Review: Funn Ripper Pedals – does a huge platform deliver big smiles? | Carbon Fahrrad Umwerfer Installationssatz

I own four bikes but do not own a car. I ride my commuter bike at least five days a week, my road bike whenever I can, and my mountain bike rarely. Revelations in bicycling seem to be incremental. Riding a 29er — a mountain bike with large wheel diameter — was a nice surprise. Same goes for some suspension systems.

Not only the lightest on test, the X2s are the thinnest too at just 15.5mm. Combined with the low-profile mechanism, ground clearance is exceptional, and they provide a more natural feel throughout the pedal stroke compared to thicker pedals. The large 85mm x 95mm body and concave profile allows your shoes to sink into the platform, while flat side sections minimise rocking. Traction is bolstered by five steel pins on each side, though we’d recommend adding a dab of Loctite on the threads. We’ve lost a few.

nxgater: Yes, it’s important to look after one’s knees. Perfect set up with clipless pedals seems crucial for avoiding problems in such an important part of the body, presumably lots of people manage that though.

+1 for Speedplay. But if you’re not using Keepon Kovers with them then you probably have a death wish; the naked metal plates are like walking on ice.

Time pedals have historically had issues with bearing durability, though, and while that aspect seems to have improved, it’s still a big unknown. And even more troubling is the fact that they’re technically not user serviceable. While the retaining collar for the axle assembly can be removed at home, the official tools aren’t made available to consumers.

“My move to Speedplay (about 10 years ago) was all in pursuit of extra cleat adjustment, and it’s something I still prize along with the double-sided entry for the pedals. I use the aluminium 3-hole-adapter baseplate for my cleats because it offers extra fore-aft adjustment and isn’t prone to cracking like the standard plastic adapter baseplate. I’ve found a dry lube works well for the cleat springs, but I always forget to use it as often as I should. I keep using the cleats long after they should have been replaced, which has probably accelerated wear on the pedals, but I’ve still gotten at least a few years before as noticeable rock develops in my pedal stroke.”

Mavic now sells wheel ‘systems’. If you buy a set of their wheels, they come equipped with matching tyres. It makes the shopping experience that much easier (pick some wheels, don’t worry about tyres) and, because Mavic puts as much effort into the tyres as the rest, the results are consistently good across such diverse disciplines as road, gravel and MTB. UST (Universal System Tubeless) is Mavic’s label for tubeless, both on road and off. The mountain bike side of UST has been around for many years, but the road versions are new.

I am using Shimano PD-T420 CLICK’R pedals on my road bike. Using my bike also for communting, I can easily pedal with my leather shoes for office on the flat side.

“I got sick of them clogging up with dirt. There was one specific ride; I remember it clearly. I forgot to pee before I left the house, was out riding on local dirt roads, pulled into the first porta potty, saw that the ground was muddy, and had a decision to make: unclip and risk clogging up the cleat, or continue riding and hold my bladder. I refused to have my bladder held hostage by my equipment. I unclipped, got off, peed, and could not clip in for the remainder of the ride. It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened, but it was the last straw. When I got home, I ordered three sets of Shimano pedals. Haven’t switched back since.”

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.

It may not have some of the fancier features like colour mapping or a touch screen. But what the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt does do, it does really well. The menus and buttons are intuitive and easy to use. The mapping is incredibly simple to read and understand on the fly, and it pairs super easily with heart rate monitors and power meters.

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.