Mezzo pedals...
 

The "stomp" branded pedals on my Mezzo are starting to get a bit loose/gritty, so took into repair shop. View was that the bearings in each of them are shot. 9 months into the bike's life this isn't great news - though the guys in the shop said that folding pedals tend toward this sort of problem because the bearing is close to the crank, whereas a lot of the pressure is on the outside half of the pedals. Options are to get some new pedals on the warranty (for no cash, but I guess they'll wear out in another 9 months) or - what the guys in the shop recommended - swap them out for some removable pedals - along the lines of the ones on higher end Dahons - like the MuSL - which do look more hardwearing, if less convenient (I'd probably have to pop the pedal on and off the bike at least twice a day). Any views on pros and cons?

If you have to pop them on and off at least twice a day, that can grow old and boring really fast. I personally don't benefit from folding pedals so I have standard pedals on all my folders, but if you do, I would recomend folding pedals instead of removable ones. One less item to bag, worry or lose.

Just my US$0.02

Well - prob only popping one off a couple of times a day - the other one is pretty well out of the way in the fold. But agree could start to become quite boring (not to mention rather damaging to whichever pocket I end up shoving it in).

I, too, would recommend folding pedals esp. if you need to "fold" them often.

I first bought a pair of these for my Brompton, and my assessment is that they are pure junk for the price: they rattle and squeak, do not feel solid when pedaling hard, and are slippery.

I then found these which not only have a better finish, but have a better locking mechanism (though it does protrude out a bit when folded) with a more solid feel, are cheaper, and are from a well-established brand name. My foot does not slip as much on these, and they are lighter, to boot. Both above mentioned pedals are installed using hex keys: 6mm for the Dahon and 8mm for the MKS, if I recall correctly.

The disadvantage to both is that you can't install toeclips or straps, if that is important to you.

They look really good. I'm thinking of changing my Merc pedals which are a bit tatty now.

Thanks for the information spambait.

I haven't heard any reviews of the MKS folding pedals until now, they look good and based on what you are saying, are way better then the plastic ones or even the "it-will-damage-your-frame-once-overfolded" Brompton pedals.

Intersting, for the first time ever I am considering a folding pedal (lol)

Spambait - thanks. Bought a set - £22.99 from Bonthrone Bikes. I may try to extract a pair of the stomp pedals from ATB Sales under warranty as a back up pair. But these look rather nice, and should be with me in a couple of days.

Definitely give a review once you've had some time to break them in.

I had the MKS pedals on my Dahon Speed P8. They were great except they were slick as hell in the rain. Don't know if I'd recommend it to our UK friends. I have gone clipless and they are small enough that the folding aspect is mitigated. (but then you have to wear the shoes. Yes, i know, a whole other can of worms.)

I use the "campus" pedal allowing me to use regular shoes or a more performance oriented clipless side. If these are slipery, I might just add new clipless pedals to the new Brommie. After all, I am in Florida...

DEFINITE point of consideration! I've never tested these pedals in the rain.

Thank goodness summer is here - hopefully not too much rain for the next few months (though it was rather wet most of last week...)
Standard bike shoes are these - so standard pedals really my only option (though the heel does prevent the pedal slipping when its wet. I guess)

I can see that it might be a pain after a while, but conversely, would they (or at least one) not be a theft deterrent?

Well...on a non-folding bike perhaps. But the beauty of folders is not having to leave them outside to be stolen. And if a thief did come across a pedal-less folder I guess they could just pick it up and walk away...:)

Indeed :-)

However, I've noted that a few people still have to lock their folders (we don't - stroll them with us) & it seems a simple deterrent, even on a locked folder, if the thief's intention is to ride it away :-)

I suppose we need an (ex?, hopefully) thief on the board to give us first hand knowledge :-)

I don't know if they are theft deterrents, but removable pedals are a hassle to use when commuting esp. on a train. Even if you just remove one pedal, you still have to put it somewhere and the spindle gets dirty. The less removable parts to keep track of, the better.

More importantly, when you're just cruising around town with t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, it's really uncool and uncomfortable walking around with a pedal in your pocket once you've reached your destination. :)

It was just one I was thinking of.

I have in fact, just done that very thing (sans carrying a pedal ;-) ) & I have to say, I can't argue with that ;-)

I've been using the Shimano PD-M424, it has a double-sided SPD pedal inside a rounded plastic platform. I tried the Campus style pedals and didn't like the way the SPD side worked.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?s...TOKEN=71227240

You can use these with or without cleats and if you bump into something while the bike is folded they shouldn't do much damage since there are no sharp edges.

As the MKS pedals looked like they were going to take a month to arrive because of stock issues, I checked out Ebay and found the same alloy pedals as already on the Mezzo on sale for probably not much more than it would cost me to mail the pedals back for exchange under warranty - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=180009197814 . To be honest, they've been pretty decent pedals - grippy, light, compact when folded - and at that price, I might as well treat them as consumeables. If I need to spend £7.50 every 9 months or so, its not that much of an expense when comapred to chains, lube, cassette, servicing, etc...

I have bought some MKS cube clippable detachables that can be swoped for compatable MKS standard (detachable) pedals when reguired. I feel sometimes this may be a versitile option. I see how I get on, as I nearly always commute with a rack bag so storing them will not be an issue. They are not compatable with SPD though.