Submitted by
rockcrusher
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2011
Strengths: easy of entry and exit.
Weaknesses: Lack of tension adjustment, rapid wear of both cleats and pedal.
Bottom Line:
While these are good pedals I would never say they are great, especially after reverting back to SPDs after a long long hiatus.
The first thing that grabs me is how nice it is to be able to adjust tension on the SPD's. If you are heavier than average you may find that the eggbeaters just don't retain well enough for heavy technical riding.
The second is the fact that the pedal slowly eats away at your shoe. One should never accept that a $50 pedal will destroy your shoes whether they are $50 or $400. The fact that it makes 2 grooves at the area of most stress on your shoe is unacceptable. That they offer a stainless plate that you have to pay extra for to prevent that is even more disappointing as they have accepted that there is a design flaw yet all they have done is offer a jury rig that you have to pay more for and whose performance is dubious at best.
I have seen carbon and nylon shoes snap right at the cleat. That is something I have never seen happen with shimano, time, SPD style or speedplay pedals.
Great value for clipless experience, but a high price to pay in collateral damages.
Submitted by
dsnow23
a Cross Country Rider
from Mill Valley, CA
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2010
Strengths: They're light, pretty easy to get into and out of. By far the best design for riding in mud. They can be had pretty cheap.
Weaknesses: They break easily. I've broken 4 in 2 years. Also, when they break, you are screwed because there is so little surface area to work with.
Bottom Line:
I would probably buy them if I didn't ride rocky trails. But, they are not tough enough for rocky terrain. I'm going back to Time ATACs. Crank Brothers is good about repairing them when under warranty. (save your receipt). But, who wants to have their ride ruined by broken pedals on a regular basis and have to ship the pedals back.
Strengths: Lightweight, shed mud, easy to clip into...
Weaknesses: They break. Fast. Worthless.
Bottom Line:
150 miles on these and the "beater" portion of both pedals snapped. Thought nothing of it so I bought a pair of SL's. Those fell apart/needed a rebuild kit after about 250 miles. Bought a backup set of Candy SL's and those fell apart/needed a rebuild kit after about 200 miles. Garbage. Crank Brothers is running a racket. Once bitten, twice shy, three times and now I'm going back to XTR's. Shimano, why'd I ever leave you?
Submitted by
mlkovacs
a Racer
from Dripping Springs, TX
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2010
Strengths: Light...looks cool
Weaknesses: Strange float...feet moved left and right way too much...couldn't tell if I was engaged in the pedal or not
Bottom Line:
I used these for one ride and knew they were not for me. I went back to my older Shimano XTR pedals. The EggBeaters are lighter (160g for the pair incl cleats), but just felt strange.
Submitted by
madmagrider
a Cross Country Rider
from Chicago, IL
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2010
Strengths: Lightweight, durable, easy to clip into and out of.
Weaknesses: Not titanium?
Bottom Line:
I have had nothing but great luck with these pedals. I know some other riders did not have great luck with other versions of eggbeaters, and their customer support was supposedly lacking, but overall I'm happy. This may change if I ever need to contact Crank Brothers, but after two years of constant riding at 200 lbs I like 'em.
I can't give them more than 4 stars for value because all bike parts are ridiculously expensive.
Submitted by
Orion_3001
a Cross Country Rider
from Mexico
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2010
Strengths: MMMmmmm.
Weaknesses: Price, Chromoly
Bottom Line:
I love CB pedals, but this ones have to be the Worst, clipping is difficult and clipping out is almost impossible to the point my knees are sore from twisting oout, and i wiped out hard several times thanks to this suckers. My guess is Chromoly spindles are to blame. Smarty Pedals are sooo much better and around the same price
Weaknesses: Everything...... Horrible material, they break as if they were nothing. I just bunny hopped my buddy's bike off a speed bump and ended up snapping the outer cage, and i only weigh 150lb on a bike that can take the abuse, but apparently the pedals didn't. I do recommend the 4Ti pedals have had them on my bike 2 years and still running strong.
Bottom Line:
If you have a road bike and need some good cheap pedals buy them it not don't you will EAT PAVEMENT!!!! If your from up north and you see some real mountains these pedals are not for you.Excellent beginner pedals but not intended for mountain bikes.
Strengths: light, adjustable release angle (but I think the shallow angle is too low for even beginners)
Weaknesses: see below
Bottom Line:
These pedals answer a question that nobody asked. 4 way entry seems to be the only gimmick that sets these pedals apart.
Ive never had a problem getting the right side on SPDs, they are 2 sided and 1 of the sides is always facing the right way.
However, I still decided to give them a shot after a couple riding buddies swear by them.
First impression was not great because they often give no feedback (click) when you clip in. I couldnt tell I was clipped in, and thats not a good feeling when you are getting back on the bike about to go down a gnarly downhill.
I have hit a rock with the bottom of the pedal and it released.
I have come out of the pedal unintentionally several times while climbing or descending (on the higher angle release too), and have slammed my ankle into the pedal which still hurts to this day. None of this has never happened to me for SPD.
