mountain bike flat pedals

[nobby]

I need advice on pedals, please.

I am going back to flat pedals on my upright road, bridle & towpath bicycle.

As a self indulgence the pedals will be black, of decent quality and look thin & pretty & exotic but not necessarily be new.

Any thoughts on makes and models that I should look for, please?

Thank you

[Karla]

Loads.  Nukeproof, Shimano Saint, DMR, lots I haven't thought of ...

[firedfromthecircus]

If you want indulgence might I suggest Hope F20 flat pedals.

[Oxford_Guy]

MKS do some very nice flat pedals (not just the cage sort, though I love the MKS Touring "Next" pedals I have on my Hewitt tourer, silky smooth bearings) e.g.

https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/node/303 (not black, but with very nice triple sealed bearings, like my pedals)

https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/node/79 (black or silver, you can remove the reflectors if they bother you)

https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/node/85 (black)

https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/node/95 (black, but not as nice bearings)

These are the different bearing technologies they use: https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/term/24

[nobby]

If you want indulgence might I suggest Hope F20 flat pedals.

Ah, they are beautiful pedals but Herself tells me that she will not support over indulgence. 

[Oxford_Guy]

If you want indulgence might I suggest Hope F20 flat pedals.

Ah, they are beautiful pedals but Herself tells me that she will not support over indulgence. 

You mean you actually tell your other half the real cost of your bike parts?

[nobby]

If you want indulgence might I suggest Hope F20 flat pedals.

Ah, they are beautiful pedals but Herself tells me that she will not support over indulgence. 

You mean you actually tell your other half the real cost of your bike parts?

She was sneakily looking over my shoulder

[nobby]

Thanks all.
I am watching some MKS and Nukeproof. I do like the looks of the Nukeproof but I'll wait and see how the price goes.

[sojournermike]

Thanks all.
I am watching some MKS and Nukeproof. I do like the looks of the Nukeproof but I'll wait and see how the price goes.

These are worth a look too - Superstar Nano X Evo

https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/nano-x-evo-pedals.htm

[Torslanda]

DMR V8 used to have a grub screw in the body which allowed you to inject grease into the spindle. Helped to keep them smooth.

Shimano Saint use a similar setup to the SPD pedals with serviceable bearings.

Beware of 'super light' flat pedals, some have cartridge bearings - which are great until the weather gets at them - and some only have plastic bushes - which aren't . . .

Oxford have some cartridge bearing, chunky flats which retail around 27 quid. They also do eyewateringly expensive, too and something in the middle.

[Brucey]

I was just going to make a similar point to Tors about the bearings.

 IME flat pedals that are

a) slim and
b) expensive

tend to have crap bearings in them, very commonly a mixture of cartridge bearings (outboard) and bushings (inboard). 

Some have up to three tiny bearings outboard, and they still clap out....

According to the manufacturer's own data, a typical plastic bushing will have between x10 and x100 more friction (under load) than a good ball bearing. Soon it may be difficult to avoid them; even the latest Dura-Ace pedal has a bushing in it now. I have no idea what shimano are thinking of; they have steadfastedly avoided this kind of rubbish before now....

cheers

[nobby]

Thanks all.
I am watching some MKS and Nukeproof. I do like the looks of the Nukeproof but I'll wait and see how the price goes.

These are worth a look too - Superstar Nano X Evo

https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/nano-x-evo-pedals.htm

Ooo, more loveliness but a little square 

[Karla]

One thing to decide if whether you want pedals that are totally flat (eg most Nukeproof) or concave (eg DMR V8 v2)

[nobby]

I was just going to make a similar point to Tors about the bearings.

 IME flat pedals that are

a) slim and
b) expensive

tend to have crap bearings in them, very commonly a mixture of cartridge bearings (outboard) and bushings (inboard). 

Some have up to three tiny bearings outboard, and they still clap out....



According to the manufacturer's own data, a typical plastic bushing will have between x10 and x100 more friction (under load) than a good ball bearing. Soon it may be difficult to avoid them; even the latest Dura-Ace pedal has a bushing in it now. I have no idea what shimano are thinking of; they have steadfastedly avoided this kind of rubbish before now....

cheers

Thanks for that.
I seem to be developing a habit of asking questions that you answer in excellent detail that makes me think.
I'm going to have to start asking at a time of day (after three coffees) that my mind is in a fit state to concentrate on the answers 

[nobby]

One thing to decide if whether you want pedals that are totally flat (eg most Nukeproof) or concave (eg DMR V8 v2)

Thanks Karla.
What would you advise for what will be mainly road use with very occasional forays onto unsurfaced paths?

[nobby]

DMR V8 used to have a grub screw in the body which allowed you to inject grease into the spindle. Helped to keep them smooth.

