When should I replace my mountain bike pedal cleats? | Bike Self Locking Pedals

Nice roundup! I have to give a shoutout to the Specialized 2Fo Flat 1.0. I went to these from some FiveTens and I was blown away. Phenomenal grip, in fact I found myself twisting my foot subconsciously as I dismounted from my bike (my feet thought they clipped in, I suppose). They are also super lightweight, and the neoprene sleeve keeps crap out.

When it comes to riding gravel, shoe and pedal choice is wide open (much like the places to ride). Road pedals and shoes remain for those who ride on smoother and better-kept gravel roads, ideally where putting a foot down isn’t likely. While cross-country mountain bike shoes and pedals (SPD style) are commonly the pick for unknown adventures. The smaller pedals offer a smaller cleat, and space for a surrounding tread on the shoe, meaning walking across rocks or over sketchy river crossings isn’t nearly as bad as if you were in road clogs.

Flats for everything. My first mountain bike (1988 Raleigh Dune dancer) came with toe clips which caused me all sorts of problems after being used to flat BMX pedals. Never felt the need to try and clip in since.

Disagree with the Speedplay comments above. I moved to them this year and yes I hated them for a few weeks and was considering eBaying them.

“At some point a couple years ago, Look sent over a bunch of pairs and now I have so many it’s easy to keep them on whatever test bikes I have in. Previously my pick was Shimano because they’re bombproof. I have broken a couple of Keos, but I usually break them by groading too hard and smashing the blades on rocks. Basically, I killed them because I’m dumb.”

The trails here are quite different to where I usually ride, though. Leafy, wooded undulating chalk land is pretty scarce in the corner of the Pennines I call home. I’m more used to wide open moorland, liberally strewn with rocks. Calderdale in Yorkshire has woods, sure, but mostly precipitously steep ones, with weirdly grippy Millstone Grit under tyre and sardonic Yorkshiremen in flat caps eating chips cooked in dripping commenting impenetrably as I inevitably hurtle over something foolish. There are steps. There is weather. All of the weather. Frequently, all of the weather at once. My local riding has incrementally become something of a gnar-fest. Granted, my enthusiasm usually outweighs my competence, but riding for any length of time in Calderdale gently massages you down a greasy chute of tech. Of course, there’s plenty of non-technical riding too, but a ride’s not a *proper* ride unless there are liberal helpings of thrutch, a couple of ‘oof’s and (usually) more than one whimper.

My #CarlessCommute summary: 11 miles biked in 55 min.; 90 min on @valleymetro light rail; 600 cals burned; 1 FUBAR bike wheel; one middle finger salute to a bad driver; one guy crocheting a beanie; one cool sculpture; 10 frozen fingers, and a partridge in a pear tree. @azcentral

Specialized 2FO Flat 2.0 At 347g for a size 42, the Flat 2.0 are on the lighter side of the flat pedal party. $150 USD.

The wide carbon fibre bodies make for comfortable and efficient pedalling, and I found them to be easy to clip in and out of.

In terms of price and functionality, these pedals sit in between Shimano’s entry-level GR500 flat pedal (£59), and the high-end Saint M828 flat pedal (£129).

Each side of the XT flat pedal gets 10 screw-in pins. The stock pins are very shallow and not particularly grippy with their smooth rounded heads. I’m guessing these are designed for recreational riders who want a quality flat pedal, but might be scared off by shin-chewing pins.

Ride Concepts Livewire Check out our full review of the Livewire here. Weight is 535g in size 12. $100 USD.