Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)
  • Best trail / enduro and a little downhill Clipless pedals?
  • ste1284
    Free Member

    Hi all.

    I’m currenty lookjng at changing to Clipless pedals after spending most of Sunday morning bouncing off my flat pedals while on a ride.

    Any ideas which pedals would best suit trail / enduro with the odd bit of downhill thrown in? I’d prefer a pedal that is caged and can be clipped in both sides.

    I will be running the pedals with five ten vxi’s.

    Cheers

    Steve

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Crank Brothers Mallets of Mallet DH’s been running them for years

    Gotama
    Free Member

    Shimano XT or the new HT platform clipless, depends what you mean by cage. The Shimano doesn’t seem to do anything as far as I can tell whereas the Crank Bros or HT is a much bigger platform.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    danti
    Full Member

    XT trail

    stevied
    Free Member

    XT Trail do give good support. Definitely more than my old XTR race ones.

    warns74
    Free Member

    Shimano DX M647’s for the sort of riding/shoes you describe.

    fr0sty125
    Free Member

    I run XT trail or M530 but to be honest I think a platform option like the Mallets or HT X1 are the way to go for Enduro races and agressive trail riding especially in winter. I would have Mallets already if it wasn’t for the constant reports of shity reliability.

    carlos
    Free Member

    Once my CB Mallets wore out I swapped over to Time pedals and never looked back.

    No having to rebuild every few months, no issues with ice or clogging with mud, decent platform, pretty comfy even in trainers if you happen to forget your shoes.

    jamesfts
    Free Member

    Shimano M530

    Can be had for sub £20 and very very similar to the XT trail pedals, slightly heavier but can’t really fault them.

    Enough of a cage to get your foot on, never really felt the need for anything with a bigger platform using them for racing enduro and have happily used them for dh without problem.

    Can be treated as disposable items at that price too so no cringing every time they get smashed into a rock.

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    If you’re actually bouncing off your flats then i suspect three possible things are occurring:

    1)You are riding WC Downhill courses at full WC pace

    2) You aren’t wearing the best footware / using good pedals

    3) Your technique sucks.

    😉

    stephenmacdonald43
    Free Member

    crank bros dh mallet

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    I would have Mallets already if it wasn’t for the constant reports of shity reliability.

    12-18 month rebuild which takes about 10 mins to swap out the bearings.

    fr0sty125
    Free Member

    That does not sound too bad. I guess many of us are used to Shimano which are just fit and forget unless then they are XTR the it is fit and snap.

    kimbers
    Full Member

    mallet user here

    work well

    annual bearing change is a bit of hassle but worth it imho

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    Classic 647’s all the way.

    deviant
    Free Member

    M530 here too, they are my first experience of riding MTBs clipped in, I was having problems with feet coming off the pedals with flats on rough stuff when riding my HT.

    ….before anyone else says it, yes it’s a technique issue but I’m nearly 40 and just wanted a quick fix. It worked, jumping is easier etc and I don’t lose the pedals anymore.

    One thing that irritates though, how can they retail for £20 when they seem well made and have moving parts but flats without any moving parts cost upwards of double this in most cases?!

    Euro
    Free Member

    One thing that irritates though, how can they retail for £20 when they seem well made and have moving parts but flats without any moving parts cost upwards of double this in most cases?!

    Skills Tax innit.

    bigrich
    Full Member

    XT trail.

    crank brothers pedals fall off the axle. I’ve seen it happen on the start line of the megaavalanche, and on a jumpy session in the woods.

    there’s even a support group for it.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Which version rich? Not heard of it on the new ones.

    bigrich
    Full Member

    the latest failure? eggbeater 3’s purchased new for a trip to tassie.

    no-one was surprised.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Fair enough seen loads of the new ones and no sign of any failure.

    Though the egg beaters were probably scared of a trip down here

    bigrich
    Full Member

    the OP did say ‘best’; any pedal with a reputation for failure isn’t the best, regardless of function.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    From the number I’ve seen (Which is a lot) the reputation seems to be blurred with the old one and some internet noise. There is also a reason they are under the foot of most of the top DH guys – even the shimano ones

    bigrich
    Full Member

    is that because they spend more on marketing than QC?

    jaffejoffer
    Free Member

    good thread. after some myself. already got the M530’s but would prefer a bigger platform with flush connection for when it gets a bit dicey and i dont wanna be clipped in. the DH Mallets look the business but im not giving >£100 for a product that is so continuously panned, and bigrich’s comment doesnt help!
    Interesting that theres only been one mention of Time pedals so far tho, these were where i was leaning toward, the Atac DH ones coming in at a reasonable £50ish but look like they weigh more than your bike? so maybe go for the Atac MX4’s to see how they perform…?

    jaffejoffer
    Free Member

    im sure they are phenomenal out of the box. but sponsored riders can have a new pair every race, they’re not arsed about longevity.

