freckles

Has anyone tried the MKS Allways pedals for touring?


I am trying to decide on a quick release pedal for my folding touring bicycle. I wear size 6.5-7 (women's) shoe and plan to wear regular shoes/sandals/occasional hiking shoes.

Never tried clipless or cages before, platform only.


Deciding between the MKS ezy superior Allways, Lambdas or Urban with 1/2 cage.


Allyways and Lambdas are wide and long platforms with pins.


Lambdas is cone/cup bearings- big pedal!


Allways has triple sealed bearings, spins really well and a big pedal too!


Urban isn't a large pedal, has large rear tongue to flip pedal, has triple sealed bearings too. the cage/clips come standard and deep. the toe clip seems to work for smaller/slimmer shoes and cage clip takes boxier shoes?


do love the look of the urban with 1/2 cage/clip- looks like it would be easy to place/remove feet without feeling locked in, could still adjust feet a bit but prevents it from slipping off pedal?


i'm undecided which to get! all are expensive- will run about $90 for urban/clip or allways, lambdas about $70. would love to buy all but can afford only 1!

DanBell

I have Lambdas on my touring bike now and while I have done a large number of kilometers on them I can't say I would recommend them. The large platform is nice for sure but they are very slippery pedals, and I say that having tried them with lots of different kinds of shoes from hard to soft soles, smooth to chunky tread. I have gotten used to the slipperiness but I still don't like it and would prefer something with more grip. Interestingly Rivendell who designed the Lambdas and sell them under the laughably inaccurate Grip King moniker also sell a screw set for them to address this issue.

I've also used the Urbans with clips and straps and I really like them. I had them on my touring bike previously and they are currently on my single speed commuter. The issue with cages is they do limit the shoes you can wear with them due to being too small. This may or may not be an issue for you depending on what you want to wear to ride, and you can get large cages (from Soma, for example). They will also mark up your shoes. The little half cages with leather protector sleeves on them help with this though.

And finally while the EZ system seems great in practice, in reality is hard to use even when it's new, and given that it exists on a part of the bike that gets a lot of crud splashed all over it, it only gets harder to use over time. I bought my EZ Urbans several years ago though, so it's possible the design has been improved since the ones I bought.

pakeboi

I didn't like the MKS Always on my Brompton folding or 20" wheel Moulton travel bike but love them on my 700c eBike .
On my Brompton I like and run MKS Promenade EZY .
And on my Moulton I like and run MKS Sylvain Touring Next EZY Superior .
I prefer EZY to EZY Superior but the Sylvain are not available in EZY .
The EZY are easier to put on and take off .
I didn't like the Promenade on the Moulton .
I didn't like the Sylvain on the Brompton .

MKS Sylvain Touring Next EZY Superior

staehpj1

Just me but half clips always seemed to have none of the advantages of clips and some of the disadvantages. Kind of the worst of both worlds IMO. Some people like them, but after trying them I really don't get it. It has been many years since I used toe clips, but when I did I only found them worthwhile when it was full clips with straps. Ultimately I found clipless pedals so much better that I gave up on toe clips long ago.

I prefer to just wear spd bike shoes and use clipless pedals on tour, but on an around town beater I use simple cages or cages on one side and spd on the other (Shimano M324). The pedals on the around town beater allow for a variety of shoes and make sense since I am likely to hop on the bike for short errands. On tour I am on the bike pretty much all day every day so dedicated bike shoes make sense and walking around or hiking is a secondary function. I didn't really like the M324's for touring since I never wanted to use the platform side when on tour and it was a tiny bit of extra effort to find the right side when starting out. They are a good answer for some folks though.

Since you seem to want a big platform, it sounds like the Always or Lambda would work for a variety of footwear and may be the right answer for you. I'd skip the Urban and stay with one of those.

pakeboi

I suggest posting your inquiry to the Folding Bikes forum as you state your touring bicycle is a folder .
The point I was trying to express in my prior post is that pedals can run differently on different sized bikes .

Tourist in MSN

Agree with Pakeboi, the folding forum would have more users that are familiar with a quick release pedal like the MKS Ezy pedals.
https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bikes/

I do not recall which pedals I use on my folder, but they are Ezy ones that work well with toe clips and straps.

freckles

pakeboi,

thank you for responding especially since you have experience with folding bicycles!

can you describe why you like certain pedals on one folder but not on another folder? is it 16" vs 18" wheels or the riding style- upright touring vs forward/racing or mountain biking?

