UsedToBeFaster

Hi

My partner refuses to ride clipless due to an accident whilst riding with clips so she uses platform pedals. Can anyone recommend a platform pedal with a lot more grip than your typical pedals? They ride a hybrid road bike if that is important.

Thanks.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Raceface Chesters. They are pretty cheap, reasonably light and grip amazingly well. My wife uses them on her MTB and Road bike because she also refuses to ride clips...

JW in AK

I've got Crankbrothers Stamp 3 and Stamp 7 and they've got great grip. I've never slipped on them at all, rain or shine. Once you plant your foot, that's where it stays. They have a concavity to them that I find I like a bit better than the RF Chesters as I feel it cradles my foot a little more. The Stamp 2 also looks like a good alloy pedal and the Stamp 1 (composite) is probably their equivalent to the Chester.

canklecat

iSSi Thump. I've had a pair on my favorite hybrid for just over a year, lots of rides. I like 'em. Big enough even with my old Herman Survivor winter boots. Slightly concave surface, very comfy. Grippy without tearing up my soft soled summer shoes. I got the version with molded pins rather than replaceable steel pins, since I'm not a serious off-roader. I ride about 25% gravel-lite on that bike, the groomed chat trails along the MUP.

The right pedal recently developed a slight thunk but doesn't feel loose when I shake it unweighted. iSSi says their pedals are user serviceable, so I'll tackle it myself.

Stolen Brand Thermolite pedals are a bargain at around $15. A pair lasted me two years, lots of riding. They don't appear to be user serviceable, at least not easily. They're built for BMXers and probably not expected to survive a full year or last long enough to wear out. But at that price they were terrific for a couple of years. They still spin freely, but a bit loosey goosey now. I was a little worried about them just falling apart so I retired them. I'll probably move them to my heavy errand bike for short trips.

Gconan

Expensive but worth it. Pedaling innovations catalyst pedal.

billyymc

Lots of options for decent platform pedals with pins. Chesters are kind of a default - they're fine and reasonably priced. I prefer Crank Brothers 5050 that I have on my mountain bike over the chesters that I moved to my single speed.

BUT - one important thing is the shoes! For me good shoes, and specifically 5.10 brand bike shoes, make all the difference. Good shoes to pair with platform pedals will have soft-ish soles and be reasonably wide to provide more grip surface.

PoorInRichfield

Food for thought...

Grippy platform pedals, like the Raceface Chesters and just about every other brands pedals, use little metal posts that dig into the sole of your shoes for grip. Be warned that if your foot somehow does slip off the pedal, those same metal posts will be more than happy to dig into your shins as well. I grew-up riding BMX bikes and bloody shins used to be the norm as we had pedals called "bear traps" that were grippy but not so friendly when one's foot did come off the pedal.

noodle soup

+1

I've seen countless bloodied shins and calves at the shop, just from people test riding a bike in the parking lot. Most never slipped a pedal, but the pins contacted the rider's leg while getting ready to push off.

taco2ewsday

I still have scars from Bear trap pedals

Gundo

I have Shimano XT 8040 pedals and the scars on my legs that go with them. Very grippy pedals with 2 sets of pins to adjust the grip to suit you.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Yep. My wife went OTB last week on her MTB and the Chesters did some shin damage...

UsedToBeFaster

I think most of you are talking about MTB riding but for road riding how would you get hit in the shin?

noodle soup not sure what you mean below. You mean they push off with the left leg and their right shin gets hit? Is that what you mean.

noodle soup

I'm talking about people that are going from standing over the bike, with both feet on the ground, and rotating the crank backwards to get them to their normal starting position.

It's not a common occurrence for avid cyclists, but casual cyclists do some weird stuff when starting to ride off.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

The Chesters have been known to take skin sitting in the garage if you get too close to the bike...They are pretty sharp...

mack_turtle

I have been enjoying the issi thump pedals on my mountain bike for several months now. they have a generous surface area but they are not gigantic. not very expensive, lots of adjustable grip, pretty lightweight.

tyrion

Lots of good plastic pedals with screw-in pins for grip (Race Face Chester, Crank Bros Stamp) but be be aware of the sizes of the pedals. Race Face Chester is too small for my big foot.

coffeecherrypie

Rivendell was pushing VP's Vice pedals (you can find them on Amazon) a while back. I have them on my do-everything bike and really like them. Very thin, very grippy. Almost feel like I could put them on my road bike and be happy.

What shoe does your partner intend on using? I looked once out of curiosity and didn't see anyone making shoes made for road riding with platform pedals. Ideally one would want lightweight with a stiff sole, I think. I once wore extremely flexibly-soled running shoes on a long ride on my commuter and tweaked something in my foot that bothers me to this day.

canklecat

I managed to bark my shin the first ride with iSSi Thumps, because of a bad habit I'd developed. When my pedal wasn't in my preferred position I'd kick it backward and stop it with my shoe when it was in position. Not a problem with my road bike and relatively small clipless pedals.

First time I did that with the iSSi Thumps I forgot how much wider it was. Instead of stopping the pedal with my right foot, it caught my left shin.

Despite having been out of the Navy for 30+ years, I can still do some mighty fine cussing.

Fortunately the Thumps have molded plastic pins, so it took only two weeks for the gouges to heal.

philbob57

Oh, my. I never thought that shins were at risk. My DMR V12s always hit me in a calf. Mine draw blood once every 1,000-1,500 miles.

I agree on the shoes. Five Ten is the brand that springs to my mind, but there are other brands that work. I just can't think of their names....

I suggest setting a budget and deciding on a size - lots of brands and models have their partisans. My V12s are great for my feet; I think my w would want a smaller pedal, if she rode.

Kapusta

My wife and a few riding friends who are moving away from clipless have been really happy with the Kona Wha Wha 2. Massive platform, massive grip, i have a set of Chromag Synth pedals that I like on my road bike.

After a few rides on a set of Diety TMACs on an MTB and am blown away by them. I may get a set of the more affordable but similar Deity Deftrap for my road bike.

After 24 years, I may be largely done with clipless.

Kapusta

I have no idea how someone manages to slip off a quality, steel-pinned pedal while road riding. Maybe riding in bowling shoes?

If someone is that much of a floundering clutz, they definitely should not be clipping. In.

basscadet

I'm putting flat pedals on my bike after 3 days of riding a rental bike that had some ISSI's installed. The ability to shift my foot around and be more agile on the bike more than makes up for any convenience of being clipped-in. My foot never once slipped off the pedal, I was getting all the power down I needed. Plus I could wear shoes that don't make me look like a dork. I'm sold.

JS41989

I used Specialized Bennies before I went clip less. I’d recommend them or RF Chesters.

mikedk13

I use half-clips on some smooth pedals (MKS GR9's on one bike and Wellgo Tracks on the other). I don't usually ride when it's wet out, but the clips hold my feet pretty well, without having my feet completely locked in.

Mojo31

I have RaceFace AEffect pedals on my Sirrus 4.0, and wear a Pear Izumi X-AlpFlow shoe that has a very stiff sole under the ball of the foot. They stick to the pedals very well, and do a good job of transmitting energy to the pedal.

An example of a women’s shoe that can be used with flats: https://www.pearlizumi.com/US/en/sho...dio/p/15282005

Flats with metal pins come in two varieties - those with exposed threads (Chesters) and those with smooth pins (AEffect). The ones with exposed threads seem to do more slice and dice damage.