    Gotama
    Free Member

    The problem I found with Time is that the cleats are made of brass and as a result if you’re clipping in and out relatively regularly in muddy conditions then the brass cleat wears quite quickly.

    Might try some mallets on my new bike, or the HT clipless look quite good.

    tenacious_doug
    Free Member

    I’ll chip in for Time. I’ve been running them in various guises for 15 years. The extra float and lateral movement is great for dodgy knees.
    Given I’ve never used anything else, I couldn’t say whether the cleat wear was good or bad to be honest, as it’s all I’ve ever known.

    rhayter
    Full Member

    Another vote for Time. Like tenacious d, I’ve been using them for years. I have never serviced a pair, beyond spraying a bit of GT 85 over them on a wet ride. Very consistent clip-in and release. They’re not the lightest pedals in the world, but then neither are the Mallets. I don’t have personal experience with Crank Bros. pedals, but my buddy got fed up with having to strip his all the time (he rides a bit more than me though – he’s happily self employed).

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    Odd double post?!

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    Shimano Trail, to suit your budget.

    Tried Mallets (DH version) & had real issues trying to unclip. Ended up with the pins wound all the way in & the cleats packed out. They also seemed to aggrivate an old knee issue I have.

    Gave up on them for ages, then bought some Shimano’s to try, and have been fine ever since

    stinkingdylan
    Free Member

    Another vote for Shimano trail here. Currently using XT but suspect LX would be just as good. Tried a shimano combi previously and they were annoying as hell.

    drovercycles
    Free Member

    Hard to see past Shimano – at whatever level/budget – in terms of value for money.

    But seeing as the OP asked for best, I’d agree with some of the above and recommend the HT X1.

    tenacious_doug
    Free Member

    Hard to see past Shimano – at whatever level/budget – in terms of value for money.

    Indeed, I just wish my knees agreed, would make pedal buying a lot cheaper!

    jaffejoffer
    Free Member

    just found a pair of unused Time MX4’s on ebay for £30… fate.

    just wish they’d arrive today, going CYB tomoz!

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Hard to see past Shimano – at whatever level/budget – in terms of value for money.

    I threw 3 sets of Shimano pedals in the bin in the space of 3 weeks, there was no way to maintain the inside but the outside was just about all right. I’m running 8 year old mallets and current ones and 6 year old candies and current ones. Happy with the choice. The new versions are easier to service and the feel is really good. Never questioned my choice.

    Deveron53
    Free Member

    Shimano M530s. The ‘disposable’ pedal. At £20 a go, you literally can’t go wrong.

    My belief in clipless goes like this: If you think you need to clip out for a technical section you WILL most likely fall off. Staying clipped in will give you a better chance of clearing the section. If you do fall, the cleats will release. I have never had a lock-in experience with Shimano. The key to unclipping (voluntarily) is to press down as you twist out. Pulling up as you twist out will make it harder to release. (Many sessions of training girlfriends to use SPDs have resulted in these conclusions!). The only thing a pedal needs apart from the cleat retainer is a small platform to aid flipping the pedal to clip in. Hence the M530 and the other similar XT and XTR versions. Shimano are best at 2 things: making crank arms and clipless pedals.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    If you think you need to clip out for a technical section you WILL most likely fall off. Staying clipped in will give you a better chance of clearing the section.

    Well I disagree, sometimes the dab makes the difference, clipped I’m 99% committed but when I need to dab I do then if I can’t reclip I stamp the spiky mallet platform with some flat soled clipless shoes and make do until the next moment you can reclip. Works for me.

    non relevant pic but I was using shimano pedals so in STW/internet rules its a serious bit of evidence

    jimthelad
    Free Member

    FUNN Mambas, similar to the CB Mallet and the new HT. Cant fault mine. Much, much better than my old DX’s.

    Deveron53
    Free Member

    non relevant pic but I was using shimano pedals so in STW/internet rules its a serious bit of evidence

    I’d be interested in the next few pics… !

    The ability to clip back in after a ‘dab’ is good. I find the M530s are excellent. I suppose practice makes perfect. I fell out of love with Crank Bros pedals after a ruined set of shoes and several lock-ins. The Shimano pedals use the cleat for most of the support, Crank Bros rely on shoe sole contact too mush IMHO.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)

The topic ‘Best trail / enduro and a little downhill Clipless pedals?’ is closed to new replies.