[Closed] Who uses really thin flat pedals? Any recommendations?

I've had the podiums. the bearings die A LOT. I believe the crampons and oozy's haven't been without problems either. out of that list, I'd be tempted by the Atlas but I've gone a little thicker and have Burgtecs on all bikes now. They aren't quite as thin, but they have proper sized bearings on them so they last.
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Specialized Boomslangs are pretty good. Had a pair since the beginning of the year and so far holding up pretty well. I had doubts about the long pins getting smashed off but they hold their own against the rock strikes and have yet to significantly damage any of them despite trying.

twohats - thanks for the heads up on the boomslangs. hadn't seen them before…

Wrecker - I heard that about the old podiums but supposedly the new refinements from Gamut who bought out Point1 mean they'll be better in that regard.

As mentioned somewhere else recently, really flat pedals often have those oddly large internal bearing assemblies. If you have square feet (Which I do!), that assembly gets annoying. As such, something like those droolworthy Burgtecs above, or a Hope F20 would be my pick. Proper bearings, so properly reliable, and none of that lump on the inside.

As mentioned in the thread that CFH is alluding to, my second set of bearings in my Spank Spike's have lasted a couple of wet rides. I'm going to get them apart later this week to see exactly what's going on and see if I can rescue the (non standard, proprietary size) bearings with some grease.

Next set of bearings I'll open up from new and fill with grease (I'm not sure I did that with these ones). After that I might see if I can get some bushes machined from a lump of something fancy.

Otherwise, thin and grippy. The Spike's are too big for my little size 8 feet, but you do lose some effective area from the big inboard bearing.

From what I've seen, the Hope's might be my next pair.

I use [url= http://www.xpedo.com/products/pedals/platform/144/spry- [new]]Xpedo Spry[/url]

11mm thick and very light at 260g.

I would advise getting the twin tip pins for extra grip.

I've the burgtecs above and a coue of pairs of atlases's. Both are great pedals, had faultless reliability from all of them, prefer the altar as it just allows that slight bit more movement of the foot, as the pins aren't quite as long but that's personal preference I guess.

Wrecker - I heard that about the old podiums but supposedly the new refinements from Gamut who bought out Point1 mean they'll be better in that regard.

I'm really looking for as thin as possible this time, I know some folk have had issues with the size/shape/position/reliability of the larger inboard bearings but I'm willing to give it a go!

tomhoward fancy selling a pair of the Atlas pedals???

As far as I can tell, they have just moved to a forged body. Still use loads of silly little bearings which dont last. Your money bro.

Good to know - I though they had covered the spindle and improved bearings etc but as no-one has their hands on them yet anyway may not be true!

Have Canfield Crampon ultimates. Bought last December, wouldn't do it again. very thin but not very grippy. Need servicing regularly, only takes 5 mins however. the funny thread nylock is stuck on the LH threaded one at the minute and overdue a regrease because of this.

I'd echo what CFH said. I've had a couple of different cheapo thin pedals and am now happily on F20s. They've taken a beating and not had any love but still run smoothly.

In the politest possible tone... Hell no, they're ace (and both pairs are in use) 🙂

165mm cranks

Need servicing regularly

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Life's too short to service pedals.

Been using nukeproof cheap plastic pedals for a couple of years now -called neutrons I think, or maybe electrons. Cost about £35, weigh v little, last for ages, and are as thin as feasible-win,win,win. I got them as a flattie try out after years on spds, expecting to upgrade but have never bothered because they are so good. Bought my dream bike with ideal build earlier this year and still spec'd the nukeproofs cos I saw no point in spending any more

In the politest possible tone... Hell no, they're ace (and both pairs are in use)

Thats really the first positive feedback I've seen on 'thinner' pedals so race face just moved up a notch!

I thought my crampon ultimates were vastly more grippy than the dmr v12's they replaced. I don't think they are suited to wet UK weather though, time will tell.

old talent how long have you been using them?

What about Uberbike Hammerheads? They're 14mm thick, and only £45.

I've got the Point 1 Podiums and think they're pretty nice but then I've hardly ridden in the last 3-4 years and when I do it's unlikely to be wet so not really a fair trial.

The bearing hump I both like and hate, sometimes it gives you a nice positive stop to rest the inside of your foot against and stops your shoe rubbing the cranks and other times it's just in the way.

They do look good though.

I could never get my head around the Crampon concept where they sold the convex platform as a positive trait. Can't imagine they're in any way comfortable.