Otherwise they have been 'ok' pedals. Once you get used to the mushy clip in, they are fine most of the time, but ultimately they provide zero functional advantages over SPD, and some pretty big disadvantages. So stick with some solid Shimano SPD pedals like the M520s (or the XTs / XTR if you can afford it)
Great pedal for the money for road or light XC riding. I plan on rebuilding the Cs and keeping them on the recumbent and upgrading to SIs on the hard tail.
I would not hesitate to recommend these pedals for road use but they are not durable enough for trail riding from my experience.
Submitted by
Hell Shing88
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque NM
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2009
Strengths: Mudd Doesnt stick to pedals. Four places to clip in.
Weaknesses: Takes some getting use to to clip out.
Bottom Line:
Awsome Pedals for the Money. If you are a first time cyclist and want a great set of pedals to learn on, these are the ones. You have 4 entry points instead of 2 like all the others. I recommend spending 15 to 20 minutes clipping in and out before you go riding, just so you get use to it,
Bike Setup: Schwinn Mesa GS, marzocchi marathon sl, velocity v deep, panaracer fire xc
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ttreehugger
a Cross Country Rider
from Upstate NY
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2009
Strengths: durable!, low maitenance, doesn't get clogged with mud, light, simple
Bottom Line:
I've ridden the same pair of Eggbeaters for at least four years. I chose these pedals when I was just staring out because they seemed like they'd clear mud more easily and seemed more durable. I orginally had Shimanos. Shimanos were always clogged with mud, difficult clip in and out, and eventually broke the first year.
I picked up a pair of these four years ago and and I am now a lifetime lover of CBs. They made it through a lot of rock bashing, sloppy riding, and crashes in the early years and always came out like a champ. One pedal finally broke a few weeks ago when one of the eggbeater tines just snapped off during a ride. I think four years is a pretty good run, esp. for something that has taken such a beating. So, I'm shopping for a new pair.
Submitted by
SeamusD
a Weekend Warrior
from Winchester, UK
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2009
Strengths: Lightness, simplicity, performance in mud, ease of use, strength, customer service, look cool, road and off road pedals interchangeable
Weaknesses: Less good bearings on the cheaper models - but then what do you expect.
Bottom Line:
For me these pedals are great. I've used them for several years and have variations of them egg beater/candy/quattro on all my bikes (6) so I can ride any bike in any pair of shoes - though the road shoes look pretty silly on a mountain bike!
I certainly haven't had the problems other people have reported with too much float or a lack of security. If your shoes aren't stiff enough then the egg beaters can be a bit harsh on your feet, but with a half decent pair of shoes then this isn't a problem.
When I first got them I must admit I had a few sketchy unclipping moments. They are definitely not quite the same as shimano's and maybe you need to relearn the technique a little bit, but now they never give me any problems and I have never had problems clipping in - even in really muddy conditions.
In short they go in when I want, come out when I want (and when I crash!) and don't come out when I don't want them to - something that was definitely an occasional problem with the Shimano's.
Favorite Trail: The one with no one in front of me ;o)
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At: Various
Similar Products Used: Various Shimano clip ins
Bike Setup: Giant Trance Advanced 1 - stock setup. SRAM/Race Face/Hayes Stroker Trail/Mavic X317 on DT Swiss/Nevgal Tomac DTC Front, Nevegal Stick-E rear, Crank Brothers Egg Beaters, Stans (OK this bit's not stock)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
jackel
a Cross Country Rider
from Little Rock, Ar.
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2009
Strengths: Simplicity
Weaknesses: Have not found any yet.
Bottom Line:
Ditto the complaining. I've had the same pair (stainless steel) for at least 4 years with no complants. I used a pair of SPD's that come on my 1st 29er for a couple of weeks then switched back to the egg beaters. They are so much easier to get in and out of. About the only time I've ever come out of them is when I have come down hard on a rock and then I just clipped back in with hardly any hesitation. Have not had any problem pulling out of them either. I hardly ever clean them except with a water hose. I did put a repair kit in them about a year and a half ago. It was so easy. However, after 4 years or so of hard riding they are finaly getting wore out and a little loose so I am replacing them with the SL's again. The SL's have a much better sealed bearing than the SC's, C's or MXR's. I don't know, maybe I just got an excellent made one but I'm putting my money on another excellently made one.
Submitted by
HUZZA
a Cross Country Rider
from boise
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2009
Strengths: ease of entry and exit, mudd shedding ,durability
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
you guys that complain about engage/disengagement problems are not taking the time to read the instructions, you adjust the rotation of the cleat for entry exit issues and/or use the provided shims to solve the sole tread clearance problems ...READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.I have a pair of the 1st gen eggbeaters that I still use and attribute the durability to proper maintainence and not using the pedals for jumping off cliffs...they are not intended for that.These pedals are getting a bad rap for no good reason,I love crank bros pedals, and will use no other.