Shimano Saint use a similar setup to the SPD pedals with serviceable bearings.

Beware of 'super light' flat pedals, some have cartridge bearings - which are great until the weather gets at them - and some only have plastic bushes - which aren't . . .

Oxford have some cartridge bearing, chunky flats which retail around 27 quid. They also do eyewateringly expensive, too and something in the middle.

Thanks Torslanda. I am starting to think that those Oxford chunky flats may be the practical pedal for my needs.

[Cudzoziemiec]

One thing to decide if whether you want pedals that are totally flat (eg most Nukeproof) or concave (eg DMR V8 v2)

Thanks Karla.
What would you advise for what will be mainly road use with very occasional forays onto unsurfaced paths?

Wouldn't this be down to personal preference due to foot and shoe shape and pedalling style, rather than terrain?

[Brucey]

I am slightly allergic to spending a fortune on pedals because

a) they are often the first things to get damaged in a prang and
b) the differences in expensive pedals vs cheaper ones are often not of interest to me.

For example on the latter point, pedals are made slimmer. I don't think this makes much difference to, er, anything much.  Often pedals have what are described as 'sealed bearings' or 'cartridge bearings' or 'sealed cartridge bearings'. IME none of these descriptions exclude the possibility that the pedals contain nasty nasty bushings...

So (for my money anyway) I like DMR V8s, because they have serviceable bearings, which (after a while) run pretty smoothly, they last well and don't cost a fortune.  (It seems that other DMR models have bushings in them, so I'm less tempted by those....). However if you don't want to shed tears when you wreck them, and are prepared to live with less aggressive pins, less good sealing and no grease port, you can get by with a set of wellgo LU-987, (which are that rare thing, being both good and cheap). AFAICT the axle and bearings are similar to DMR V8 (which are made for DMR by wellgo I think).  Provided the water doesn't get in (which means a bit of greasing from time to time) and they are adjusted well,  they can last for donkey's years.

LU-987 are not expensive, eg £7 at cyclebasket, presently.

cheers

[Karla]

One thing to decide if whether you want pedals that are totally flat (eg most Nukeproof) or concave (eg DMR V8 v2)

Thanks Karla.
What would you advise for what will be mainly road use with very occasional forays onto unsurfaced paths?

Wouldn't this be down to personal preference due to foot and shoe shape and pedalling style, rather than terrain?

This.

Also, slim pedals look bling and I've never had a problem with bearings, even on some cheapy plastic V6 pedals that I was running on the commuter.

[nobby]

One thing to decide if whether you want pedals that are totally flat (eg most Nukeproof) or concave (eg DMR V8 v2)

Thanks Karla.
What would you advise for what will be mainly road use with very occasional forays onto unsurfaced paths?

Wouldn't this be down to personal preference due to foot and shoe shape and pedalling style, rather than terrain?

Aha, flat feet for flat pedals then?

[nobby]

Herself sends special thanks to Brucey for turning me away from drooling over £70 plus pedals to buying a pair of new, old stock, DMR V8's for a tenner.
She is a very pleased cheapskate 

[yorkie]

We've just got a load of the Wellgo LU-987 pedals for the mountain bikes at work. I'm quite impressed with them, not much friction and no feet slipping off like we had with the previous plastic crap pedals!

[Brucey]

We've just got a load of the Wellgo LU-987 pedals for the mountain bikes at work. I'm quite impressed with them, not much friction and no feet slipping off like we had with the previous plastic crap pedals!

if you want to keep the bearings sweet on these (or many other un/poorly sealed) pedals, I have found that an occasional squirt of aerosol chain lube, for motorcycles, into the inboard bearings usually works pretty well.

cheers

[yorkie]

We've just got a load of the Wellgo LU-987 pedals for the mountain bikes at work. I'm quite impressed with them, not much friction and no feet slipping off like we had with the previous plastic crap pedals!

if you want to keep the bearings sweet on these (or many other un/poorly sealed) pedals, I have found that an occasional squirt of aerosol chain lube, for motorcycles, into the inboard bearings usually works pretty well.

cheers

Brucey:

Thanks for the recommendation, I shall mention it to the boss! (In a "we need to do this!" sort of way!)

[Pedaldog.]

MKS do some very nice flat pedals (not just the cage sort, though I love the MKS Touring "Next" pedals I have on my Hewitt tourer, silky smooth bearings) e.g.

https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/node/303 (not black, but with very nice triple sealed bearings, like my pedals)


These are the different bearing technologies they use: https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/term/24

Non maintainable "High-spec version of SYLVAN, -NEXT-.
In place of traditional cup & cone bearing system, we adopt triple sealed bearings which produces smooth rotation and maintenance free pedaling".