Bike
MTB
What to look for in your next pair of flat pedals
Our essential guide to the best pair of mountain bike pedals you’ve yet to buy.
To some, flat pedals are no more than an old-school throwback to the dark days of mountain biking and for the vast majority, clips rule the roost. But for those just starting out and hoping to pick up some new skills, right up to those who know that getting sideways is always the answer, flat pedals rule!
The good news is that flat pedals have come a long way since the old days of toothy Bear traps and rattly old plastic platforms. Here’s what to look out for in your next set of flat pedals.
Size
Stamp pedals offer two sizes for a better fit
© Crank Brothers
Size, almost predictably, matters. Thankfully, the days of weirdly small platform pedals are over and most modern-day flats are now more than big enough.
Around 100mm in width is the benchmark for pedals worth their pins and, importantly, allows enough body for you to always find a safe perch no matter what the bike is doing underneath you.
For a long time, there wasn’t much attention paid to pedal size in relation to shoe size but now brands like Crank Brothers, with their Stamp pedals, are offering a couple of sizes for better fit.
Shape
The pedal master's acclaimed Penthouse design
© Burgtec
Pedals are just some alloy plates with some pins screwed into them, right? Wrong! Getting the perfect shape and feel from a flat pedal is something of a dark art. Masters of said magic are British-based Burgtec with their acclaimed Penthouse design.
“The feel of the pedal has come through the four generations of Penthouse, plus many different prototype designs,” explains Dave Barton from Burgtec. “The two things that have stayed consistent through all the different designs are the concave dish, which allows your foot to sit into the pedal, and the large platform to give you confidence underfoot. For me, the ultimate feel is the balance between awesome grip and being able to get your foot off when you want to hang it out around the corners!”
Tech tip: Use Threadlock to secure your new pedal pins in place and prevent them loosening over time.
Pins
Grub screws allow for tenacious levels of grip
© NS Bikes
Again, this is something that should be quite simple but is actually surprisingly tricky to perfect. Grub screws are regarded by many as being the best kind of pins, as their threaded body allows for tenacious levels of grip. A design which allows the pins to be adjusted or removed from the underside of the pedal body is also worth investing in, as they allow you to remove the pins even if you’ve bent or shaved off their head on a rock. You can also adjust the pin height according to your shoes.
Hardware
A decent set of pedals can last for years
© Nukeproof
Pedals, despite being one of our main contact points with the bike, face a hard life. They’re often ridden hard, are power-washed and then generally forgotten about. This is why it’s worth investing in quality from the start. High quality sealed bearings will allow your new pedals to keep on spinning smoothly for years. Pedals that only utilise bushings (thin plastic shims) can go rattly over time when they begin to squash down.
Shoes
Elliot Heap gets sideways on his flats in Lourdes
© Nukeproof
To get the most out of flat-pedal riding, it’s important to take your footwear seriously. Flat pedals rode back into fashion in the mid-to-late noughties, thanks to an avalanche of sticky-soled Aussies such as Sam Hill, Chris Kovarik and Nathan Rennie.
Derived from climbing shoe technology, sticky rubber soles make an incredible difference to levels of control and grip. Modern shoes like Specialized’s 2FO Flats also feature quick-drying fabrics which make them ideal for mastering the slop in winter.
Tech tip: It’s not ‘technical’ as such, but fill any soggy riding shoes with tightly balled-up newspaper after a wet ride and leave them overnight. You’ll be amazed at just how much moisture it’ll leech out.