I hadn't considered the pedals you mentioned but maybe i should? looking for a comfortable stable pedal on my Bike Friday folder that can take walking/sandals/light hiking kind of shoes and be stable to pedal for touring. i will be in a more upright/touring position.

pakeboi

Yes , it has to do with size of the bike , geometry , and riding position .
Also keep in mind your foot size . If your smaller , the promenade ezy could work for you .
Where are you located ; where did you buy the Bike Friday ?
Maybe discussing and buying the pedals from your LBS would be worth the additional cost if there is one .


MKS Promenade Ezy

https://www.mkspedal.com/?q=en/product/node/60

MKS Promenade EZSY are among the curated selection of pedals offered in Bike Friday's web store .(I've seen them for much less from other vendors on the net )

https://store.bikefriday.com/product...oducts_id=8149

freckles

i'm located in los angeles and bought the NWT from BF but i haven't received the bike yet.

plan to buy pedals/lights and other accessories online from germany/ebay.
starbike has good prices for a few MKS ezy superior models including the lambda and allways which was why i was considering them...

pakeboi

Well , the logical place to discuss pedal options I think is BF ; there may be a good reason why they offer the MKS Promenade EZY and not the ones your considering .
MKS pedals are made in Japan .
You may want to check ebay for a seller from there .

pakeboi

... it may have to do with size and weight and fitting the BF into their suitcase .

staehpj1

When I first responded I didn't pick up on the fact that the OP was planning on using the pedals on a folding bike. The MKS Ezy line is definitely something to consider given their easy removal. Really wide platforms like the Always or Lambda might be a big hassle when folding size is an issue. You'd likely often find them in the way and need to remove them with a pedal wrench. The tool-less removal feature of the Ezy line sounds like a big plus on a folding bike and they come in a variety of styles.

I have no first hand experience with the MKS Ezy line, but it looks like a great way to go. If it was me I'd either decide I could get by with a very small pedal or go with a removable MKS model.

There are folding pedals on the market, but the ones I have seen and used were pretty marginal at best.

Rob_E

I have a set of quick-release MKS pedals on my folder. They've been trouble-free since I've had them, but I've only done minimal, credit-card touring and very infrequent commuting on that bike. It's basically my back-up or travel bike, so it gets low miles. I may have the Promenade or something similar. I can't remember the model. I had the non-EZY Lambda on my full-sized bike for a while. I really loved the full foot support, but, as has been said, they don't grip very well. Also I needed to regrease the bearings at some point and had a terrible time getting them adjusted properly when I tried to reassemble them. No doubt someone else with more patience or the right tools could have done fine, but for me it was the beginning of moving on to another set of pedals. The Promenade or whatever similar pedal I'm running now has plenty of grip, and I prefer it to the Lambda for that reason, but I can definitely see the appear of the wider Lambda combined with the grippier screw set that DanBell mentioned.

Also, when I got my folding bike, it came with some folding pedals that I don't remember the name of. They didn't last long at all, and were shortly replaced with the MKS set. For ease-of-use, I prefer folding pedals to removable, but ease-of-use doesn't count for much if the pedals aren't durable, and for that reason, I've been very happy with the MKS quick-release set that I used to replace my broken, folding pedals. I think they're a good choice, whichever style of pedal you end up with.

pakeboi

I test rode a Rivendell Homer Hilsen that had the Lambdas , didn't like them ; too big . ( I wear size 9 Converse All Star )
Another issue with any pedal are the pins .
Being that I sometimes wear my Converse , I removed all the pins I could from my Allways EZY Superior .
I don't have any slipping issue .

sleepycactus

MKS allways pedals have worked well for me. I was skeptical about the twisting mechanism for removing the pedals, thinking it would get gummed up and hard to operate after a muddy trail ride. Even when muddy- no problem to remove. The wide platform is grippy enough, allowing me to push forward and back, along with the usual downstroke. On narrow trail sections where I needed to walk it’s really nice to remove both pedals so they don’t hit my shins.

After about 10k miles- no bearing play or any issues at all.

freckles

ended up asking at BF about their selection of MKS pedals- was told it wasn't a specific reason or that they are the best option for BF bikes.

freckles

i couldn't get over how they looked and decided to get the allways too!

freckles

thats great to hear that they are easy to remove! i ended up going with the EZY Superior Allways