xlDooM

Just adding my testimony, I have MKS MTE pedals, fully detachable non-foldable. I like them, however I always flip the pedals around so the slight hook on the edge points upwards, otherwise they're too slippery. But a fully detachable pedal is so much nicer when you need to put the bike in the trunk of your car; it makes one side almost completely flat so you can easily secure the bike to the trunk floor without wobbling.

brakemeister

There is a new batch of MKS pedals available shortly .... platform pedals....and an interesting one side flat/other side clip in pedal as well....
I am currently working through the process of getting them. Will take a little while ...But I promise I will let you know when I have them.

Thor

darukhan

Great news, Thor... thanks!

phillybill

MKS EZY pedals... own 3 pair. Just like them a bit better than folding ones.

darukhan

Does anyone know if the Brompton folding pedal has a "standard" sized bolt? I'm curious if I could put a Brompton folding pedal on my Birdy bike, but I'm not sure if that pedal is specific for the Brompton?

fietsbob

They are 9/16x20.. standard thread, also.. so Brompton crankset substitutions work too..



I can see those half toe clips functioning like an arrest hook, when using the opposite side.
[perhaps that is why it looks so bent up]

darukhan

Thanks for the info!

rhm

After wearing out out several pairs of the cheap folding pedals that came with my various folding bikes (Strida, Kent, Downtube Mini) I thought I'd get something a little better. But a pair of MKS FD-6 wore out just as fast. I have had good luck with a "Suntour" pair but I suspect it is just luck. In my opinion, a decent folding pedal has yet to be invented. So I stick with the cheap ones, and am prepared to replace when necessary.

It really shouldn't be too hard to rig power grips, or something like that, to a folding pedal. I'd use sheet metal screws; drill a pilot hole in the plastic and let it thread itself in. Just don't hit the bearings or the folding mechanism!

smallwheeler

vp-112 foldable pedals.
these pedals are inexpensive, but they are super-tough. i've had good experience using them.

bhkyte

other option is use cheap folding pedals and treat them as consumerables like tyres.

Western Flyer 

I bought MSK XP-EZY resin pedals. They are not technically folding. You remove a nylon clip and a precision collar slides back releasing the pedal completely. The bearings are top tier. For my needs which involve vigorous but short trips (less than 30 miles) from destination travel spots they are just what I need. I travel as light as I can which includes lightweight running shoes for riding, so the resin platforms were what I was looking for. Biggest problem was I had order them from Wiggle in GB. Their service is excellent and I highly recommend them.

comfybob

I also go for consumables, with these pedals you can't loose.
How can Chinese manufacturers do it? The pedals are $5.50 with free shipping!
They are 'crap' but did last me 2000km in all weather.
on eBay Item number: 310451857731

Sangetsu

I used MKS detachable pedals on my Birdy, these are the rat-trap versions to which I can mount clips and straps. The drawbacks to the detachable pedals is that sometimes they come off if you don't have the QR collar fully seated. Another problem is that anything which is frequently removed from your bike is something which can easily be forgotten or lost.

I eventually found that my bike fit in it's carry bag with the pedals detached, so I thought "why bother?". I installed a set of Shimano XTR SPD pedals and simply leave them on. The bike folds properly, fits in the bag, and the pedals don't poke me any more than the other protruding bits.

I don't like to ride with pedals that I can't affix to my shoes. Riding without cleated, clipless pedals, or clips and straps is less efficient, and allows me to use half the muscles in my legs. I don't know of any folding pedals to which cleats, clips, or straps can be attached, so they are not an option for me.

Of course, when riding with clipless pedals, or clips and straps, slippage is generally not an issue, but it does limit your option for shoes somewhat.

xlDooM

There's a hot topic in the mountain biking subforum right now that you might want to read if you think you only use half your muscles on a platform pedal:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-back-to-flats

Sangetsu

I have ridden various bikes with various pedal systems on rollers under the supervision of a coach. I did a fair amount of racing in the past, and it took me years to develop a good pedal stroke. The most simple way to compare platform pedals to clipless is to simply ride with either type on a set of rollers, and then listen. With platform pedals and the typical "stair-climb" rhythm is what you will hear coming from bearings of the rollers, this rhythym is less pronounced with clipless or clipped pedals, and non-existent with a rider who has spent a lot of time working on their pedal stroke.

In my early days of riding, "ankling" was the technique used to pedal in cycles, and this can be done in a limited way with platform pedals. But a good amount of pedaling energy comes from the backs of the thighs and the buttocks, and these muscles are most efficiently used when the feet are fixed to the pedals.

A good pedal stroke with a fixed pedaling system allows more efficient use of your muscles, and smooths out your ride. It stops you from bouncing in the saddle at higher cadences, and allows you to transfer effort to different parts of your legs when one part becomes more tired than another.

If I a going to get groceries on my Schwinn, I will use flat pedals, but for anything else, I will use clipless, or on my old road bikes, clips and straps.

bhkyte

I read a book once,(hold the jokes), that was based purely around the level of activation of different muscles during the pedal stoke action based on direct experimental measurement preformed in the lab. Guess my combined interest in physiology and cycling made me read it.
I could summarise the books findings,
but we all have better things to do ..............
happy hollidays

chucky

Regardless of muscle efficiency, IMO, flat pedals are definitely faster for urban riding because you spend less time and effort clipping in/out.

