Shimano Saint Clips vs Crank Bros Mallet E

Looking at these 2 pedals and kinda stuck making a decision.

Always ridden Shimano, they last forever so Saints must be a win. But they have a flat pedal platform – does that matter? (I preferred concave when i rode flats back in the day).

Or…

I like the look of the mallets and like that they have a concave pedal profile Xbut, while I admire the can-do attitude of their engineers, I am yet to be convinced by the structural properties of cheese in mtb applications and so am concerned about the reliability.

I can find both for similar prices and, even at my age, Im sure i can adapt to a new clip style.

Ahhh, first world problems…

A<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>nyone got any real world experience comparing the 2?</span>

I like the look of the mallets and like that they have a concave pedal profile Xbut, while I admire the can-do attitude of their engineers, I am yet to be convinced by the structural properties of cheese in mtb applications and so am concerned about the reliability.

Right CB history and I’ve had about 5 versions of the mallet under my feet….

Historically the cage was one piece and a bugger to change anything, cage is now split to make service quick and easy.

Historically the roller bearing was a weak point, that is now an igus bushing

I’ve got 2 sets of the Mallet DH and a set of Candies, tried the E’s when they came out.

for me size 10 average to wide foot with a Spec 2FO flat soled clip shoe the E’s were just slightly too narrow and it felt like I was rolling off the edge a little, the DH’s are spot on and feel great, little pin tweak out the box and I’m off.

The Candies with a nice still XC shoe are prefect for me as the stiffness of the shoe does the work and the small platform gives that little bit of support,

I can find both for similar prices and, even at my age, Im sure i can adapt to a new clip style.

I’ve been CB for years and had to use shimano on a mates bike and in the gym, it just feels restrictive and strange only being able to clip in one way, 90% of the time I do clip forwards (traditional shimano way) but the 10% of the time I’m doing it backwards or straight down I’m damm glad I can!!

Can’t compare as never used Crank Bros – have the Saints and they feel just like a Shimano spd pedal. I put the pins in when I got them, but honestly not sure if they do anything. They’re a nice solid feeling pedal, dead simple to clip in & out of and they’re serviceable (if they ever need it!) . And they look fab and don’t scratch up like XT/XTR.

Thanks for the replies. Is there meaningful support from the saints platform if you don’t get clipped in?

Is there meaningful support from the saints platform if you don’t get clipped in?

it depends on the shoe IME. I have a pair of these and used with some Shimano AM9 flat sole shoes and would say yes, they do support your foot and you should get some grip from the pins. This could also be the case with other flat-sole style clip-in shoes.

I’m now using them with some Giro Terraduro, which are more of a hike-a-bike shoe with a treaded, contoured sole and they are not as grippy when unclipped but I prefer the shoe style for most riding.

Nice pedals though and I would happily recommend them.

Thanks for the replies. Is there meaningful support from the saints platform if you don’t get clipped in?

Not much… IMO

I changed the pins for some longer ones and it’s now much better with good support. I use Shimano DX SPD shoes.

Always found shimano stuff to be very reliable. so very happy with them.

Didn’t get on with mallet E’s myself. Found the spindle too short for my big feet to be able to twist out. Shimano didn’t have a large platform pedal at the time so went with Funn mambas which are great. The platform does help however I have removed the odd pin at the back to help get clipped in.