We spent a week doing carless commutes. Here’s what we learned. | Spd Pedals

Ride Concepts Wildcat The Wildcat model brings the medial collar to the outside of the foot as well, creating solid protection from a mid-height shoe. Claimed weight 418g. $120 USD.

Not the cheapest or the lightest flat pedal, but the grip and durability on offer make the Specialized Boomslang’s well worth the trade-off. At 439g a pair, they’re not the lightest pedal in the playground, but who cares when they’re this good. Strength and durability come at a price, £125 to be precise. But for that, you get a durable pedal with spare pins carried in the pedal itself too, they’re ‘weathering’ well too we are happy to say. 

Reporter Paulina Pineda said it took her about an hour using a Grid bike, in part because it took her a while to figure out how to undock and dock the bike and adjust it. And she said she rode it pretty slowly.

Even the pros have the occasional slow-motion spill when using clipless pedals. Here’s how to get it right from the start.

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

Things can get a bit fiddly with pulling the bearings out to clean them, but it’s really not that difficult to do. And technically you do require a very small 10mm cone spanner to retighten the bearings, though I ended up improvising with some needle-nose pliers to get the job done. Once tightened up and reinstalled into the pedal body, the play had disappeared, and the bearings were back to spinning smoothly again.

Only problems I’ve had are with springs breaking – probably due to me not lubing the cleats enough. As for clipping in – my first couple were a nightmare, since then I’ve never had a problem with a fresh set and I weigh around 63kg

Avoiding traffic and ease of travel appear to be the primary motivations for people commuting by e-bike, also known as electric-assist bikes. Speaking for myself, cycling’s also fun, all the more so because the majority of my St. Johns-Vancouver route rolls along pedestrian/bicyclist-only paths.

HT currently offers three different models of clip-in pedals, all with unimaginative names: the M1 (XC), the T1 (Trail) and the X2 (DH Race).

Flat pedals have not yet evolved into the One True flat pedal design, but things have never been better for those of us who ride them. The best pedals in the world turn out to have a zone of fuzzy personal preference around them and, once you find yours, they won’t make you into a riding god by themselves, but they’ll certainly help.

For some, e-bikes are changing the way they perceive personal, in-town travel, said Steve Frothingham, editor of  Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

Expectations were high when Shimano finally released a clipless pedal in its top-end Saint gravity group. The M-820’s bring Shimano’s characteristic cleat engagement, familiar to many loyal followers of the Japanese brand, to a downhill worthy pedal. They’re not perfect, the 2.5 mm steel pins could be taller, and the platform will not be wide enough for some riders preferences. The pins are an easy fix for those who want more traction. I found the platform wide enough and appreciated the pedals durable construction. After six months of abuse and many rock strikes, they’re showing inevitable external signs of abuse. Functionally, they still spin smooth with zero play in the axle and cleat engagement feels like new. Read the full review.