Submitted by
panspermian man
a Weekend Warrior
from Warrington,UK
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2011
Strengths: Lightweight
Weaknesses: Build quality
Bottom Line:
Developed play first ride, Broke on second looked inside and the bearings were destroyed.
The bearing are tiny, about 4mm. On a freeride product?
Now i do stomp on my pedals and have killed them before and snapped cranks, but after 2nd ride... ridiculous avoid at all costs. If they come on your bike as standard throw them away before they let you down in the boonies. Buy some shimano deores for £20 at least they wont let you down.
Submitted by
dustin0617
a Cross Country Rider
from Mpls, MN
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2010
Strengths: Easy out.
Weaknesses: Sheared one of the spindles off on some rocky terrain. Customer Service said it'd be ten weeks to get the pedal back...WHAT? Ten weeks? How about you spend those ten weeks re-engineering a better pedal than does bust when you are riding rocky terrain.
Bottom Line:
I ride CRank Bros on my road bike and like them their, but this Apple Co wannabe should be in the off-road market. Their pedals aren't well-thought out for the trails. We ride where rocks are, large rocks, and pedal strike happen. The pedal shouldn't have half it's functionality rendered useless by a silly little pedal strike. Re-engineer your stuff or leave up to Time & Shimano. Booooo CRank Bros. Acids!
Submitted by
Gerry
a Downhiller
from Ladera Ranch, CA
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2010
Strengths: Nice looks and the size of the platform is pretty good.
Weaknesses: This is the second set of Acid pedals I have owned and had nothing but problems with the first set. The spindle busted and took them back to CB and they were really cool about it and fixed them for me no charge. 2 months later it happened again and they had the nerve to tell me that I needed to rebuild them every 4-6 months, I told them that they just rebuilt them 2 months ago and they shut up and did it again. After that point my left foot would always pop out on the technical or fast, rough descents. Not a nice feeling when it happens. On my last ride the pedal busted again, took them back and asked to talk to a manager and I get the warehouse guy, I explain the situation and he basically wanted me to pay for a rebuild. I told him that with all the issues I've had he should be kicking down a new pair, standoff ensued and he finally took them back and "fixed" them again. In the meantime I get a "deal" on a brand new set of acid 2 so I get them, first ride left foot pops out on the rock section of rockit... DONE, these things BLOW. Everyone knows that they have an issue with their crap... how about fixing it damn it!
Bottom Line:
These things BLOW, more worried about looking cool rather than actually making a product that works AND is reliable. Heard Shimano is coming out with a new platform pedal soon...
Submitted by
bpressnall
a Cross Country Rider
from Pinecrest, CA
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2009
Strengths: Although it has a moderate platform, it's actually lighter than the shimano's without platforms. Compared to Shimano, easier entry, easier exit, yet less "prereleases". Beat 'em hard on the rocks, but other than scratched paint, no damage.
Weaknesses: cost, but probably worth it in the long run. I was concerned about bending the "eggbeater" part on rocks, but so far no problems.
Bottom Line:
This pedal seems to be in a class by itself. No other pedal offers a clipless platform at this weight (327 grams). Great "all mountain" style pedal.
Submitted by
mrjoshuanyc
a Cross Country Rider
from NY
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2009
Strengths: Easy in and out
Weaknesses: Durability,customer service, oh did I mention durability
Bottom Line:
Don't buy anything from this company as they charge you for warranty service. We ride bikes, we hit stuff, our equipment is design to take a few hits without breaking but not this brand. Garbage! Absolute garbage. Spread the word please.
Strengths: Shed mud like a wet dog, Light weight, Platform allows for pedaling without clipping in (handy in rough conditions)
Weaknesses: Questionable durability, No grips/pins on platform
Bottom Line:
I had high expectations when I saw the Crank Brothers Acid series for sale online, as I'd been an early believer in the suitability of platform clipless pedals for all mountain riding, and have owned a pair of Shimano 545 pedals since 1998. The Acids seemed like they would weigh less and have the great design of Crank Brothers.
I used them in two epic big mountain events, the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure race in early May, and the West Virginia Wild 100 as well as all the training for these events. The pedals provided more leverage than the Egg Beaters, and were easier for my feet to find in rough, wet conditions. Unfortunately, 6-months after purchase - during a hometown race I had really been looking forward to - one of the Acid pedals came apart less than a mile into a +20-mile race. I finished, but only by stopping repeatedly, finding the pedal when it fell off, and riding with limited aggressiveness so that I could keep my pedal on the spindle.
Crank Brothers did rebuild the pedal for free when I sent it back, and the Acids are back on the bike. However, I didn't trust them to stick together during the first epic event after their return, the 40+ mile 2009 Middle Mountain Momma. This summer I will ride them as I train for the West Virginia Wild 100. What did I ride while the Acid's were M.I.A.? My ten-year old Shimano 545's. Still going strong after 100's of hours of use and three gonzo-abusive trips to Moab.
BIGMOUNTAINRIDING.COM UPDATE - One of the spring mechanisms on the pedals is not rotating freely. They may fall apart on me again! Final verdict: Save up an extra few bones and buy the Shimanos, or maybe the heavier-duty Crank Bro's Mallets if you will be riding in grimy conditions.
Strengths: 1)Sheds mud like it's being paid to do it.
