Eurobike 2018: Chromag Shows New Dagga Flat Pedals and A Sweet Titanium Hardtail Shredder | Bike Self Locking Pedals

The HT X2 pedals fall into the ‘snappy and secure’ category, which won’t work for everyone – especially those new to clip-in pedals. However, it’s their combination of platform shape, cleat options, adjustability, and the robust clip mechanism that saw the X2s take top honours here.

You can of course adjust the grip levels by mixing and matching the short and long pins, but I just went full-length all round for maximum grip. And boy are these pedals grippy! Combined with the large platform and the concave shape, the steel pins hold onto your shoes with vicious traction, providing plenty of small edges to bite into soft shoe soles. The DMR Vaults are known for being one of the grippiest out there, but I’d say these XT pedals are at least on par with the Vaults.

Last year, David Hayward put together a brilliant introductory piece to flat pedals for those interested in those benefits. He also tested no fewer than 17 flat pedals to find out which were the grippiest, the toughest and the best value.

As CXR94Di2 has demonstrated and I can confirm that road shifters do work with the XT mechs, but as I said you must use front and rear. I took my advice from CXR94Di2

The Ksyrium wheelsThe wheels by themselves are good wheels (remember, I ran them with at least 10 different tubed tyres before trying tubeless). They feel light and fast. They look pretty bling with one yellow spoke and some matching yellow stickers on the rim. I normally run carbon rims in my race bike, so I had to go out and purchase some alloy-friendly brake pads for these rims.

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It took Carrie Watters, an editor, about two hours to get in from Surprise, via Lyft and then the Surprise Express bus. She somehow had the energy to write about it once she got in.

My eastbound train heading toward downtown #Phx, right on time. #carlesscommutepic.twitter.com/5GMyEF7tLK

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Anyone contemplating electronic shifting would probably do the basics in terms of reading about the options available (if they didn’t at the price points of electronic shifting they are either rich or gormless).

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.

The Crankbrothers Mallet DH pedals are designed for downhill racing or riding with a wider q-factor and a larger platform than the similarly priced Mallet E’s. These aren’t to be limited to DH use though, the supportive pedal is equally at home on regular trails too. The only downsides are the expense (£150), the cleat mechanism is not adjustable and the pins are hard to adjust once clogged with mud. If you like the Crank Brothers cleat mechanism though, are happy to spend some time learning the knack of getting in and out of these pedals and enjoy the benefits of the flat and large platform, you’ll get on like a house on fire with the Mallet DH’s.