CAUTION: User review, no affiliation to product or other.

well, or I should say Wellgo Magnesiums were my pedal of choice, grippy as hell and light, I couldn't fault them if I'm honest and I'd have probably stuck with them if I hadn't see the outlands during a random visit to a LBS, so what happened?

Where did this skinny flat pedal thing start with me? Well blame Flypaper, here's a link to the video that explains why the thinner the flat pedal the better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaJqk8jHO-0

maybe now you get the idea? basically your foot is less inclined to "roll off" the top of the pedal meaning you can get more power through the entire pedal stroke as its closer to the axle.

Now I had given up on the idea of the Flypapers as they required you to buy cranks too, not an affordable option for me, so that was me out, then I'd moved on to lusting after some of the first lot of Canfield flats the idea of some thin flats was one of those nagging thoughts that kept floating around in my head that I just couldn't shake. The thought of no dead spot through out pedal rotation appealed to me ever since I was a kid riding my BMX up the hill next to my house, I can remember pedaling up there again and again and occasionally loosing a foot and bollocking myself. Consequently baskets on my racer were like a dream come true! ah anyway, enough reminiscence.

Now I'm in no way flush for cash so the thought of laying out over a ton on some pedals was definitely at odds with my wallet but still the thought persisted, could it really make a difference? I figured the theory made sence, so it nagged me, but I stuck with the Wellgo mags and pretended I wasn't bothered. Then, during an ad-hoc dash around LBS's looking for post mount adapters for Krag's bike I spyed something in one of the cabinets, what the hell are they? some kind of BMX strangeness? I asked and the lad said he thought they were probably BMX pedals, telling me they were made by Raleigh, I thought I may have been going mad. But then after checking if they'd fit mtb cranks and that then being confirmed my wallet was out and they were bought before my head could catch up. Fitting them became a minor ball ache as they don't have the spanner option so it was allen key to the rear, only the required key is one of the largest available, naturally that was the only one I'd misplaced from my set so instead it was largest available key on a toppeak tool and a couple of smaller allen keys stuck in to bulk up the gap, it worked. (I later found said big key)

Jesus they felt weird, the foot profile of them is a tad odd when you first try them, you can feel the axle behind the ball of your foot, but it actually makes you put your feet in the proper position where as with the wellgo's I'd tend to have my feet with the ball of my foot over the axle, as you would with spuds. But after a couple of rides, whilst still I'd still feel it, it stopped bothering me and now it tends to help get my feet back in place after hooning around a berm or such like, not so much a flaw more of a feature.

Now the grip isn't as tight as the wellgo's but then they don't perforate your calves should you accidently roll the bike forward whilst stood over it, that said the pins although not grub screws do grip very well, they lock into the cheap and tasteless DC's I tend to use and I've yet to loose a foot off them.

Does it work? this "no dead spot" theory? short answer is yes, longer answer is yes it does, I wouldn't go back to thicker pedals now and I'd genuinely suggest you try them if you use flats, its definitely improved my climbing and pedaling in general, which can only be a good thing. Now I just have to work on reconciling myself that my pedals are made by Raleigh, but then so was my Mag Burner so what the hell.

*CNC Machined Aluminium Body
*CNC Machined Cro-Mo Axle
*Fully Sealed Bearings
*110×106mm Platform
*Removable Pins
*365gms, per pair
*RRP £54.99

Footnote: I've also clouted them more than a few times on rocks, stumps and other such things and whilst now a little dented they haven't managed to loose any pins or break.

Why the review:

Because I've bought something and it does a job well, share the wealth and all that, well that and I've been out riding already today as I was up at 6am and didn't have much else to do between then and later.

About the author:

MrNutt rides an Orange Subzero for fun, for himself. He doesn't posses a single competitive bone be it on a bike or otherwise, He considers laughing to be more important than "winning".

His riding ability should be considered to be average at best, his style haphazard, he currently sports an "amateur fundamentalist" level beard and his opinions are most definitely his own. Peace.

HTH

(c) MrNutt 2010

I read all the way through that, sounds like a good find 🙂

Still… Raleigh…

😉

Cheers for that. I'd be most interested to know when the bearings go and the pedals goes all jiggy. I'm sick of paying £40+ for pedals that last 6 months. If Shimano can make pedal bearings that last forever (e.g. on their 520s) why can't anyone else? Currently using £9 Wellgo V8s!

What's the copyright bull* about?

you can get more power through the entire pedal stroke as its closer to the axle.

Glad you are happy but the above is simply pish – use spds if you are concerned about efficiency.

You don't have a dead spot at the top so thin pedals are as close as you get to spud efficiency on flats, how pray tell does that stink the pish?

FWIW I rode those pedals and did't like em but maybe they take a while to get used to. I like my calves peppered with Wellgo pin holes anyway 🙂

To be fair I didn't like how they felt at first, took two or three rides to get used to it, I've no doubt that the new candied ones would feel a lot better as they don't have such a pronounced axle, but for the money the outlands are well worth a punt

Been tempted by these for a while, thanks for the review.

Lose not loose

Nice post al. Can flat pedal users not demand more performance or efficiency from their pedals, some people don't like to be clipped in.

IMO the ultra flat pedals I have used are very good and do eliminate the dead spots when using flat pedals, also the extra ground clearance is useful.

I get that it will feel better, but it's not going to make you any faster. The video is a joke, typical US marketing tripe.

Well they've undoubtedly made my pedalling more efficient, which in turn…

Al has anyone ever suggested that you may have a slightly cynical bent? 😀