Although they are sometimes looked down on by serious cyclists, there is no doubt that the best flat pedals can the perfect option sometimes.
If you have lots of walking to do as well as pedalling, such as going shopping or a mixed commute, then flat pedals will be far more convenient than clipless pedals or gravel pedals and cycling shoes, and are much better than skating about trying to use normal shoes with SPD-style pedals. The convenience of being able to hop on and off your bike in normal shoes, trainers or the best commuter cycling shoes far outweighs any loss of pedalling efficiency and power.
Not being clipped in as advantages for other user groups too; anyone with a knee or ankle injury will appreciate not being fixed in position on the pedal as well as not needing to twist sideways to disengage the cleat from the pedal. Novices and less confident riders will benefit from flat pedals whether on or off-road - not having to worry about unclipping when in busy traffic or approaching a technical section of trail will help build confidence and lower stress levels.
The Crosstown Polys are perfect for use with smooth-soled office shoes; the sandpaper-like grip prevents the shoes from slipping and provides a decent, supportive platform. Reflectors add a touch of extra visibility and the very reasonable price leaves nothing to complain about.
Look's Geo City pedals have a nice, large platform and bearings that can be easily regreased for improved performance and longevity. The textured surface wasn't as grippy as it looks though, so choose your shoes wisely.
The trainer-like rubber Vibram surface on the Trail Grip pedals is great for general use on the road and mild off-road excursions, but it does fall short when it comes to more extreme trails. As the pedal is fully serviceable, it should give years of use.
Although the pins on the DMR V6 pedals are made of composite, they provide a decent amount of grip when paired with an appropriate shoe and help keep the weight down. The pins aren't replaceable though if they get damaged, so beware of rock strikes.
Lightweight, low profile and with metal pins, the Crank 3 is well-suited to off-road riding on any terrain. The pedals can be fully serviced to keep them running smoothly and the price is fairly reasonable value for what you get.
The chunky, off-road aesthetic of the Aeffect pedals won't suit every bike or be to everyone's tastes, but they are very effective pedals with excellent grip and support. They should also last well if serviced properly, although the aggressive pins might be a bit OTT for commuting.
The Upgrade Crosstown Poly pedals feature a polypropylene body with a steel axle which has dual bushing sealed bearings. This should ensure a long life as the sealing keeps out the worst of the weather. The pedal has a non-slip surface to grip flat-soled shoes and the weight of 327g per pair is about par for this type of pedal.
The non-slip surface is nicely grippy with a variety of shoe types, especially a smooth-soled leather office shoe. It feels like 60 grit sandpaper to touch but is well bonded in place and doesn't easily rub off. The concave shape increases the contact patch when more pressure is applied and there are also integrated safety reflectors.
Our tester enjoyed riding with them, with his feet feeling securely placed even over rougher sections of road. They are also very reasonably priced and well-recommended for commuter or utility bikes.
Easy maintenance of bearings via a well-sealed end cap
+
Integrated reflectors
Reasons to avoid
-
Not very grippy despite surface texture
The Look Geo City are primarily an urban commuter and utility bike pedal. They made from a composite material to form the body and use a cro-moly steel spindle (axle). They also incorporate quality and well-sealed bearings to ensure the longevity of the pedal. The pedals turn very smoothly and the addition of a threaded weather-sealed end cap will allow, in the future, easy re-greasing of the bearings when maintenance time calls.
Look says that the Geo City pedals use a composite stud and moulded rubber multi-grip system to provide a secure platform for your feet. However, our tester found it is not as grippy as it looks, with the composite material being a little hard to the touch. When riding it works fine with rubber-soled trainers but is a bit less sure-footed with flat-soled office shoes. Riding with that style of shoe can leave you feeling as if your foot is about to slip off when putting the power down.
These pedals only use an 8mm Allen/Hex key to attach to the cranks. Just make sure that the 'Look' logo is readable from the rider's position when you're putting them on, as, unusually, there are no other clues as to which pedal is left and which is right.
