Oldguyonoldbike

Here's the link: https://bikecloset.com/product-categ...sories/pedals/
FWIW - My wife has these on her road bike and loves them. They're reasonably light and seem robust.

Broctoon

I like plastic pedals with steel pins for lots of applications. The Race Face Chester is a good example. They are definitely not junk.

On a 3-speed city bike that I do not ride hard, I have some all-plastic Bontrager pedals, with molded nubs for grip. Also not junk.

The reasons I like plastic: It's just as tough for anything short of extreme mountain biking, and it does not easily mar other surfaces or get scuffed itself. I sometimes lean my bike against a brick wall or lay it down in my truck bed or on a paved surface. Magnesium or aluminum, whether anodized or painted/powder coated, will easily sustain minor damage in these situations. Likewise if it happens to hit a rock or curb while riding. The plastic does not get damaged as easily. When it does, it's easier to repair, by simply dressing the scuff with a file or sandpaper.

50 years ago, you could make the claim that firearms must be made of metal, preferably steel, as plastic just doesn't have the necessary strength and toughness. Then Heckler and Koch make the first polymer pistol, followed by Glock, and now every major manufacturer. Tens of millions of guns with "plastic" frames are in use, with many advantages over metal ones, and yet some old codgers are still clinging to the claim that metal is the only way to go.

Of course, you're entitled to your preference. If metal is working better for you, go with it.

Headpost

EDIT: THIS IS NOT A VP-538! I APOLOGIZE FOR THE CONFUSION BUT KEEP READING TO AVOID MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE I DID!

I read this thread and then bought the VP-538 "Clem Smith" pedals. I don't like them at all. It seems to me that they've violated a basic design tenet of flat pedals, which is to keep the pedaling contact surface basically flat.




Look at this picture of a Vp-538. You see how the edges of the bearing rings stick out on both the inside and outside of the pedal? They stick out to about the same level as the end of the "pins," but since the pins penetrate into the soles of your sneaker or rubber-soled boot, one doesn't perceive them as part of the platform. What you do feel--what I feel--is those bulges for the bearings, and they keep me from putting my feet--especially my left foot, for whatever reason--where I want to.

THEY DRIVE ME CRAZY!!

Anyway, other people don't seem to have this problem, so maybe I'm strange or overly sensitive to this issue. I just thought I'd post my experience here for others.

Now I need to find some different pedals.

t2p

hmmm ... maybe consider a concave pedal - Xpedo Juvee (pictured above) or similar

ofajen

Interesting. They have changed in the last few years. Not sure my picture will do the job but the old one is pretty much flat all the way across, so this is not an issue on the previous version.




I checked, the Rivbike website still has pictures that look just like this pedal, so you should be able to see the differences.

https://www.rivbike.com/products/vp-538-black-pedal

Sorry this isn’t being shown as a link but just copy and paste, it will work.

Otto

ofajen

Where did this picture come from?

I just pulled photos from VP Components for the VP-538 and two similar pedals. Not clear to me you have the 538.

Headpost

Doh! My bad! I had no idea VP made so many different models that look so similar and I ordered the wrong one! (There was no model no. listed and I just ASSUMED.)

Well, maybe this thread will keep someone else from making the same mistake. Thanks so much for your help!

t2p

confirmed - no ‘hump’

ofajen

Yes, VP makes a lot of pedals that look similar. Sorry that one didn’t work out, I’ve had good success with the VP-538.

Otto

Headpost

All is better now. I ordered these actual VP-538's straight from Rivendell, and so far i like them a lot. I'm not used to having such prominent "pins" on a pedal, which make readjusting your foot while riding necessarily more of a deliberate act, but I think the advantages of a firm grip outweigh that and I will get used to it in time.



Thanks again for "bearing" with me.