I absolutely love my Race Face Chester pedals and they're the first thing I put on any bike I own. They're cheap, durable, reasonably light, and grip like crazy.

 

Spank Spikes

 

If you want wide, maybe VP Harriers. I put them on my DJ bike so I can't speak to their trail worthiness, but they are really big!

 

Gotta agree here. Put these on both of my bikes and love the wide platform. I am not readjusting my feet as often, pretty conformable and pretty thin as well. Just make sure to get the updated design as the new design is said to not get as much play in the pedal. And I got mine in black from Amazon for 79.00 dollars.

 

++++1 for RaceFace Chesters. Have many pairs.

 

DMR Vault

 

DMR V6 $20. or you can spend $100 for the metal ones (the Vaults). ive had the V6s for a year or so and smacked them on all kinds of stuff, and they still perform like new. why i like them, theyre light, comfy, strong, good grip and they run on bushings, so you dont have bearings to deal with. im buying them again if or when they wear out, i love em. its a no brainer for me

 

I run the shimano saints and so far they are indestructible, they are thin, good size, the pins are replaceable and you can use washers to control how much pins stick out. They are easy to service too. The only downside if any is they are a tad on the heavy side but I think it's worth the piece of mind to have a pedal that will take anything you can throw at it. For around $50 you can't really go wrong

 

Got my first pair of flats recently and went with Race Face Chester. I was blown away by the grip on them and the surface area they cover. I'll absolutely buy them again when I get a new bike or need new pedals.

 

I've been using a pair of Chester's as well lately and absolutely love them. The grip is a lot better than the VP pedals because they are wider and I can bash them up and still service them. With my VP pedals, the aluminum would be so deformed that it destroyed the threads in the axle and the pin threads. Same price, much better material and grip.

 

You can usually find VP Vice for around $40-50 if you look. I ran them this summer on my DH and they held up to lift access beating every weekend of the summer. Rebuild-able, thin, and they grip really well too. I had a foot come out of my shoe but the shoe stuck to the pedals. Liked them so much I bought a set for my trail bike as well.

 

You can't beat this deal - They should be $45.00 on Amazon. I'm about to buy another pair for my next bike.

 

I got myself Chesters, too, for the Snow/Fatbike ... they're big and provide enough flat area, the pins look durable and hard to lose, it has a fairly simple structure with big holes to lose the packing snow easily and I like the idea of strong plastic in freezing temperatures more than metal. As an eye candy bonus they come in all kinds of colors and are affordable. The plastic isn't cheap crap either, but a rather solid sort ... if you can live with the idea of having a plastic pedal.

 

I haven't tried the Chesters, but the best pedals I have tried are Redline Monster alloy pedals. Plenty grippy, low and concave profile, and about $45. For me, concavity while maintaining a low profile is key.

 

Best? Tricky to say but favorite? Simple; Deity blade runners.

I recently purchased some scudgood nylon pedals for my winter smasher and they impressed on the first ride. Plenty of pins, lightweight, smooth and solid feeling. Large platform, priced right

 

The Chester's are good but if you want great go clipless

 

I think any alloy pedals are a waste of money. Once you bang them up, you can no longer service them or replace pins. The new plastics are a giant leap forward.



I think most of us here either run a mix of both or like me, used clipless forever and want something different. The best thing I ever did for my biking was ditch my clipless pedals to help me unlearn all my bad habits and just have so much fun not worrying about being clipped in when trying things that you get hurt on if you don't get out on time. I will never look back.

 

If you can find them I have a pair of Kona Wah Wah pedals that I absolutely love. Love them so much that they have been painted to color match multiple bikes.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk

 

A friend of mine gave me his old Crankbrothers flats (don't know the model). First run was meh. Tried different shoes next time and loved it.

Shoes matter too.

 

I have run Vaults, Crampons, Spank Spike, VP Harrier, and some cheapos. Of all of these the Vaults are the grippiest, and the Harriers are my favorite. I have the original Harriers and have no issues with them and they take a beating.I am in the market for another pair and debating on getting another set of Harriers or the Spank Spoon.

Check this shootout out...

Vital MTB Face Off: The Best Flat Pedals - Mountain Bikes Feature Stories - Vital MTB

 

DMR V6 is the best plastic pedal you can find, but it is plastic. One ride already lost a pin. I use it on my city bike. Too fragile for a mountain bike. Maybe on a dirt jumper.

Spank Spike/Oozy is the benchmark for flats.

Vault is the high roller pedal. As nice as they get with legit concave (in the body).

 

you cant lose DMR V6 pins, the arent removable :thumbsup:

i use them for MTBing all the time. love em

 

I like my Wellgo MG-5 flats.

 

Another vote for RF chesters, lots of grip and pretty stout for plastic

2nd place for me: Nukeproof evo

 

I have enjoyed a couple thousand miles of crazy abuse on Spank Spikes. Picked up a used set of Oozy's for my new bike.

Chesters were definitely on the list, but the thickness (and honestly, the lack of bling) put me off a bit.

 

Xpedo Spry. Very light, thin, inexpensive and durable enough. At $50, there essentially disposable although Xpedo was awesome with the one pair I warrantied.

 

Grab any set of poly pedals with metal pins. Metal reag great but noisy and heavy for the most part. I haven't used many pairs but "Plastic" pedals tend to get you more bang for your buck and reliability!

 

Spank Spikes were awesome and I have a few rides on my new Deity Bladerunners and so far really like them.

The Spikes were super easy to disassemble and for everything I did to them they were bombproof. The bladerunners definitely are a bigger platform and I like it a lot.

 

crank brothers 50/50 been putting a beating on them for 2 years... $68 on crc

 

Love my Spank's, fantastic, and got me away from clips on my MTB.