I've been running Spank Oozy pedals for about 6 months now. I'm very happy with them, they have a nice wide platform and plenty of grip so my feet always feel secure.

I was previously having issues with Welgo MG1 pedals, thinking my shoe soles had worn hence not giving much grip. I was about to buy new shoes, then I switched pedals and the extra grip and hold from the Oozy pedals was amazing and don't feel the need to buy new shoes any more.

How thin is really thin? The RSP FTWs I got have been good so far, they're not wafer thin but they're about as thin as you get without outboard bearings. I like 'em. Broke a pin quickly, they're a little long and thin, but they come with spares. And they did need a quick service after a few hundred miles, no biggy.

They have a similiar Bloody Stupid Trust Bearing Design to the terrible AE01s, but at least it's internal and protected from the elements, and like the AE01 it can be removed entirely and replaced with shims instead if need be.

Pretty happy, all in all.

Been using Nukeproof Electrons after coming from V8's.

Thought I wouldnt like them initially but I now prefer them to the V8's.

Cheap, weigh next to nothing and massively grippy on my 5/10's.

I use Outland CNC Slimline,very similar to RSP.

Do your Spank Oozy pedals spin really fast now? I've serviced mine a few times, and after each ride they go back to being spinny.

I had three sets of Podiums replaced under warranty. Great feeling pedal but laughable reliability. I'd get about 6-8 rides out of them.

Replaced with Nukeproof Electron Mag-Ti, they suffered a similar fate. Cracked body after a few rides. Replaced with Hope F20s which have done two years. Huge improvement in reliability. Not as grippy or as nice feeling, but they last, which is nice.

Spank Ooozys are also guff. Had to warranty every pair I sold due to excess play after a month or two.

Plastic Nukeproof here too, combined with double length pins from an eBay seller and they're bloody awesome!....the plastic doesn't seem to become as slippery when wet as the metal flats I've used over the years and long pins are a given for making any pedal better.

deviant

Plastic Nukeproof here too, combined with double length pins from an eBay seller and they're bloody awesome!....the plastic doesn't seem to become as slippery when wet as the metal flats I've used over the years and long pins are a given for making any pedal better.

They are really not comparable to a decent pedal. They have a lifespan of about 3-6 months before they are wobbling on the axle or the pedal body drops off completely. Also, the bulge in the body for the axle is an annoying/slippery problem.

Okay for the money, but they don't last a tap.

How thin is really thin?

I'm looking at the 14/12/10mm bracket to be honest so the likes of nano's or other similar/same pedals are not on the radar at the moment. I do have some 'Fatties Flatties' which are decent but fancy something thinner and there seems to be plenty of options albeit not many with positive feedback!

I use Xpedo Spry

11mm thick and very light at 260g.

I would advise getting the twin tip pins for extra grip.

And can be had [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XPEDO-XMX24MC-Wellgo-Magnesium-Alloy-Pedals-MTB-BMX-Bike-Bicycle-Pedals-New-R1BO-/161462042681?var=&hash=item2597e34039 ]on ebay for under £30
[/url]

Or if you want to check out the benefits of slim pedals without splashing the cash...

I use Outland CNC Slimline,very similar to RSP.

I've had both the Spank Spikes and the Crampon Ultimates. I didn't get on with the spikes at all - they are pretty much flat and I couldn't get my feet to feel happy on them. The crampons were better, the convex thing does work to a degree but I still didn't get on with them well enough to stick with them. Bought some of the new DMR V12's which are obviously thicker but feel much better underfoot.
GKW if you want to try them I'll sell you the crampons for £50. In fact if you pay the £50 up front I'll loan you them for a month and you can either keep or return them and I'll refund minus postage costs.

I've been using some superstar delta evo magnesium and ti pedals for the last 9 months, they're impressively light (250g), nicely thin and very grippy, however at the weekend on a biking trip to portugal the right hand pedal body came off the axle due to the bearings failing.

This shouldnt be a big deal as superstar sell the service kit, however it requires an impossibly thin walled 8mm socket to get the nut on/off the end of the axle to replace the bearings. Having searched everywhere I cant find a suitable socket, so whilst they say they're rebuildable, they're effectively not due to the size of socket required to get at the nut.

So if anyone knows any *really* thin walled 8mm sockets I'm all ears, otherwise I'll be buying some different pedals, so thanks for the suggestions above.

JHJ great find cheers. I recommend that you give up the conspiracy shite mate and become my personal shopper. I was just about to order a set of xpedos for much more than that!

So if anyone knows any *really* thin walled 8mm sockets I'm all ears, otherwise I'll be buying some different pedals, so thanks for the suggestions above.