2)Cheap rebuild kits*
3)Good looks, no play
4)Easy in, easy out(when you want to)
Weaknesses: I felt resistance for about a turn or two in needle bearings after a wet ride with maybe about 2 months of hard use. This started to happen more often, but went away after a quick spin of the pedal
Bottom Line:
Not sure why they put the composite layer in the pedal.. I guess it looks cool and raises the price point. I dig it.
Good platform if you have to dab a foot. I feel almost as comfortable riding these unclipped as i do on flats.
Just put first rebuild kit after a year. Went out for a ride and the resistance I spoke of earlier just wouldn't go away. Happened without 'warning' so keep a spare kit around too.
Needle bearings are a witch to get out. CB must have the perfect touch if they can get them out with screwdrivers. Go to a hardware store and pick out the perfect bearing puller.
I clean out my BB shell pretty often (once a month or so). This time I'm going to clean/regrease the needles just as often.
Yeah they are probably better suited for a drier climate, but when they good they are good. I'd like to see the double seal as seen in the mallets implemented here too.
Submitted by
ChickenParmSub
a Cross Country Rider
from Vermont
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2009
Strengths: Personally, I found the Crank Brothers clipless pedal design easier to exit than SPDs. I also liked that the Acids had a wider platform so you could ride sketchy stuff unclipped.
Weaknesses: Only thing I can think of is that the paint coating on the platform is falling off, which may be an issue for some people. Doesn't bother me a bit.
Bottom Line:
Very "exitable" clips with mid-size platform, if you dont want the huge DH clips and dont want egg beaters, these are perfect.
Submitted by
pawelw
a Weekend Warrior
from Szczecin, Poland
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2009
Strengths: clip-in/out mechanism design, weight
Weaknesses: Sealing is really close to none - one long wet ride was enough for needle bearing to get rusted. Interestingly, old Mallet C has internal seal in addition to outer seal but Acid (and new Mallet) has none! It is really bad engineering, bad design. In addition to that, bearings and bushings (yes, plastic! in Mallet C) are very poor quality and are worn early.
Bottom Line:
I like those pedals (when they work) so I keep rebuilding and riding them but I am tired of rebuilding my pedals every few months. It is good rebuild kit is available and you can do it yourself but please, they need it far to often!
It seems CB is more focused on marketing and flashy colors than on good engineering. To CB engineers - please look at Chris King and learn, learn, learn - price-wise you are almost there but that is not enough at all, at all...
Weaknesses: bend easy, release when you hit a rock
Bottom Line:
This is an update to a review from awhile back.
Just after I posted my review I hit a rock and bent the spindle. It wasn't even a hard hit, just pedaled through a rockgarden and kept right on going but it destroyed the pedal, I was pretty disappointed. The other thing that's annoying is that all eggbeaters, because of the design, release if you hit the bottom on anything which can be pretty sketchy.
It's a good idea but all eggbeaters need stronger spindle's. I'm 175lbs and ride quite aggressively on very technical terrain I am also quite smooth so I very, very rarely break things. Actually, this is the first thing I had broken (not involving a crash) in several years and I had already bent another standard eggbeater but never any other pedal so I think my complaint is legit. Crankbro's is a great company though so at least they stand behind their product.
Submitted by
willtsmith_nwi
a Weekend Warrior
from Valparaiso, IN
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2009
Strengths: Ergonomically, it's a wonderful design. The long,narrow platform effectively eliminated hot spots from the SPD interface. It's looks great.
As always, the Crank Brothers customer service is excellent.
Weaknesses: Build quality is the hobgoblin of Crank Brothers. After 8 months of use the left pedal came off the spindle. After sending it back to Crank Brothers the warehouse supervisor informed me there were no grease in the pedals and that I should pay $30 to have them rebuild them.
OK, so I should pay $30 to fix a pedal thats under warranty. There was no abuse. Apparently, the seals were just so poor that that all the great came out of it ... or there was no grease there in the first place ... who knows. This is the first time that I believe Crank Brothers customer service has let me down.
Damn, I love the Egg Beaters and the ergonomics and simplicity of the product cannot be beat. But damn, I'm sick of having these pedals fail during rides.
Bottom Line:
Apparently, from reading hear and emailing Crank Brothers, you have to take these pedals apart periodically to keep them functioning. And if you're a big guy on a Mountain Bike, you may suffer axel brakes as these pedals share the same guts as the Mallet 1/2/3 (and I've broken 2 of those axels in the matter of a year from XC use).
If I had it to do all over again, I would try Times. If you're a little guy, Crank Brothers is still great.
Strengths: Works very well in any type of weather and lightweight for it's intended purpose. Love the way it looks and feels. To me it feels way better than Spd's because of its fast engagement and disengagement.
Weaknesses: None so far...it feels better than spd's
Similar Products Used: Several Spd's, Time Z control, Other Eggbeaters
Bike Setup: 08 Trek Fuel EX8 almost done customizing.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brazilianbreeze
a Weekend Warrior
from las vegas, NV, USA
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2009
Strengths: Has a wide enough platform for AM applications while keeping the weight reasonalble.
Weaknesses: Hex bold strips out very easily
Bottom Line:
This is only the second set of Crank Bros pedals I have ridden. Smarties were my first pair and these dominate the smarty in my opinion. I love them for their function and their stellar aesthetics.
