After all the conversations on here about the advantages of riding flats every once in a while, I thought I'd give it a go. What do people think to eith the Shimano DX30 (Shimano stuff just seems to work) or I did see some NC-17 III things that looked rather nice.

Anything else in the £40 ~ £60 bracket worth a punt?

I'm very happy with my Superstar Nano Tech Flats. They look nice, they are thin and not too heavy, plus very grippy.

Crank bros 50/50's for this fat boy!

I've got a new pair of these for sale – £25, less than half price

I didn't get on at all with the 50/50s despite good shoes and all the good opinions of the pedals.

Classic DMR V12s for me.

easton flatboys

or 50/50xx with long pins

DMR v12s for about 2 years now with only one service.

YMMV tho.

shimanos are good but put the longer pins in.

i run gusset slim jims with longer pins. cheap and chearful for me every time.

avoid DMR if you have big/wide feet – the platform is small.

wellgo mg1`s will be my next pedal purchase.

Went for the DX's when I moved from SPD to flats about 3 months ago. Heard so many negative things about various types, I went with Shimano because they are a good size, OK thickness, and especially because I don't want to have to maintain them. Very happy with them, paired with 5-10 Freerider shoes

I've got big and wide feet…. wouldn't call the DMRs too small. I'd expect to be clouting any bigger pedals off the ground even more.

I must say I do like the look of the super narrow Canfield ones in the eurobike reviews.

DMR's are tiny!

Burgtechs, insane price, not light, but ohhhhhhhh so grippy, indestructable and smooth.

wellgo mg1`s all the way!

Yes, I have the Shimano ones and they are absolutely fine. You may fine when you're a flat pedal "expert", that you want something else – well go buy them when you know what you want. In the meantime, the Simano ones are trouble free, grippy and big enough to put your foot on.

wellgo mg1 ftw.

lighter than m520 spd. dmr waay to small.

Slim Jims here to.

The SS ones are hard to beat to be honest.

I have tried, V8/V12 (too small if you have feet over size 10, and will give you cramp), Straitlines (very nice, but very expensive and sqweak), AtomLabs TrailKings (axle falls off), Wellgo B54 (crap bearings, which go crunchy in weeks), Azonic Mag thingies (which were shit).

Straitlines here but I doubt I would have paid RRP for them. Rich, you can shut them up dead easily, just pop the circlips off the end, slide the axle out, give it a clean and a grease and that's it. 5 minute job if that.

Kona Wah Wahs seem to get a lot of love round these parts.

I have/had:

Old Azonic A-Frames x2: Can't fault em
DMR V12 – Too Small
DMR V8 – Likewise
Gusset Slim Jims – Need longer pins, but good
Wellgo B-54's – Seem good but time will tell on the bearing front.

I got all nostalgic and really wanted some Shimano DX like I once had on my BMX 20 years back but the new DX are far too heavy. There are cheaper and lighter alternatives already mentioned, but may I suggest you go for a pair of NS Bikes Ariel flats. 😀

The squeaking on mine seems to be when the o-ring slackens off a bit. I have a stash of them now, so I replace them as soon as they start squeaking.

where are you people trying to put your feet then if V12s are 'too small'?

They are too small, as the edge of your foot rolls over the side and after a while gives you foot cramp. The platform needs to be wider to support your foot and stop this arching.

still a bit dubious… maybe I'm blessed with a very straight foot position, but I reckon you'd have to be quite bandy legged and/or not have stiff soled shoes to suffer.

I'm now torn between the DX-30 and the MG1 having seen them both in the flesh. The NC-17 sudpro III keeps calling to me and I'm really not sure why. Doesn't seem that anyone else has ever bothered with them.

These Straitlines – no sealed bearings is there? For £90 I would expect them to have.

But … lots of people are recommending them so are there any shops in the South where I can actually look at them please? In fact I could be really geeky and take my pedals with me to compare 🙄

straitlines here, but they are big.

nc17's quite a bit smaller but also good, as are easton flatboys.

shimano dx's need longer pins.

MG1's are light, last ages, are a classic design, grip and you can have them delivered for £27 from ebay!

I did 103 miles on "too small" Wellgo V8 copies last weekend. I was wearing "too flexy" Inov-8 fell running trainers.

🙄

These Straitlines – no sealed bearings is there?

No, they run on bushings, which makes them a total doddle to service. They are a bit draggier than bearings and they can go stiff and seize, so they're not maintenance free, but they seem pretty bombproof compared to previous pedals I've had (Crank Brothers Mallets, V8s, and some Specialized Mags that ate themselves after the bearings seized).

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5199

One set three years old and no problems. Second set 1.5 years old and no problems. Been bashed and thumped on uplifts, The Alps and Canada. Been great pedals for the price. 50/50 were guff I though.

I went for these instead:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=19213

Lighter than the B54's. Done me proud for about 1.5 yrs, but have now switched to SPD's.

As Mr A said, the straitlines use bushings, with very tight tolerances (so grit/shit can't get in).

nice pedals, stupid grippy and very strong/tough, but pricey.

@miketually

Is this the secret to your (un)success? If I use such a combination am I guaranteed to become a development rider for a small British bike designer (not that Brant is small or designs small bikes, but you know what I mean)?

Is this the secret to your (un)success? If I use such a combination am I guaranteed to become a development rider for a small British bike designer (not that Brant is small or designs small bikes, but you know what I mean)?

A wonky right foot means no SPDs. Trail running shoes are light and dry fast.

How about Azonic Accelerators?

Had them since 2006 and they have been problem free.

the 'too small' comments are all personal preference. For what its worth i used v8s before and until i tried 50/50s didnt realise how much difference a bit of extra width could make 😯

They are much more supportive and give a bigger platform to stand on.

I guess it also depends on the size of your feet and stiffness of shoe.

I guess it also depends on the size of your feet and stiffness of shoe.

Oh, forgot to mention my size 12 feet.

have you tried wider pedals then Mike? as you might see what people are on about if you do. Then again you might not 😉

Using the Straitlines currently but the internals have not lasted at all well. Had to buy the service kit of replacement parts which costs more than some V8s!
Very grippy until you eventually slip. Several scars below my calf as evidence now.

Shimanos are ok but i could'nt remove the (way too) short pins to swap out for longer ones, bearing in mind there are 40 in total.

NC17s or Superstar Nanos look good though

have you tried wider pedals then Mike? as you might see what people are on about if you do. Then again you might not

The Planet-X pedals I had before were wider; can't say I notice any difference. I've not had foot cramp on my MTB, but have on my Mundo, which has very narrow pedals.

I'm convinced that your feet get used to taking your weight on narrower pedals, so you don't get problems. Anyone switching to narrower pedals suddenly will probably have problems, but if your feet are used to the narrower epdals, you won't.