And if you're not riding in an environment with a lot of traffic signals then, honestly, where the heck are you going? Wherever it is it can't, by definition, be of interest to too many people and my experience has been that by the time the roadie waiting next to me at the traffic light has himself securely clipped in I'm already at the next traffic light...besides, I need a dead spot in my stroke to shift my IGH (which is also why the roadie gets left behind because it takes her forever to shift her derailleur into the right gear before she can get busy with that smooove pedal stroke of hers ).

Tom Spohn

A few possibles here: https://bikefriday.com/thestore/index...3qcn0&cPath=33

xlDooM

Wow, I feel compelled to reply. I use platforms on my folder because I agree with you on clipless being impractical when you need to stop unexpectedly in traffic situations. However, a good rider will shift a few gears while coming to a stop so that he can accelerate away quickly. Also, a derailleur shift does not take more time than any other system. Finally, clipping in takes no time at all. I click one pedal in while still standing still, the other foot automatically clicks in when I put my foot on the pedal. You seem to be surrounded by moron roadies, don't assume everyone is like that.

bhkyte

I get your point, but...........
I use a dual drive hub, this has a IHG instead of a front drailler, believe me it shifts quicker in traffic than a drailer. Chuckies experience about beating roadies away from lights is quite reasonable with a IHG.
I get to a roundabouts and frequently leave road bikes behind as they struggle to get the correct gear in compairsion to this set up.
IHG can and do beat draillers in many urban situations,

as regards clip ins, track stands starts ?

I use detachable therefore i can swap for flat or clippless as required short commutes= flat pedals, longer commute = clipless.
No debate clipped in is quicker if you dont need to unclip.

chucky

Unless the ability to prophesy the future decisions of other road users is part of being a "good rider" it's hard to see how the roadie could possibly shift a few gears while coming to a stop and, even if he could, it wouldn't enable him to accelerate any faster because half the time traffic lights turn green before one has to actually come to a full stop (so he'd still be in the wrong gear). Also, a derailleur absolutely takes more time to shift than a hub gear especially especially when using foot retention because you can't even BEGIN shifting with a derailleur until AFTER you've already clipped in whereas with a hub gear you're FINISHED shifting BEFORE your foot even hits the pedal.

Granted it may be hard to notice the difference because the advantage of the platform-pedal/hub-gear setup is small, but so is the supposed advantage of a smooth pedal stroke....just so happens that the platform-pedal/hub-gear is the greater of the two for almost all practical riding. And it doesn't matter how smart or moronic someone is because whatever amount of thought/effort/skill goes into shifting/clicking-in/out could always be redirected to improve one's riding in some other way (for example, instead focusing on "shifting a few fears while coming to a stop" a "good rider" might instead be focusing on the cross traffic in order to safely jump the light before it turns green).

Not a prerequisite...a good rider can track stand just as well with platforms as he can with clipless. In fact I can do it longer with platforms because I have the option of tweaking my balance with foot position and also don't have to leave extra time to clip out at the end .

...but I usually find it faster to start from a toe on the ground than from a track stand anyway because I can hit the pedals harder with the front wheel facing forward and the bike tilted to counterbalance the impact. Where track stands are better is for creeping forward, for example, if one wants to get better visibility after stopping in order to determine the safety of proceeding with a hard acceleration.

Actually I thought that's what most of the debate was about: whether there could possibly be a nearly undetectable advantage to clipping in for riders that isolate themselves to play settings where they don't need to unclip even though clipping in is obviously inferior for the vast majority of vehicular riding.

Only bikes I still use foot retention on is my recumbents which place my feet above my hips (so I don't have to hold my feet up while coasting...not because I think it's quicker), but the uprights have all had theirs removed to the dustbin.

chucky

To get back on topic:
The pedals I prefer are Wellgo/Xpedo detachable platform pedals because they're smoother, lighter, more durable, more compact, and more versatile than "folding" pedals and much cheaper than other brands of detachable pedals. Absolutely no complaints about these and I plan to eventually put them on all my bikes (including nonfolders where they can be a theft deterrent aside from also making the bike easier to stow in narrow corridors).

boboman13

Hello, first time poster here. Any solution?

I've gleaned from this thread that they're are some solutions to this question... however I already own MKS FD-7 pedals, which I bought just last year. I don't find them to be slippery at all, I ride around NYC in all conditions and feel totally save and comfortable. However, I'd like to get straps for them. Does anyone know if Power Grips are compatible with these pedals?

Thanks in advance to the community!

overbyte

I used to have Power Grips on my non-folding pedals of my touring bike, but once I had a derailleur malfunction and the chain jammed, causing me to fall. I couldn't get my feet out of the strap fast enough, so I flopped over on my side onto the ground with the bike. After that, I changed to strapless toe clips. These do what I want -- they give me a front barrier so my foot doesn't slip forward accidentally and I have a guide for slipping my foot onto the ideal position of the pedal. You can't pull up with any power stroke on strapless toe clips, but almost no one does that on the upstroke. In fact, if you watch some videos about the ideal pedaling stroke, some experts say to tilt the toe slightly downward and push backward at and through the bottom of the cycle, not upward on the upstroke where you should just be lifting the leg's weight so the power leg on the other side doesn't have to waste effort on lifting the idle leg. So, strapless toe clips don't cause any loss of power, and I'm sure I'll easily slip out of them when I need to.

I posted my method of attaching strapless toe clips to my MKS FD-7 pedals.
https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bi...ks-fd-7-a.html
I used them again today. They work great, even with rather flat soles on my shoes instead of the shoes I usually wear with ridges and bumps on the soles.

haroldz123

Mks fd-7
Heavy but more grip than stock boardwalk D8