Is anyone using these on their folding bike?

https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/node/409

I decided to give these a try since the MKS clipless road pedals have been excellent, and I’m hoping the MB clipless will be just as good. I placed my order through Ben’s Cycle.

I have other MKS pedals with the same EZY Superior system: it is safe and reliable.

Note that EZY and EZY Superior are two different, non interchangeable systems both developed by MKS.

Tp be safe, the EZY system require to place an, easy lost, small plastic circlip to avoid accidental unlocking of the pedal, EZY Superior was developed to avoid this problem, unlocking is done by turning the lock ring instead of pushing it toward the crank..

Aren't they connectors initially dirived from the gas/hydraulic coupling connectors? I have used/developed some of them for drills, reamers and various powertool couplings.

This has been a mystery to me for the over 20 years I've used the EZY pedals. I may have used the safety clip once, then put 'em in the spare parts drawer where they (and a couple of other pairs) remain. No inadvertent pedal separations ever happened.
Some users must have a foot-position or pedaling-technique issue that operates the release mechanism, and for those riders the EZY Superior system makes sense. The plastic clips are a real PITA.
Ironically, with changes in the rules on the commuter rail system I use (non-folding bike are allowed), I no longer have a need to remove a pedal. They still don't disconnect themselves. Mysterious...

That is exactly what they are.
Sadly, they are not made of stainless steel, so they rust badly unless pretty aggressive lubrication and maintenance procedures are followed. The couplers can easily be disassembled and the little ball bearings can be replaced. PITA, though...

EDIT: Here is an exploded view of one of the EZY couplers needing some attention after a winter season. Corrosion is obvious. I hope the EZY-Superior pedals are made with better metal.

Retract the coupler ring, carefully remove the circlip, and it all comes apart!

My 2022 Zizzo came with large flip-down pedals, which I quickly swapped for the thinner Zizzo quick-release pedals. They offer more leg extension and a better feel, and so far they’ve been great with no rust. However, they still have the plastic security clip, which is a hassle, especially in cold weather. The newer MKS pedals got rid of the clip with a clever mechanical design I really like—no more plastic clips. I’ve been riding the quick-connect Zizzo pedals without the clips for the past couple of years without any issues, though they’re not completely secure. For reference, the Zizzo pedals fit into the MKS quick connects.

I'd be interested to hear how the Zizzo pedals hold up with respect to corrosion.
You were wise to replace the flip-down pedals. Those can be dangerous if you don't keep the ball of your foot over the non-folding part of the pedal. BITD there were several reports on the Tern Forum of pedals of that type failing under load. Heavy pedaling force applied to the outer folding part of the pedal can cause the pedal to collapse. The MKS and your Zizzo pedals do not have this weakness.

I have had the MKS couplers fail from cracking of the metal sleeve the pedal shaft fits in. This happened after a fair amount of corrosion and mileage, but it's worth keeping an eye out for.

Radial cracks in the coupler sleeve. Luckily, this was spotted before the pedal came off.

This is good information and this one failed at the maximum stress locations. I wonder if there is any benefit for rotating these each year by placing a thin washer to change the clocking location. In that way the maximum stress locations would change year to year. It may add some additional life.

Is this an EZY or EZY Superior coupler, an original MKS or a copy from another brand, it came with which MKS pedals?

Original MKS EZY coupler, provided with new pedals. Ridden through several winter seasons in Chicago... salt on the streets.

These were pretty much abused by adverse weather and salt. I just replaced them after several years. Interesting suggestion, though.

That is also my experience, although I think I have a few less years of experience than you, perhaps high teens of years with the EZY pedals? I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to use the plastic rings, have no clue where those rings are.

Never had one release.

Perhaps certain models of pedals and certain shoe soles are not compatible, can cause a release? I use toe clips on my pedals, that may keep my shoe in a place where it is less likely to press on the release?

Are you a heavy rider? Do you pedal out of the saddle so that all of your body weight is occasionally on the pedals?

I also use (strapless) toe clips. They keep my feet in place, especially when the pedals are wet. Also, and at least as important, they make entry into the clips easy and predictable.

Well, I'm about 200 pounds, but I rarely hammer on this bike. Sometimes I stand while coasting.

I have a pedal with an EZY Superior on my Tern Vektron S10 that replaced the original EZY pedal to avoid the need of the circlip (my experience about the safety of the EZY and the need of the circlip is that it depend of the size of the pedal platform and shoe size = with small pedal or/and big shoe size the risk to push the ring is higher, thicker platform reduce the risk as the shoe sole come above the ring).

Its on the bike since 2023 and I use this bike mainly in the winter with rain and wet dirty roads. It didn't rust and still work fine, the only issue I had is that when its very dirty its sometime a little difficult to rotate the ring or the ring doesn't rotate back automatically to lock the pedal and must be rotated by hand.

For the MKS EZY coupler, I actually never used original MKS EZY, I have only a lightweight copy on the left pedal of my Brompton which is made of titanium.

I never saw copies of the MKS EZY Superior, the only brand I know claiming to have EZY Superior couplers titanium copy is TI Parts Workshop but its not a real copy, first it doesn't accept EZY Superior pedals but EZY pedals, second it has a rotating ring like the EZY Superior but doesn't work exactly as the real EZY Superior and third it doesn't accept all EZY pedals, for any reasons, probably some size tolerance issue, with some EZY pedals the ring cannot be locked (the pedal axle enter well into the coupler but, even by hand, its impossible to rotate the ring back to lock the pedal).

The several other bikes I have with removable pedals have Wellgo QRD quick release system (the original one, not the newer QRD 2).

I would not call that extra heavy duty pressure on the pedal spindle. A lot of people are 200 pounds.

When I bought my EZY pedals, I weighed about 205 pounds. And I occasionally would climb hills out of the saddle. Now weigh about 180 pounds, and with too many knee injuries I never pedal hard out of the saddle. Hopefully I have better luck with my pedal spindles than you had.

Thanks for responding.

Stainless steel isn’t strong enough for these parts. They’re beautiful but heavy at 562 grams. Instead of mounting them on the bike when lifting and loading, they’ll be stored in a separate seat bag.

There are many types of stainless steel alloy, some have the highest mechanical properties of all steel alloy.

smile

Thanks for posting the photo.

The pedals I use on most of my non-folding bikes use pedals with platform on one side, SPD cleat attachment on the other side like your pedals.

And my pedals behave similar to yours, when at rest the cleat hardware is to the rear, platform to the front. If you want to use the cleat side, you should move your foot forward as your foot first touches the pedal, that rotates the pedal so that the cleat side is up. Or if you want to use the non-cleat platform side, you should be moving your foot towards the rear to rotate the pedal so that the platform side is up.

But your photo shows the pedal has the edge of the pedal where your shoe would first contact it a bit aft, not straight up. If I was using those pedals, I suspect that sometimes when I wanted to use the cleat side, that I would inadvertently rotate the pedal the wrong way unless I was quite careful.

Photo below is of my Shimano A530 pedal (non-quick release) on my light touring bike, the top of the pedal is almost straight above the pedal spindle. Not a bit aft like yours. That makes it easy to always rotate the pedal the way I want it by moving my foot forwards or rearwards when my foot first contacts the pedal.



Many pedals when brand new do not behave that way, the friction in seals and grease in the bearings results in the pedal not naturally hanging the same way every time, it takes a bit of use to break them in so that they always hang a consistent way.

Thanks for posting the photo.

I tested the pedals. They rotate to the non-cleat side when stepping down. From limited testing, it is not difficult to flip them to the cleat side.