In all, these are nicely made pedals which feel as if they will last a decent amount of time, just choose which shoes you ride in with them carefully.
Despite the 'trail' title, our tester found that these are better suited to a utility/commuter bike than an off-roading bike. The lugs don't offer the traction of conventional pins when riding technical trails (on the flip side, they won't shred your shoe soles or shins).
They are perfectly good enough for towpaths and gravel roads, so they'd be ideal for anyone who likes to occasionally wander off-piste, rather than a full-blown off-roader. Integrated reflectors add to the pedal's urban appeal.
The Vibram inserts are interchangeable, meaning you can customise your pedals as well as replace the pad if it's getting exceptionally worn. The Vibram is robust enough to handle regular road riding, though, so they should last a long time. On top of this, the pedal is fully serviceable.
The Race Face Ride pedals are aimed at novice riders who are seeking a 'gentler' experience for their shins, should there be any foot slippage. Stainless steel pins can be very painful if you get it wrong...
The Ride pedals feature a nylon composite body with 9 moulded 'pins' ('lugs' might be a better term) per side to grip the sole. It has a chromoly steel axle which is well sealed to keep out the muck from the bearings. They are easily serviceable as the end cap uses a 6mm Allen key fixing to access the internals when a regrease is required.
The pedals are clearly marked 'L' and 'R' to help fit them correctly and the bearings turn smoothly once fitted to the cranks. They looked good fitted to the test bike and, being available in nine different colors, you should be able to match your style easily.
Our tester found that the pedals could be quite finicky with different shoe soles. Tacky trail shoes, such as a pair of Five Tens, work best but trainers and more general-purpose shoes don’t fare as well.
As an upgrade from a stock set of pedals, they are a marked improvement and a reasonable price. But if your off-road riding is more performance-oriented, you would be better served by one of the other sets of pedals we’ve tested.
With a more aggressive design that features pins to grip the sole of the shoe, these off-road flat pedals are great for gravel riding but are best used with cycle-specific flat pedal shoes to optimize grip.
If you have a hybrid or gravel bike to get you around, the DMR V6 pedals are a great option for upgrading from a basic flat pedal.
The nylon pedal has a wide platform with 10 full-length MTB pins. Our tester rated the V6 pedals highly for comfort and grip on a commuting bike. They also come with four pop-out reflectors, which add to their urban-use credentials.
While nylon has its advantages - it won't shred your shins and makes for a light pedal for a start - it isn't the most durable material. If you put the V6s through their paces in heavy off-road use, the pins will wear down quickly. These pedals are also non-serviceable, so once the pins are worn - or the dual DU bush system gives up - they are destined for the tip.
With this in mind, we'd say these pedals are best kept to a knock-about-town or commuting bike to avoid becoming part of a disposable society.
The stock grub screws aren’t doubled-sided – if you mash one it’ll need drilling out
You can spend less on a set of pedals; you can also spend a lot more. But for our reviewer, the Crankbrothers Stamp 3 Small hit the exact sweet spot of performance against price. From the elegantly thin platform with its excellent grip to the low weight and full serviceability of the pedal body, the Stamp 3 is a high-quality pedal that doesn’t look out of place on a similarly well-specced bike.
Our reviewer used the Crankbrothers Stamp 3 on a two-week bikepacking trip around Hungary and Slovakia, finding them perfectly up to the task on the gravel trails and big mile days. Although the platform size is listed as ‘small’, they were perfectly proportioned for size EU 43 feet, offering complete support and not feeling too cumbersome.
The only criticism to make is that, although you can access the pins from both sides of the pedal, the stock pins only have a socket for allen keys on one side – so if you mash the pins on a rock, you’ll need to drill them out. Swapping these out for a set of grub screws which fit Allen keys on both sides might be a bit of a fiddly upgrade in the first instance, but could save you a big headache down the line.
