What's a good, light-weight pedal for use without clips? I like to keep my feet free when I ride.

Any platform pedal will do.

But is there one, or a few, that are better than the rest? It can't be that all platform pedals are equal.

For plats I'll always go with the big Wellgo BMX-style ones. They grip amazingly well but they are heavy, I'm afraid.

If you can spend the money, Syncros Mental alloys are hard to beat. Tewnty6 and Specialized Lo-Pro are noteworthy too.

Things to consider: pedals with sealed bearings require less maintenance than unsealed. Typically the more bearings, the better. Some pedals have a concave platform (although that's pretty much a matter of personal preference). And many folks (me included) prefer low profile designs for better feel and increased ground clearance.

Oh, and a greater number of pins is not necessarily indicative of a grippier pedal.

Syncros, Specialized, Shimano DX, and Wellgo MG-1's are all proven and relatively popular models among mountain bikers. Crank Brothers 5050's suck.

And since I mention it in every platform pedal thread, I'll go ahead and say that Five ten Impact shoes will drastically improve the feel of any platform pedal.

Good luck in your search.

Amen to that, in my experience anyway. Most over rated pedal imo.
Listen to this advice! A good pair of pedals and 5.10's is almost like riding clipless.


I'll say that the Shimano DX are a good pedal along with the Specialized LoPro, I'm a great fan of both of these pedals.

Azonic Pookies are also worth looking into.

any platform pedals with decent grip that will not totally kill your shins???

Haha.
Motivational tool. If were going there - syncros mentals too.

Good luck.

Curious if you tried the long pin kit? Mine seem to offer quite a bit of grip w/ plain Vans sneaks. Especially in comparison to other pedals I've tried...

Might be noted that SixSixOne Dually Takis also have climbing-shoe-derived sole compounds and grip like mad. Also, 661 has 07s on closeout from their web site for just $40 right now:

https://www.sixsixone.com/Catalog_661...d-f18b7fc501fa

I did a search for light weight platforms some months ago and the Wellgo Magnesium MG-1 was the lightest. My wife loves them. My daughter now rides with them and my daughter-in-law is getting a pair.

One of my wife's got a little rough. It was very easy to disassemble and relube. Took care of the problem

Al

Yup super lite, picked up a new bike that came with clipless pedals and i put the MG-1's on before i even rode it. Cro-Mo shaft,sealed bearing magnesium pedal. I am surprised you needed to relube a sealed bearing. Paid $60 for mine.

[QUOTE=Bushpilot; I am surprised you needed to relube a sealed bearing. Paid $60 for mine.[/QUOTE]

The seals look very robust and I suspect it was a particle in there since production that worked it's way into the inner sleeve bearing. The outer bearing is a ball bearing unit. I apparently got to it fast enough that there was no scouring of any bearing surface.

I was surprised to find a sleeve bearing, but it's a wide one and well polished.

Al

+1 for syncros mentals & spec lo pros
other favorites of mine are easton flatboys, atomlabs, burgtecs, drivepro mags

there are a lot of good sealed bearing pedals
it comes down to personal preference in regards to profile, pin placement and weight
try and ride a few styles before you buy

I'm running the "Speedplay" platforms and there great. Havent slipped a pedal since I've got them..