Why Your Pedals Matter | Choosing The Right Mountain Bike Pedals

Pedals, people, one of the most important contact points out there, but just how important are they? Does it matter which ones you use? Today, folks, we're going to help you choose the right pedals for your bike next time you upgrade. Before we dive into pedals, I've got a little favor to ask. Well, we both have actually, and that's if you can like and subscribe to the channel and like this video, it helps us make great content just like this. Yes. Now, firstly, if you're new to mountain biking, welcome. We're going to kick things off with a few of the basics. A pedal is made up of a few essential components. You've got the axle running through the middle. A lot of them will have a body around the outside. You've got the actual clippy mechanism in the middle, of course, and you've got pins for grip. You can get ones at entry-level and you can get ones that literally the pros use at World Cup races. Yes. On top of that, you've got to take into account material. There are plastic or nylon-looking pedals and then solid metal pedals and even different versions of metals like the titanium ones you've got right there. It's well worth investigating what's what. Nylon pedal bodies help keep prices down, but they won't stand up to knocks the same way aluminum pedals do. If you're keen to save weight where you can, you can upgrade your axles from steel to titanium. It's much lighter, but it'll make your wallet much lighter too. Strength is also worth thinking about this. Horses for courses. Certain pedals are designed for certain disciplines. XC pedals will have a smaller pedal body or no pedal body at all. They're designed to save weight above all else. Enduro or downhill pedals will have a larger platform to give you extra support for when the going gets rough. This comes in handy if you need to dab your foot in a technical section as you can still get some grip from the pedal, even if you haven't clipped back in. Entry-level products can last for a long time. Obviously, maintenance is key, but some of the really high-performance products are designed with performance in mind. They have got parts which might wear out a little bit quicker, but with maintenance, both can last a long time. Have you been negligible to your pedals, need to upgrade or change? Well, here might be why. Have you seized your pedal bearings? Have you bent your pedal pin? Have you damaged your pedal body? Have you bent your pedal axle? Are you looking to build durability or shave some weight? Are you thinking of switching from flats to clips? Clips or clipless pedals are a pedal system that essentially attaches you to the bike via a mechanism both in the pedal and a cleat, which is on the bottom of your shoe. Being attached to your pedals, well, it sounds pretty sketchy, but there are some actual advantages. Stability and control can actually improve, which would be especially noticeable when the going gets rough. Have you ever had it on a set of flat pedals where your feet are jumping, skipping, and bouncing all over the place? Well, clips can actually eliminate that, giving you slightly better bike control, especially once you're more advanced into your riding, should we say. If you are thinking of switching to clips, though, it does take a little bit of learning. Perseverance is key. It does, of course, mean that you're going to have to switch out your shoe as well because a normal flat pedal shoe ain't going to clip into that kooky like coots. That's the whys, but what are the benefits? Well, improving control and grip when contacting the bike can obviously, in turn, improve your riding. Yes, basic pedals can get you so far that a pedal that's bigger, grippier, or maybe switching to clips can help a lot, but I say bigger pedals. I've only got little feet. Should I get bigger pedals? Well, let's dive into that. Now, a lot of manufacturers these days will make their flat pedals in various different sizes, normally a small and a large. For me, I've got size 10 feet, these big old Claude Hoppers here. Because of that, I run the larger pedal. It gives me a good solid platform and connection with the bike, so I feel like I've got plenty of stability and plenty of grip, but what if my feet were tiny? Little almost child fees like Owen. Whereas me with my little feet, the big pedals are a bit of a struggle. Why? Well, it's a really big pedal and I've got, well, relatively small feet and small socks. That means that the pedal just overwhelms my shoe and that means that I'm not getting as much traction as if I went for the small pedal. With the small, you get, well, more traction because your weight is spread over less surface area. It's grippier even though it's smaller. That's the different type of pedals out there. Remember, different manufacturers make similar or slightly different versions of these and trying before you buy is a really good thing to do because all the different systems can work slightly differently, hey, Owen? Yes, they can. I think it's really important to remember that, yes, choosing the right pedal for the style of riding you're doing, your confidence level, and also just the key bit is actually that, well, clips are just for kooks and you should ride flats. On that note, thank you very much for watching, everyone. Hope we helped you choose your pedals when it comes to upgrading. Until next time from, well, just me, I'll see you later.