any difference if I switched to a road shoe/pedal system?

Now in my 3rd year of Di2 ownership and it is running as sweet as the day it left the bike shop. Never missed a gear, absolutely hassle free, once ran out of power because I failed to check. Only irritating aspect is remembering where I put the charging cable for safe keeping.

A sleeve bushing and cartridge bearing keep the chromoly axles running smoothly. Funn claims this configuration allows easy servicing, but my set still feel as good as they did the day I fitted them, despite two months’ use in atrocious conditions.

As a city dweller, escaping the city limits for a mountain bike ride in the woods is one of my greatest pleasures. There’s nothing quite as soothing as leaves rustling, birds singing, and brooks babbling, all against the backdrop of voluminous knobby tires rolling over singletrack. Granted, most of my off-road exploits still take place within commuting distance of Manhattan, but were it not for the faint thrumming of automobile traffic on some distant expressway, it would be easy to convince myself I was 100 miles away from civilization.

You’re held firmly in place against an upwards exit, but only very slight pressure down and sideways is necessary to get you out, and the pivoting pedal body inside the plastic surround makes it very easy to get in too. They come with Shimano Multi-release cleats, which make things even easier.

The Maltese Falcon has a skate-style feel similar to the company’s Freerider Pro but is a bit narrower and has a stiffer feeling sole. Despite the narrower last, it’s still roomier than other comparable shoes, but the padding around the ankle and on the tongue keeps the fit snug. This shoe excels at repelling mud and water, and even when it does end up in a puddle, it dries pretty quickly. While out riding, the only time I was able to notice a major difference between the Freerider Pro and Maltese Falcon was on rock gardens; the SPD cleat on the latter gave me that little extra from each pedal stroke to get me through.

Even the cheapest pedals have never really been better than now, and prove they don’t have to be generic to come in under a budget. At the more expensive end of the scale, companies are engineering everything right down to the smallest details, experimenting with and creating features that might become standard in future.

Issi is a relatively new house brand of pedals from Quality Bicycle Products (QBP.) The Stomp is the brand’s first foray into flat pedals, and they clearly did their research.