I'm working on a new build, and I am looking for some pedals. It is going to have an all black drive train, and I dont want the pedals to stick out and look crazy. I have my eyes on the MKS Urban Platform in black, MKS Sylvan in black (with silver spindle), All City Cecil Pro in black (with silver spindle), the Genetic Pro Track in black, and really anything in the world. I realize that some of these pedals are different styles completely. Do any of you guys have any experience with any of these pedals? Will silver spindles make the drive train look bad? I know this is dumb, and the colors don't matter that much, but if I am getting something new and I have options I would like to have it looking good.

My current bike has some pretty gnarly studded downhill pedals (that I actually really love), but I think it is time to move away from them and get something that makes a little more sense for a commuter...

Let me know what you think, and thanks for all you do!

EDIT: So there are 1,000 photos on pedalroom/etc that show what I am asking... Sorry for the wasted thread!

Urban Platforms, Wellgo Clips and double straps---all black.

I really like the mks sylvan nice and cheap, the bearing get really smooth after you break them in! Hurts your feet if you have soft soled shoes though(you don't wear toms right? Lol)

I would skip these; the sylvans. They were the "old skool" favorite back when there wasn't much selection as far as track/ urban parts goes. Which is definitely not the case today.

I've since swapped out for urban platform style pedals and never turned back, no regrets whatsoever. Soft/ rubber soled sneakers no longer dig into the gap between the pedal cages where the spindle shell is located and widthwise they're overly generous; aside from the toe clips potentially digging in you can wear toms with these pedals.

Buddy had some Sylvan ones and he constantly *****ed about the "lump" in the pedals from his shoe molding around the spindle.

Urban platforms all day everyday.

I don't like that long fish tail on the urban platform

Have you rode a bike with a pair of urban platforms? Or are we placing form ahead of function?

Do you know what the purpose of the fish tail is? I assume that you don't know it's called a pedal flip.

Crap, I gave away the answer to question #3.

No I haven't. Yes I know what the fishtail is for, but in my opinion you don't need that much surface area for the pedal flip. They do seem pretty comfortable though, it's just not my taste.

Of course not.

Apparently you don't know what it's for (which isn't surprising). Flipping the pedal is much different with Urban Platforms and the large, curved back allows you to pretty much just roll the pedal and slide your foot in place. It also makes a world of difference when riding in bigger/bulkier shoes.

I love gr9's but they get a little slippery in the rain

The MKS Urban Platform is essentially a copy of the old Lyotard mod. 23 pedal, which was designed back in the 1930s as a track pedal. The long tab makes it much easier to get your shoe into the clip, which is a particular concern with fixed-gear bikes since you can't hold the pedal still while you get your foot in place.

Except that the MKS UP lacks the pronounced cleat ridge at the rear. It is strictly meant for non-cleated shoes.

Having both, I can add that the MKS iteration also has a slightly wider contact area and longer spindle to better accommodate sneakers. Don't expect a significant weight difference between the two nonetheless.
You also dont have to wrestle for your life to thread toe straps through as you do with sylvans.

Single or double straps ?

Either but with the urban platform there's only 1 set of generously wide slots for straps although doubles run with no problem with the the toe clip bolts wedging them between the pedal body. The same case for the lyotards although there's a tighter squeeze at the outer end of the pedals because there's a screw on dust cap as opposed to the slimmer MKS's dustplug.

Thanks for all the input kids... In my case, I think that fish tail will help me, because I have always had a little trouble getting my feet in smoothly and efficiently, resulting in me not wanting to be strapped in, resulting in me looking like an idiot riding a bike on the road with gnarly, pinned shin grinders...

I think I will take a look at some Urban Platforms and see how they feel...

Again, you guys are the best.

Indeed. But it's likely that I'm one of only a very few people who still uses slotted cleats on the road.

Today I rode my vintage Ron Cooper and used my Sidi shoes with slotted cleats.