medic75

I have been looking into Catalyst pedals and I am seriously considering them. My concern is the different foot placement used for these. As I have read, re-training yourself to center your foot on the pedal is no big deal, but what about when you ride multiple bikes? Is there an issue trying to pedal with the ball of your foot after using the catalyst? I own multiple bikes and don't want to drop $100/pair for each bike.

Gconan

I have a pair on my mountain bike. I love the big platform. But on my gravel/road bikes I use spd pedals. It is not a problem going from one bike to another.

canklecat

I was curious about that as well after I began experiencing painful spasms in the arches of my feet while riding. I couldn't afford to spend that much on pedals that might not solve the problem. So I tried a pair of $15 Stolen Brand Thermalites, the largest and cheapest platform pedals I could find.

Yup, it helped with the foot problems. I can wear any shoes -- thin deck shoes without socks, running/hiking shoes, my heavy double insulated winter boots -- and all I need to do is adjust the saddle height a little to compensate for sole thickness.

I do use clipless pedals and shoes on my road bike, but I don't have any problems adjusting between the two. Well, usually. There was one incident last summer when I was recovering from being hit by a car. I hadn't ridden my hybrid for awhile, and had only ridden my road bike on the indoor trainer and a couple of casual outdoor group rides. So the first time I rode the hybrid as I approached a stop sign I twisted my foot to unclip and panicked when I couldn't feel the distinct release and click of the Look pedals. I nearly toppled over before realizing my feet weren't restrained. And there was a baffled driver behind me. I just laughed and waved them on ahead while I smacked my forehead and collected my scattered wits.

So, yeah, one time there was a bit of a kerfluffle. Otherwise, nope.

And the Thermalites are so good I'm still using them more than two years later. I like 'em so well I'm gonna move the first set from my favorite hybrid to my errand bike, and get a set of Thermalite SPs with replaceable steel pins.

Stolen also makes an aluminum version of the pedal, but I kinda like the durable plastic version. I've scraped the pedals several times on fast turns while I was pedaling through, or against rocks and stuff along the trails. Instead of grabbing and pole vaulting me off the bike the pedals just scuff off some material without breaking anything or bending the spindle. They're really tough. But for folks who don't abuse their pedals they make a nice aluminum version with unsealed but serviceable ball bearings, and a sealed bearing version. All Stolen Brand pedals are often discounted through various dealers or on Amazon, so they might be even less expensive than the website catalog price.

If I could afford the Catalyst pedals I'd get a set, but I can't really justify the price when the Thermalites basically solved my problem.

Humpy

My experience with catalyst pedals are limited to 3 or 4 laps around the BMX track on a friends bike, I'm usually clipped in on mine.

I ride flats (VP vice) on my mountain bike. I can't imagine there would be any issues switching from the catalyst to any other pedal that wouldn't take more than a few minutes to adjust to. During a typical 3 hour trail ride I change foot position depending on what the trail presents and what I'm trying to accomplish. Foot back for jumping, forward for chunky downhill, and all over the place for technical climbing or grinding out miles. Based on the bottoms of my flat pedal shoes, foot position varies by at least an inch front to back and a half inch side to side.

Point is, on flat pedals there aren't really any rules and there shouldn't be any issues switching between brands and types.

Maelstrom 

I either transfer or buy multiple pedals. I Can't go back to a small platform and won't wear SPD's (except on my indoor trainer).

Besides, I absolutely LOVE these pedals so its well worth it to me. Finally pedals for size 15 feet.

When I have demoed bikes with normal pedals I had major foot fatigue and pain in the achiles.