I own and like both. The Sylvan's are wider which is nice. But, I have duck feet and have no issue with the width of the GR-9's. But again, the Sylvan's are wider. The kickplate on the Sylvan's is less than half the size of the one on GR-9's. No problem if you regularly wear shoes with minimal tread. If you walk around in hiking boots or anything with a heavy tread you'll find yourself cursing sometimes as you'll fiddle around getting into the pedal. Not always but if a pretty girl is looking at you consider it a given.