Is One Flat Pedal Really Any Better Than Another?
 

The pedals that came with my bike (Raleigh Hybrid) are these SPD (?) Pedals. The seller referred to them as mountain bike pedals. One side is for clipless and theoretically the other side is flat. Problem is, about half the time, the pedals are wrong side up and I have to fool with them to flip them with my foot. That's problematic in the city with traffic, say, at a light.

I was going to buy the same Walmart cheapies that I bought before but I got a couple unsolicited negative comments on here (can ya believe it?) about them. I don't care about the negativity, but I was wondering if, other than aesthetics and negligible weight differences, does it really matter whether I get $12 Walmarts or $40 Rock Bros flat pedals?

Nope. If you don’t care about quality materials, bearings and construction, it doesn’t matter.

The Walmart pedals will do, just make sure you’re prepared to replace them every few weeks when they break.

Yes one flat pedal is better than another. As smd4 said you have materials and construction and of course bearings which are extremely important. You can go for cheap pedals and they will be cheap pedals in all senses. If you don't care then you don't care but quality pedals will last longer and spin better and be more comfortable. A nice flat pedal will have good grip and hopefully a nice comfortable platform that supports your foot.

In terms of Rock "Bros" they make fake and knockoff products under a knockoff name (taken from Crank Brothers) they are not of quality and not something I would ever support in any way shape or form.

If you want good but cheap pedals Race Face Chesters and Crank Brothers Stamp 1s are good options. If you like loose ball stuff MKS makes some excellent pedals I love the Gammas or if you don't want grip pins the Lambdas. If you want my top favorites Crank Brothers Stamp 7s are fantastic, good wide body, excellent bearings and bushings and they look good.

A cheap plastic pedal is slippery when wet. If your foot slips off it hurts like a mutha.

If you get a pedal with metal pins to grip your shoe, you’re way less likely to ever slip off. Yeah, it’ll really hurt if you slip off those, but in my experience, it just doesn’t happen.

There are loads of quality sub $50 pedals with metal pins. Look at those.

As stated already, yes, there's a big difference. You don't necessarily gotta spend $150 bucks, but generic, no-name pedals won't hold up long, and just aren't worth the hassle or the "savings".
I can also vouch for the Race Face Chester's , or even the slightly cheaper version without the little pins (I forget what they're called).
I found the pins were chewing up my tennis shoes, so I'd screw them down into the pedal, and haven't missed them, and have since ordered a set without the pins.
Anyway, my Chester's have been running for a few years, bounced aroun between several bikes, and are still smooth and solid. It's been a little while, but I paid a little under $40 each, IIRC.

In our shop we saw plenty of Rock Bros pedals come through with bushing failure or body failure. They are not at all suited for mountain biking as they are not sturdy enough for that use. For commuting on the cheap side one can do better than Rock Bros. Try Wellgo. We used them in the shop without any real issues. They should go a good number of years in commuter mode.

For those dual platform pedals, check out Mini clips. they are like a straped toe clip without the strap. they will orient the pedal correctly. but you will have to remove them to go spd.

dunno exactly what you have. here is an example. for these you wpould remove the spd part and add the toe clips. simple as that
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e24627927c.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e2572758d7.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6e4c995085.jpg

The Walmart pedals I've been on don't really hold your feet very well, especially when wet. The $45 Rock Bros pedals I saw in Google search have metal pins, which I don't care for either, they can really gouge your shins/calves.

Odyssey Twisted and Cult Daks are two of my favorite flat pedals. Usually about $20.

I'm very happy with the apparent high quality of these Shimano pedals. Good colour choices too.

U.S. pricing would be maybe 2/3 ( or less ? ) of what's shown here.

Shimano PD-EF205 Flat Platform Pedal - bikes.com.au

Spotlight: Shimano PD-EF202 and EF205 casual flat pedals review - Velo (outsideonline.com)

This is what I would do. I’ve never tried to remove a SPD mechanism before, but it appears a Phillips screwdriver will do it.

John

Better in which way?

