If You’re Not Sam Hill, Read This Review: Nukeproof Horizon CL Pedals | Bike Flat Pedals

Jeff, you’d think that FiveTen would have spent a bit more time on the design before releasing something like this. Heavy, can’t easily unclip, and can’t take cleats off – all for $150. What a (BAD) deal!

Pearl Izumi X-Alp Launch Check out our review of the X-Alp by John Fisch here. 350g claimed weight, $150 USD.

The key thing to remember about pedals is that the left and right ones are threaded differently. The right pedal has a normal thread, so that you tighten it by turning the pedal spindle clockwise in the crank arm. The left pedal has a reverse thread, so that you tighten it anticlockwise. This is so that it doesn’t tend to unscrew when you’re riding.

Shimano’s listed dimensions are a little off – I measured the usable platform of these at 108mm long and 110mm wide, and not 110mm x 115mm as claimed. Being the M/L size, these are recommended for shoe sizes from EU 43 and above. If you’ve got smaller shoes than that, the S/M size drops the platform length and width by 10mm each way.

It is an uneccessary luxury, but I can atest to the ease of use with cold tired hands, and the hydraulic disc brakes are one finger operation from the hoods. The only changes I have made to the standard setup was to put a closer ratio cassette on so I have more choice of gears in my preferred cadence range.

As well as looking at these high scoring pedals we have also written a buyer’s guide to mountain bike pedals so you can make sure you are getting the right ones for you. Read on for our top-rated pedals, just click on the picture of the pedal to go straight to the full review. 

“I started with (Shimano) 105s that came with my first roadie. When I built a custom bike up for the first time, the Look Keo Blade had just been launched and looked pretty attractive, so I went with the Look Blade Carbon Cromo. I haven’t looked back. The biggest positive changes over Shimano are the solid, loud, and confidence-inspiring clip-in feel and sound. No second guessing if you’ve clipped in or not. My current set has about 14,000km and are still going strong without a single service or bearing replacement.”

In case you’re wondering why they’re called clipless pedals, it’s because pedals used to have metal cages, called toe clips, and leather straps to hold the show in place. Racing shoes had cleats that were slotted to fit the cage of the pedal. To get out, you had to loosen the strap. Falling over at traffic lights behind a busload of schoolkids was not unknown.

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The speed I can clip in now off the lights is wicked. Actually feels a bit show-offy it’s that smooth and fast. I also rub a little lube on the cleat spring every weekend, that makes it super smooth to clip in too now.

Not that I’m in the market for light pedals myself, as I’m quite happy with my SPD’s for commute/CX duties and my Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals on the road bike. Hard to beat when it comes to performace/durability/cost considerations.

*as this is road cc should point out that "The Rules" need to be considered and then ignored as practicality overules unless you do actually race