My default answer to this is to jam a screwdriver in there and turn the axle instead.

yeah that was what I tried first, but couldnt make it work, might give it another try though.

I regard flat pedals as a consumable and won't buy high end as they seem just as flakey despite the high prices.

Currently using some rather good thin Boardman flat pedals that were going cheap in Halfords.

[img] http://i1.adis.ws/i/washford/137509?$pd_main_v2$ [/img]

Other than that I like the thin resin Nukeproof Electrons with longer pins as they seems to shrug off impacts a bit better than metal pedals. The bearings are so so, but at that price, you just buy 3 sets of pedals which should keep you going for long while.

I have some Deity Decoy flats and they are lovely.

Atlas here - love them!
Simplez

GKW if you want to try them I'll sell you the crampons

Steve drop me an e-mail and maybe we can sort something out?!?

Atlas seeming popular too!

+1 for Deity Decoy LT flats. Particularly comfortable for larger feet
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Spesh Boomslangs here. Much more grip than the superstar Nanos that they replaced.
Taken a bashing too, hardly any noticeable damage other than a bit of anodising despite a lot of rock strikes whilst getting used to a lower BB!

How much bearing slop do you have in the boomslangs? All of my flat pedals recently end up with loads of play and spin

No one mentioned DMR Vaults yet? Massive platform, all the grip in the world. Thin enough without taking it to gimmicky extremes.

I've been smashing mine off rocks for a few years now.

groundskeeperwilly are you looking for thin pedals to reduce pedal strike on your Smuggler? If so my main advice would be I wouldn't spend too much money, depending how much you ride they'll soon end up pretty smashed up regardless. I have some of the new DMR V12s which are 16mm thick and they're pretty bashed up. I'm not sure a couple of mm less depth will make much difference.

Hi bigjim - aye thats part of it but I'm also after a really good pedal as my current ones are in a bad way.

Thought it worth looking at the thin options as it would hopefully lead me to a great new set that may give a few mm more clearance.

I know it's only a few mm but every little helps as they say!

The thread has shown up a few that I really wasn't aware of before.

julians - Member

So if anyone knows any *really* thin walled 8mm sockets I'm all ears, otherwise I'll be buying some different pedals, so thanks for the suggestions above.

This isn't totally helpful but, I've never found a quality thinwall socket. But I found a totally unquality one- I've had a few cheap rubbish toolkits over the years, I think this one was from a PC toolkit. Anyway, it's made of tinfoil or something, and does the job perfectly. Worth checking the rubbish

Those outlands have ludicrously pointy corners! Like they'd gone "these flat pedals just aren't leg-destroying enough".

Anyone used the VP Harrier pedals?

I got some moove component thins on my bmx. I got them when they did their 1st batch and they were silly cheap.

Nice, light and grippy.

They (nukeproof) are really not comparable to a decent pedal. They have a lifespan of about 3-6 months before they are wobbling on the axle or the pedal body drops off completely. Also, the bulge in the body for the axle is an annoying/slippery problem.

They used to be convex with a centre bulge but have now changed the design to a more normal pedal shape. I haven't got any but I've had the old ones you refer to.

Sorry just seen these comments:

Do your Spank Oozy pedals spin really fast now? I've serviced mine a few times, and after each ride they go back to being spinny.

Yes mine are a bit more spinny than when new. Its not bad enough to bother me at the moment so not done anything about it.

Spank Ooozys are also guff. Had to warranty every pair I sold due to excess play after a month or two.

Is that due to bearing problems? 1st or 2nd generation versions? I believe mine are 2nd generation which have better bearings or seals.

Just wanted to update.

Thanks to a few decent folks on here I've managed to try a few of the pedals mentioned and there were a couple of standouts:

Canfield Crampons - they are so think it really made a difference with clearance. I know its only mm's of difference but if you're on an ultra low BB bike they might be worth a look. I didn't find them that comfy in use though - felt like the edge of my foot was hanging off the edge (this is not something that is restricted to this pedal though as it's a common complaint for me).

RaceFace Atlas - a really good, solid all round pedal. good platform size and a bit thinner than most out there. Look like they will take a beating too!

VP Harrier - these are the ones I am sticking with for now. They are really thin (12mm I think) which is what I was after initially and the platform is massive! Definitely the widest that i've tried which suits my wide feet. They do have a bit of play in them out of the box due to the way they are designed/made which might put a few folk off but for me the comfort of the wide platform and the wee bit of extra clearance they offer makes them a winner.