Eurobike 2017: New Ripper SPD Pedals From Funn | Bike Flat Pedals

However, nothing compared to my “holy … cow” experience on one of the Specialized e-bikes from Fischer’s collection.

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.

On paper, Shimano pedals aren’t the best at any one thing. However, they’ve proven their place in the real world.

Furthermore, consider that the sort of person who plays a Bluetooth speaker while mountain biking has almost certainly driven to the ride, which means they’ve had all that time at home getting ready, plus the drive itself, to pump themselves up by listening to some band that sounds like every member has a braided goatee. Given this, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal for them to take a break from it while they ride their bikes and then fire it back up on the sound-system in the Chevy Avalanche for the drive home. I mean: Why not at least try listening to the sounds of nature while you ride? Taking a shitty bike speaker into the woods with you is like bringing one of those small cans of Pringles to a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Mountain bike shoes need to need a fairly stiff insole, particularly those designed for clipless pedals. The FiveTen Hellcats feature a suitably stiff sole — stiffer than one would think just looking at the shoe — but they’re still quite comfortable for hike-a-bike. Power transfer feels great, and nearly on par with a more traditional clipless pedal shoe.

Starting my #CarlessCommute from Scottsdale to Downtown Phoenix for @azcentral’s look at public transportation. I spent $4 for an All Day Local Pass. pic.twitter.com/sWpp2mnx6e

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).

Going to unbox the missus’ set soon and try lubing the spring and see if it’s easier from the get-go (took me a while to pick up that tip). 

Using only 8 pins per side, the Black Kats lacked the grip and concavity of the other pedals in the test. They are the thinnest pedals I reviewed, but this comes at a cost.

Bushings are self-lubricating sleeves, usually made from metal or tough plastic, and in either case are much cheaper than bearings. They tend to require less maintenance, but they also have a small amount of stiction to overcome as they start moving. Bearings roll, so have no stiction, and may be easier to keep in service as they near the end of their lives, but tend to be more expensive then bushings.

 Clearly you’re triggered by my positive reaction and descended into some maddened state ranting about damascene, puns and post-purchase-rationalisations. 

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.