The Race Face Aeffect Pedal is a durable and robust option that's more than up to the task of heavy use on the trails or on the city streets. During our testing, they fended off plenty of rock strikes and the odd clang into a piece of street furniture without skipping a beat.
They are a fairly chunky set of pedals, though, so they might not suit the aesthetics of all bikes. But then again, they are quite reasonably priced for a flat pedal with metal construction and fully serviceable bearings and pins - if you want something prettier, you are going to have to pay more for the pleasure.
The other point to note is that the stock pins are quite aggressive. This is fine for gravel riding and trail use, you can get straight to riding without a moment's thought. But for city and urban use, you will probably want to add some of the supplied shims to the pins to reduce their height a bit and save your boots and brogues from unnecessary wear.
First, you should consider the platform size. Wider platforms will offer greater support, and be more grippy, however, too large and it can make a pedal cumbersome and awkward, particularly off-road. Finding the right balance for you will ultimately be a personal choice depending on your needs.
Second, there's the platform material to think about. Plastic composite pedals will be cheaper and are often lighter. For those young at heart, composite pedals also tend to have a greater range of colours. However, plastic-bodied pedals tend to look scruffy sooner and are not as hard-wearing as metal-bodied pedals.
But with most models being very cheap, they're not going to break the bank to replace, although you may baulk at producing yet more plastic waste when a serviceable metal pedal will last much longer.
Do I need pins on my flat pedals?
The best flat pedals with pins give a number of performance enhancements over models that have a crenulated or notched cage.
Pins make pedals more grippy, meaning you won’t slide off in the wet but pose a risk to your shins or calves if you slip a pedal.
Keep in mind that the pins on platform mountain bike pedals are designed to interface with the tread on mountain bike shoes designed for flat pedals — usually with a rubber, waffled pattern. If you're planning on riding in shoes that have a totally flat bottom, like the dress shoes you may wear to work, aggressive pins may damage the soles and not add all that much grip. Many models are offered with adjustable pin height, giving you the flexibility to choose the balance that best suits you.
Another benefit is that it is a lot cheaper to replace pins when they become worn down than having to buy a whole new flat or platform pedal. It can be worth going for a model where the pins have the Allen head on the back because these will be easier to extract when worn.
What bearings are best for flat pedals?
The simple serviceability of Shimano pedals requires just a couple of spanners (and sometimes also the TL-PD40, an inexpensive plastic tool) which makes them easy to keep running for a long time. Many other brands opt instead for replaceable sealed cartridge bearings and bushings. With a bit of periodic maintenance, a set of the best flat pedals can be kept going for a surprising number of years.
However, if you know that you are not one to delve into the guts of your pedals, then you might find more value in a set that does not have serviceable bearings, as these tend to be cheaper.
What are 'hybrid' pedals?
These are pedals that you can clip in to but can also be ridden as flat pedals without a problem. These pedals have a large cage around the clipless mechanism, which provides grip and support. Also, in being symmetrical, there is no need to flip the pedal over before you set off. Most pedal brands, including Shimano, Look and Crankbrothers, have options.
How we test
These flat pedals were tested for compatibility with both cycling-specific shoes and more general footwear of the kind that you might well ride to the office or the shops in. The design of pedal that works well with bike shoes might well not play quite so nicely with smart, leather-soled work shoes when the grippy studs may well cause damage.
No one wants to waste watts, even on the morning commute, so the bearing's smoothness was also a consideration as was the ease of serviceability - it is much better to keep a quality set of pedals running than to be constantly binning and replacing a cheaper option.
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After winning the 2019 National Single-Speed Cross-Country Mountain Biking Championships and claiming the plushie unicorn (true story), Stefan swapped the flat-bars for drop-bars and has never looked back.
But his favourite rides are multiday bikepacking trips, with all the huge amount of cycling tech and long days spent exploring new roads and trails - as well as histories and cultures. Most recently, he’s spent two weeks riding from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia.
