Trek recalling about 10,000 Bontrager flat pedals | Bike Self Locking Pedals

The toe area is lightly reinforced, with some protection given to the big toes. I managed to test this out on both gravel and mountain bike rides, where rocks flipped up were deflected away without a stubbed toe.

I’ve been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

The extra float and seamless engagement provide some of the freedom of a flat pedal with the added security of being clipped in. The only downside is that they’re more expensive than Shimano’s XTR Trail M9020 pedals, and nearly double the XT M8020 Trail platform pedals. And while they’re lighter than the Mallet DH pedals (480g) they’re still 41g heavier than the XTR pedals. 

Dan Bendiksen waits at a stoplight in downtown Vancouver on his e-bike during his commute to work. Nathan Howard/The Columbian var objLink = new myC_Remote.BuyLink(); objLink.LinkContent = "<span" class="btn btn-warning btn-xs pull-right btn-buyphoto">Buy this photo"; objLink.IsAboveImage = false; objLink.LinkTarget = "_blank"; objLink.Render();

There isn’t quite such a firm ‘snap’ as you get when clipping into a Shimano pedal (the sound is a bit more subtle, like I perceive most Look-compatible pedals to be), but I think it’s easier to ‘find’ the Time pedal without having to really look down. This is helped by the improved pedal surface area compared with the Xpro’s predecessor, now a nice and wide 725mm2.

Even better, those attributes hold true throughout nearly the entire SPD-SL range. For example, the PD-R550 is simply the best budget road pedal going; spending more earns you lower weights and improved bearings, but essentially no difference in stability, security, or longevity. The top-end Dura-Ace pedal does offer a lower stack height and increased clearance angle, thanks to its slimmer bearing design, but it’s a minor advantage that not many will consider to be important.

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

Really I’d only recommend them to riders who will find that learning curve worth the touch of extra speed off the lights or side of the road. To me it was.

Winter is a great time for using flat pedals, we’ve been brushing up on our essential mountain bike skills on them whilst the weather has been chilly and the mud sticky. In turn, this has led to some awesome testing conditions so we can bring you our ‘best in test’. Here are a number of great options for your next flat pedal foray.

The benefit of Speedplay pedals is that they offer a huge amount of adjustability – cleat position is adjustable in three separate planes, and all can be fine-tuned independent of each other — bike fitters love them, particularly when setting up anyone with knee pain.

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.

Staff at The Arizona Republic took on a carless commute to explore public transit options in the Phoenix area. (Photo: Joshua Bowling/The Republic)