What Pedals Are Best?

What MTB/Cyclocross Pedals Are Best?

    Pedals are one of the most debated components on a bike. There are too many options to count, and almost everyone has their opinion set in stone about them. One reason that people like one company over another is riding style. Different pedals are better for different situations, but all pedals have some flaws in some way. The most popular companies are Crank Brothers, Shimano, and Time.

The most popular pedal from Crank Brothers is the Egg Beaters. I use these pedals on all of my bikes, and I personally think they are the best option. Egg Beaters Are the lightest of the three, and to a racer that is very important. The four places to clip in makes it nearly impossible to miss. It also helps that you can clip in by moving your foot forward or backward. One feature that is very smart is the different cleat for the foot you clip out of most. The difference between the two cleats is the release angle. One releases at 20 degrees and the other one releases at 15 degrees. In cyclocross this is very important because of the amount you have to get on and off your bike. One thing people either hate or love about this pedal is “float”. Float is how much your foot can move from side to side while clipped into the pedal. Egg Beaters have quite a bit of float, and this can be a deciding factor when getting pedals. If you ride in a lot of mud you should get these pedals. They have a very open design, and it clears mud better than any other pedal I have tried.

But there are a few flaws to the design. For one they do not last very long. If you are on a budget, and cannot buy new pedals every season then don’t buy these. I have been lucky and haven’t broken any yet, but I have heard stories about pedals breaking or falling off during races. They also have a rather small platform that can create hotspots on long rides. There are four levels of this pedal, ranging in price from $50 to $425. Overall a very good option for racers, and can be found at http://www.crankbrothers.com/pedals_eggbeater.php.

    The next option is Shimano’s SPD’s. Shimano makes a race and trail version of the SPD, but I will be talking about the race version. SPD’s are a rock solid pedal that can be used for many many years of everyday use. If you want a pedal that you do not have to replace every year this is the pedal for you. These pedals also have four levels, and range from $45 to $315. They are the most adjustable pedal of the three. The easy of release can be changed very easily using an allen wrench. This is a very good feature if you like to customize the feel of your bike. They do not have any float, and have a very mechanical feel to the release. They are harder to in and out of, but once you are in them you will know. They are harder to get into because there is only two places to clip in. But they are in no way hard to get in and out of. the down side to these is the weight. The highest end version of the SPD is heavier than the lowest end Egg Beaters. They also get clogged with mud fairly easily due to the more solid design. I do not like the release feel of these pedals, and that plus the weight are the deciding factor for me not to use these pedals. These are still very good pedals and can be found at http://bike.shimano.com/.
    Now for the less popular, but still very good Time ATAC pedals. The ATAC pedals design is almost a combination of Egg Beaters and SPD’s. They have the wings to clip into similar to Crank Brothers, but they also have a more solid profile like SPD’s. Everything about these pedals are in between the other two. They have six models, and they are a little bit lighter than SPD’s. They have a release angle of 13 or 17 degrees, which means they have less float than Egg Beaters. They are easy to get into, and have a fairly easy release. They clear mud fairly well, but not as well as Egg Beaters. These pedals are more durable than Egg Beaters, and will last a few seasons. Overall this pedal is for the person who wants the best of both worlds. If you are a weight weenie, or do not like float then you probably won’t like these pedals. These all around pedals can be found at http://www.time-sport.com/index.aspx.