Hey all,

My wife is trying to get into some more “serious” riding, not just paths and the like, and while I’ve been knar-ing up her bike a bit i’m at a loss for pedals. I ride clipless (and have for 12yrs) but would like to keep her on flats, however I’m not too keen on the subject I’m afraid!

So what would be a good pedal to keep her feet planted without danger of doing too much damage should she slip off them.
Do i need to get a pair with metal pins, or can I just opt for the cheap plastic jobs? (like the cheap-o bmx ones)

Thanks for your help in advance!

Get good pedals with lots of grip and shinpads?

she’ll just slide off plastic pedals.

Wellgo v8 copies are cheap and cheerful.

A pair of shin pads might be a good investment.

i have got some in the classifieds that would be great for her, very grippy, small platforms and PINK anodised 🙂

Were £90 new, hardly had ANY use, £30

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-fly-bikes-ruban-alcantara-pedals-30

make me an offer if you want?

but would like to keep her on flats

what would she like?

What’s she like? A looker? Good in bed? I might be prepared to trade 1 pedal, but would need some reassurance to trade both…… 🙂

Ive used these for years

You appear to have broken one of them Tracey

She won’t need shin pads if you get good pedals and equally importantly the right shoes for the job.

I’ve been using Twenty6 Prerunners for the past couple of years which are without a doubt the best gripping pedals I’ve tried. The newer Predator looks even better but they’re too expensive.

Back on my old MG1’s at the moment as the bushings need replacing in the Prerunners. They’re light enough and fairly grippy but are thicker than the Prerunners so I find I get more pedal strikes.

Going to try some Gloworm Talon pedals later this week. I’ll be interested to see how I get on with them.

I’ve just got some of the new Saint pedals. Look very bling and you get Shimano reliability for less than 50 quid.

When I did break one Specialized replaced it with a new set

thanks to all for the serious replies, I’d not even thought of shin-pads (d-oh!) I’ll have to look at those! Thanks for the offer Rob, she’s not to keen on pink however. I guess I should really look into shoes tho.
What shoes do you use with those spesh pedals Tracey?

neninja – Member

She won’t need shin pads if you get good pedals and equally importantly the right shoes for the job.

When learning? I agree good shoes and pedals makes it less likely to have your feet slip off but the consequences can be high with flats with pins in terms of the amount of flesh they can remove.

Gussett plastic ones aren’t bad – CRC I think I got them from for Mrs B’s do it all utility bike.

Five tens

Shimano DX are a good pedal if you want smaller and less aggressive pin, I wouldn’t bother with shin pads, I’ve cut my calves and ankles more than my shins, anyway the pain if a good way of forcing you to improve.

Second the comment about getting the right shoes. There’s a reason they’re called flat shoes, most walking shoes/trainers aren’t. Getting your feet in the right place is important as well. More midfoot than with spuds.

She won’t need shin pads if you get good pedals and equally importantly the right shoes for the job.

I take it you’re single neninja 😉

I’m sure that’s the case but the first time a pin embeds itself in her leg [however it was caused], the OP will seriously know about it – probably for weeks
Best get the shin pads IMO, they’re not uncomfortable [because you’re not wearing them 🙂 ] therefore it’s a no brainer

The better half uses DMR V8’s paired with a pair of Adidas Shell Toes. No need to splash out on cycling specific shoes, just something with a flat sole. As Onzadog says: most walking shoes/trainers aren’t.

What they just said^^^

Dx’s or v8 copies have enough pins to keep the foot on the pedal, but not too many to prevent a quick bail.
Paired up with some skate shoes and she’ll be fine.

Has anyone tried any of the new style plastic pedals ?

click

I got some for my commuting bike, but realised they were actually pretty good. Much Much Much better than the old ones.

I stuck them on my wifes bike and no complaints.

In the dry I reckon they are comparable to metal pin pedals.

Also they are very light.

Gussett plastic ones aren’t bad – CRC I think I got them from for Mrs B’s do it all utility bike.

These are the same design as the ones I linked too so +1 for this comment.

I know alot of posters will say plastic pedals are rubbish but the new style are sooooooooo much better than the old style.

I take it you’re single neninja

Lol

My wife won’t ride on anything more bumpy than a fire road or in the wet so her shins are intact and I’m still married.

I had more scrapes out of my calves than I ever did from my shins when getting used to flats.

I was chatting to a friends wife the other day who is starting to do more mountain biking. He’d bought decent flat pedals for both their bikes but while he was using Five Tens but she was riding in trainers. The holes and gouges in her shins and calves told the story. Decent pedals are to some extent pointless without decent flat shoes.

Cheers to all of your replies!

@ jota180: Yes I would hear about it for weeks! It’s taken a while to get here with her, not wanting to risk it when this close to her being a mtb’er!

I really like the look of those BlkMrkt and Gusset ones, may look into that, 5.10 look nice, might be hard to get her to want to spring for those, maybe I’ll try some cheap van’s or something for now.

flat pedals for the wife?

Seems like a reasonable deal.
Pics?
What’s her cooking like?