Flectr launch Flectr Vortex, the world’s first crank reflector | Bike Self Locking Pedals

“These Funn Black Magic pedals are one of only two plastic pedals in this grouptest. The pedals arrived unpackaged and with pins already in. Apparently, retail ones come with a pin pack and nice little socket key for installing them. If you get some, I’d recommend using that to tighten them all right down, as ours lost most pins on the first ride, which certainly made for…” Read the full review here.

I’ve been in the Vancouver bike club for 11 years. For 10 years, I rode carbon road bikes. Four months ago I bought an e-bike and I love it. I used to hate going up hills and getting dropped by the faster group. Now I can ride with anybody. Even though I don’t commute, it would be an outstanding way to commute because you don’t get all sweaty and you can climb hills in a breeze. You also can get the same workout you did on your other bike; you just keep it in the lower assist modes. A number of the older (60-plus) people in the club are switching to e-bikes, so they can still ride with the club and enjoy it. I’m 71.

I know I’m not the only one with this problem. The first time I tried a cycling class, the instructor helped me get my feet, clad in borrowed cycling shoes, attached to the pedals. The second time, I was on my own, and spent two full songs smushing my feet against the pedals in the dark and praying for some kind of miracle.

Clipless pedals have a spring-loaded mechanism that grabs a specially shaped stud, known as a cleat, on the sole of the shoe. You press the cleat down to click it into the mechanism, and twist out to release.

For mountain bikers, Shimano pedals also represent a solid investment. In our opinion, they provide basically the gold standard compromise of weight, durability and performance — and typically for Shimano can be found at very reasonable prices.

Place the cleat so that it engages with the pedal right where your foot naturally wants to sit. Usually this is just behind the ball of your foot, though some prefer it further back. From there, adjust the rotation and left-to-right placement of the cleat—the goal is for the final clipped-in position to feel natural and comfortable.

The Vertic Trail pedal was designed for XC, All Mountain, and Enduro use, and features a sophisticated design with features that include an open pedal body for self-cleaning, a fixed stand with two replaceable pins on the front side, and a flattened design for easy engagement.

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.

thanks for the info. I don’t think I will be going far up 25% and/or pedalling 90rpm for hours but, when I have eventually ground my way to the top, I want to be able to go hell for leather back down hence my "need" for the wide range that a triple setup provides. My current tourer has xtr 3×9 – 44/32/22 and 11-32 in an aluminium frame. I have a carbon frame road bike and had a steel one years ago. I have got it into my head that I should try a titanium frame before it is too late (bucket list) but, as discussed, I need the triple set up and J.Laverack, for example, don’t have a triple solution in their offering.

In the box you get 4° and 8° float cleat options. Release angle is 13° and they’re supplied with plastic shims, and metal shims for use with carbon soles. A nice touch is that HT includes an 8mm socket in the box so you can pull them apart for routine servicing. After a wet winter of abuse, I did just that. Five minutes and some fresh grease later, they were feeling nice and smooth again.

Unlike Shimano’s old Saint and DX flat pedals though, the pins used on the XT body don’t thread in from the back. Instead, Shimano uses steel grub screws that thread directly into the pedal body. This presents an issue if you grind a pin against a rock, as you’re also grinding away the surface that you would insert a 2mm hex key into for installing or removing the pins. Once this happens, it’s a case of getting out the ‘negotiator’ (pliers) to remove those busted pins.

Sounds like a bit of creative accounting occurred before the sale, with a load of “assets” now written off