Flat Pedals! Leaning towards Canfield

Erik H

Erik H

Member
Hey all! I'm looking to start with flat pedals on my upcoming hard tail build. A lot of its life will be as a BOB trailer hauler and it definitely is easier to handle on flats when pedaling in hiking boots for trail work.

I was leaning towards the Canfield stuff as I loved their EPO frame and figure there stuff is very well built. A shop I visited yesterday told me they have had a fair amount of broken flat pedals and bad bearings and they recommended I get some recommendations.

Thoughts from you flat pedal fans? I've been on SPDs most of my life and love how the bearings are super easy to press in new grease and maintain. I'm a big fan of long living parts and being able to maintain stuff myself.

Canfield-Brothers-Crampon-Mountain-Set.jpg
 
I almost always use my XT SPD pedals but for most bikepacking and trailwork, I use

https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/gu...d/Boomslang,15705#product-reviews/2040/expand

These things are super grippy-they even get a hold of my Chaco sandals when I commute
The biggest drawback is the $180 price tag! I got a screaming deal on some lime-green ones that Specialized were blowing out last year sometime.
Best flats I have ever ridden on, but, I do almost all of my riding on SPD so YMMV.
I'm sure plenty of others will chime in with their choices....
 
DMR Vaults or the V12 Mag 2.0 are my goto. I have some of of the older V12 pedals that still roll smooth and havent been serviced in almost 7 years. My other pick would be the Shimano Saints, heavy but reliable as well.
 
Erik H - MWBA said:
Thoughts from you flat pedal fans?
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I DON'T recommend Spike Spanks. Had 2 sets. After a year it seems they require a lot of maintenance to keep them noise free and turning smoothly. Although to be fair, the box comes with a nice exploded diagram allowing you to work on them and see where everything goes. Also had some Kona Wah-wah pedals. One required a rebuild after 6 months. Rebuild kit is kinda expensive (in proportion to the cost of the pedals themselves), can be ordered direct from the Kona website if you wanna go that route. Currently using Crank Bros Stamp (large) pedals. They're pretty big, and I love 'em! Got mine from ebay for just under $80, free shipping, so was happy with the price - but also happy with their performance. I like them so much I'll be putting them on my next bike as well...
 
kioti said:
I got some RF Chesters for the same reason and am totally happy with them. Light, cheap, lots of color choices and supposedly serviceable. Not subjecting them to heavy use, just riding to trail work sites, so I don't need them to be bulletproof.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EONZSAA/?tag=imtbtrails-20
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I have Race Face Chesters also and I pound on them. $60 bucks and they are among the lightest of all flat pedals.
 
If I was buying trail bike flats today it would be Gamut Podium or Crampons. Gamut sells rebuild kits for the Podium, including the older Point1 Podium. The outboard side of the Podium has three small bearings in it – incredible durability compared to other very thin pedals, which may even have bushings in lieu of bearings. They retained that bearing config in the updated Podium.

DMR does make some indestructible pedals; for less than super thin design I love the Mag v12. I've run the v1 and 2 v12 on bikepacking missions and go to this pedal when reliability is paramount. For technical downhill they are hard to differentiate from my favorite thin pedals.
 
mike said:
If I was buying trail bike flats today it would be Gamut Podium or Crampons. Gamut sells rebuild kits for the Podium, including the older Point1 Podium. The outboard side of the Podium has three small bearings in it – incredible durability compared to other very thin pedals, which may even have bushings in lieu of bearings. They retained that bearing config in the updated Podium.

DMR does make some indestructible pedals; for less than super thin design I love the Mag v12. I've run the v1 and 2 v12 on bikepacking missions and go to this pedal when reliability is paramount. For technical downhill they are hard to differentiate from my favorite thin pedals.
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Have you seen the second gen V12, it has been thinned down quite a bit, pretty much on par with any pedal around the $70 price range.
 
riiz said:
Have you seen the second gen V12, it has been thinned down quite a bit, pretty much on par with any pedal around the $70 price range.
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Yep, as I wrote I own a pair and have used them extensively. Incredible value, bomb proof. Works very well for all technical uses, but less than fantastic on technical uphill (as any flat that's not ultra-thin would be).
 
Lots of people like HT for how thin they are. But every bike I have ever seen with used HT’s on tend to be super loose worn out bushings with tons of play.

I have not used the Canfield's but they look sick.

I am using Diety T-mac and love them and would pay near double. They fit my size 13 shoes great
 
Erik H - MWBA said:
Thicker flat pedals on technical uphill suck because they have a higher chance of pedal strike?
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Erik, I don't doubt that could be a factor. For whatever uphill technique I have, I can roll a pedal when things get really rough. Just a couple mms makes a big diff talking about the platform distance from the spindle center, and the likelihood of rolling over a pedal when the uphill riding gets bouncy, ratchet pedaling, etc. I think most flats riders recognize this, and thus put up with tiny bearings or bushings that wear out faster than a beefy bearing on the outside like the Mag V12 has. :geek:
 
I’m in the same boat. I’ve never used flat pedals (other than when I was a kid).

A bike I bought a couple years ago had the Loaded AMX pedals on it. I just threw em in a drawer. I’m gonna pull em out and give it a try tomorrow.
 
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Ricekrispyota said:
I’m in the same boat. I’ve never used flat pedals (other than when I was a kid).

A bike I bought a couple years ago had the Loaded pedals on it. I just threw em in a drawer. I’m gonna pull em out and give it a try tomorrow.
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I had Loaded pedals. One bearing seized and the other got sloppy within the first five rides. Pieces of crap IMO. One of many reasons I am not a fan of Ellsworth.

I hope yours are better.
 
I got some Cromag Contacts. Expensive but seem to be excellent quality... little thick think I might go with something thinner next time. But not sure when next time will be as I suspect these are going to last a long time.
 
Spank Oozys are pretty good, but there is a little baby bird chirping in the bushes as I pedal uphill. Plastic outboard bushing is the culprit. Other than that, no problem. Easton Fatboy on my other bike. Beat the shite of them and they are still good to go. Clunky, but fit my 12 4e flippers.
 
A buddy of mine has the OneUp aluminum pedals. He’s had them since September. A couple days ago, he felt a clunking in the pedal. Pulled them apart today and found this:
CD6D581C-FEF3-4477-BB2E-7EEB297A7989.jpeg

Those are bearings embedded in the pedal shaft.
3A9DC68D-6E9C-44A0-AB4A-E10998E4AEAD.jpeg

57134C64-EBC1-41CC-9286-189E105CD549.jpeg

This is what the bearing should look like:
D8E7FE24-A6E2-4B5B-A7EC-65B2739FD50B.jpeg
 
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I had the original and version 2 crampons. Both developed bearing play disappointingly soon. In fact most pedals I've tried have suffered the same fate...spank oozy, HT, can't recall the others. I ordered kits for the crampons but have never gotten around to installing them. Currently running Loaded pedals I got as a trail day prize. So far so good, but they always seemed to have QC issues so I'm not holding out hope. Might have to check out the Gamuts Mike recommended.
 
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