Hey,

Most of my riding is usually quick commutes around the city so I prefer platform. Having said that I want the option of clipless when I hit long dirt roads and such in the country.

Has anyone had any experience with Mallet 3 as a platform pedal? I'm on a tight budget so pedals then shoes.

https://www.dansheridan.ie/wp-content...2/crankbro.jpg
https://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cyclin...t-3-pedals.jsp

Any better suggestions?

Riding a CAADX

Thanks

Spongy sole shoes will absorb the cleat sticking up in the middle..

but you can leave the current pedal set, on,
can just get a pedal wrench,
use a platform pedal w/o the spud mech, now

then get the shoes, and un box the pedal, previously purchased, then..

I use these old Smarties: https://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...rty_Pedals.htm

Bonus, this is an old model so they're super cheap, plus they have the commuter reflectors. I enjoy being seen.

The spindle does stick up, but fietsbob is right, with spongy shoes it's no problem, and under ten miles I don't mind the spindle if I have other, thinner-soled shoes.

Cheap spd shoes from Nashbar: https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_513988_-1___

https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_513999_-1___

They have very few sizes left, though.

Or Blue Sky might have some cheap SPD ones: https://www.blueskycycling.com/cat-shoes/1/p

Thanks for the info.

I'm thinking about going with:
https://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...d-1-Pedals.htm
https://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...-SPD-Shoes.htm

Total price shipped to Canada is $144

Nashbar doesn't have my sizing and I thought I do light biking so the acids would hold up (and rebuildable) with Flight shoes or a quick ride to the store with sandals.

I've had Mallets and bought them for the same reason. They're not the greatest when you're not clipped in. If you're just making a trip to the corner store, they would be fine. If you're going cross-city, you would want to be clipped in.

If you like the Acids above the Smarty pedals and you don't mind the price difference by all means, go for 'em. I don't see much of a difference between the two clipped in or not, but that's just my opinion. (When you're clipped in you're using the brackets, not the platform, and when you're not clipped in I don't see much of a difference between the two platforms).

I think this is probably the case with all of Crank Brothers' platform pedals due to their four-way entry system. On the plus side you get four-way entry, which is pretty great. On the minus side the brackets stick up out of the platform so when you're not clipped in you just have to be a little careful and change your style a bit...(on the Smarty pedals I don't hammer unless I'm very sure of my footing...the bracket can sometimes spin and my foot will slip off, but this happens rarely). I've done my 20-mile RT commute with and without clips up and down the crazy hills of upper Manhattan. Clipped in is preferred, of course, but both work just as well.

Look into other systems, too, unless you're happy with these. I know Shimano makes an SPD pedal that's platform on one side and SPD on the other. No brackets sticking up or anything.

I use candys and they're ok as platforms for short rides as long as you don't have super hard soled shoes.

I don't have the Crank Bros, but I have a pair of Shimano PD-M424s with a reasonable (though small) platform and two sided SPD clips. I have ridden using them as platforms for short distances (under 2 miles) and it isn't awful, but I think it would get tiring over a longer haul. I will say that I found it far less bothersome when I was wearing thicker soled boots rather than thinner soled shoes, and the Crank Bros spindle is certainly much less obtrusive than the SPD mechanism, so it might be much better for you.

I do appreciate the flexibility of not having to wear cycling shoes when I'm just riding to the metro or doing a quick errand.

The last time I took out my MTB with its Mallets and plain shoes, it really wasn't too bad, even for the hour or two that I was riding.

I also ride my road bike often with plain shoes. It's got road pedals, though (Time RXS). I almost prefer them to CB pedals because their mechanism doesn't poke into the shoe... buuuut, of course, the platform is a lot smaller, and standing to pedal should be done carefully.

Semi-relevant to this thread:

Could one remove the Eggbeater section of the Mallets and ride them as flats only? I know it wouldn't be practical for day to day changing, but might be reasonable for somebody that wanted to try both a platform and a clip-less system separate.