Two pairs from a local bicycle shop and I don't recall the brands. First pair broke after two years. The replacement pedals purchased without research from the local bike shop during 2020 pandemic shortages were way too expensive and very solid but they have the metal pins that really hold my shoes. On the other hand the pins destroyed my shoe soles.

I second this recommendation (I intended to in my earlier post but couldn't manage to recall WELLGO)
Anyway, Ive run basic, low-end Wellgos on several bikes over the years, and never had a problem.

While the pins destroy my shoe soles also, I will sacrifice shoes (usually Sketchers or Avias) to avoid feet slipping off the pedal. When I MTBed I also wanted pedals that the dirt and mud could fall through and not build up on. Despite everyone screaming bad things about them, I really like the RockBros 4 bearing pedals. In fact, I like them so much I ditched the SPD's and put them on my road bikes. They're alloy with 4 shim style bearings and 16 replaceable pins per pedal. They run about 25 bucks/pair now and I've not had a problem with one yet after almost 5 years of hard use between MTBing and Road use @7000 miles/year.

Who knows - you might get lucky with the cheapo pedals and find a pair that really work out. The safe bet is to spend about 30-40 bucks, get a decent set, and be done with it. Another workable and free option is to keep stealing pedals from garbage bikes. I just got tired of the "free" route myself and bought a pair of "Chester" pedals. They say Chester right on them, which is cool because my youngest son is named Chester and one day they will be his.

Well...I put a couple hundred miles on the Walmarts and my foot never slipped. Can't say that about the pedals I have now. To your point, I did break a piece off scraping into a turn when I forgot to keep the pedals at 9 and 3 o'clock but they were very much usable. They don't have those screws poking up to keep my feet on them but they have those serated teeth on the sides that work ok and don't chew up my shoes.
They turn fine and I guess when too.kucj finally breaks off I'll just get new ones and still be ahead.

I would not sweat the inexpensive platform pedals.
Who cares if they blow up in a year or two and you have to spend another $20, not a big deal for most people.
I have larger feet so I prefer a pedal with a larger platform to support more of my foot. That makes a big difference for me.
I use skate shoes when I ride with platform pedals and the pins do not seem to affect the bottoms of the shoes at all.
My latest platform pedal is the MKS Lambda EZY.
They are a quick release model for my Bike Friday. (They also make a standard model)
They have raised dimples instead of pins. Traction has not been an issue.
I like them a lot, smooth, seem to be well built and look pretty sharp.

I always buy the best components I can. In cycling, you pretty much get what you pay for. It’s not a cheap hobby/sport, but there will always be those folks who think it is.

Billions of people around the world ride on plastic pedals just fine.

Expensive pedals have sealed bearings that will stay smooth for longer and may have metal pins that improve grip. Neither is a big deal.

I have Hope F20 pedals on two bikes one of which has done around 10,000 miles without a problem, fully serviceable with re-build kits available including replacement pins, top quality made in Yorkshire and about £120 or $150 for the latest model, they even make replacement spindles in titanium if you want to spend more money.

Run what you like. I find it easier to get hamstring engagement with flat pedals that have set screws/metal pins, but YMMV. For commuting I use whatever is in my spare parts drawer.

I am a bit of a clipless heretic. I ride only flats. If you shop Amazon, check out Venzo multiuse pedals. Flat on one side with studs for grip, and the other side has SPD compatible clip system. I have them on both my tri bikes. I have just removed the SPD system since I never clip in, just to save that tiny bit of weight. They have a pretty small platform, smaller than the typical MTB platform. Price is <$50 and seem to be well made (not Chinesium, yay!).

I like a larger platform to support my feet better. I don’t remember the brand, but they are pinned and seem to be holding up quite well so far - put them on six or eight months ago, replaced the wellgos and have been much happier with the larger pedal. Using Adidas5/10 Freerider shoes for workouts and event rides, and the pins do mark the soles, but haven’t torn them up. Commuting to work (very short distance) I just use whatever shoes I’m going to wear at work.

No, I prefer having another, much easier to pedal with two. :innocent: