I ran the Shinburgers (they have a lighter, cut out model) for about 18 months but oddly, they’re not grippy enough for me because the top of all the spikes is flat. Josh swears by them, however. Pedals are truly personal preference. I ran the Shimanos as well and hated them as well–too slick and too cut out. But the Texas guys live them. Go figure . . .
JL
those will catche on fire
they look bad-ass!!
-Kaori&matt
Those are the UNsealed version, which is still a good pedal, but I just found a site that has the SEALED bearing version of the same pedal, “AZONIC FUSION” for $23.88! That’s right! Their website has a price match thing called “price smash” and when I found a site that was selling the sealed version for $24.99, they beat it! And their regular price is $35.95 for the sealed bearing version! Here’s their website:
http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=31695
PS: If you want the same deal, go here so you can get the price smash:
How long can you keep a pair of shoes with those?
Yeah, like JL said, I run those (the cut-out version). Great for pure muni - huge platform, and more or less unbreakable. One set I had lasted a year before pedal strikes ground the edge spikes off, and they were still trail-worthy when I replaced them.
The spikes aren’t super sharp, so they don’t chew through shoes too quickly. I can get a pair of Vans to last a couple of months if I take care of 'em.
Where can you get these in Canada?
These Wellgos look good at 378 g. and $50.67
http://store.airbomb.com/ItemDesc.asp?IC=PD1014
specialized makes some pretty size mag pedals.
http://specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=25181
i thought about getting them for my new wheelset on my muni, but they were out of stock. i work at a specialized dealer and can get them for cost, but $75 retail isn’t too bad for how sturdy they are.
Damn, Terry. Those look like a torture device. Maybe give 'em a go and report back to us.
But for my money, those Azonic Fusions you found for 25 bucks are IMO, basically unbeatable. Buy four pairs for the price of one of the top end models. That’s crazy cheap for such good Muni tackle. Give credit to Jesse R. for turning us on to that model.
JL
The most important factor for me with a muni pedal is a pedal that won’t fall apart during a ride. The majority of sealed bearing pedals cannot handle the abuse of muni riding. If (when) the bearing disintegrates the pedal body will fall off the spindle. And with the design of most sealed bearing pedals it is not a question of if, but when, the bearing will disintegrate during a ride.
So be careful about which sealed bearing pedals you pick. The manufacturers don’t mention in their advertising that their pedals are poorly designed and will fall apart if abused. The reviews by bicycle riders rarely mention such flaws because most bicyclists don’t abuse their pedals the way muni riders do. So you don’t really know till you take the pedal apart to see how they’re designed.
Cost has very little relevance to bearing quality in a pedal. There are many $100+ sealed bearing pedals that are no better than $20 Wellgos in terms of bearing design.
The big abuse with muni and other unicycling is that we UPD frequently. The unicycle falls to the ground (sometimes with great force) right on the end of the pedals. That bashes the sealed bearings in ways they were not designed to handle. Bicycles don’t crash as much so their pedals don’t get the same abuse. Unicyclists also put more weight on the pedals while riding. You’re often out of the seat during a muni ride with all of your weight on the pedals. When we do drops we land with great force on the pedals with no fancy suspension to absorb some of the impact. Aggressive unicycling is a pedal designer’s worst nightmare.
So be careful when picking pedals. You may end up with a $100+ dud of a pedal that falls apart on you.
Very good point John, but what pedals do you prefer, if any?
I like the old AtomLab Aircorp pedals. They’ve been good to me. Flat, grippy, low profile, and don’t blow apart if the bearing fails. AtomLab has redesigned those pedals to use all bushing instead of a sealed bearing. That means there is no longer a sealed bearing in there that can break. The design should be very reliable, but I have not yet tried them so can’t say how well they work from experience. When I buy new pedals for my muni they will be AtomLab Aircorps in whatever their current incarnation is.
I have had the sealed bearing in my Aircorps fail twice on me during a ride. The nice thing about the Aircorps is that the failure is not catastrophic. The pedal will still function (though not as well). The pedal body will NOT fall off the spindle like lesser pedals will. That leaves you still able to finish the ride without hiking.
It would be neat to get a listing of tried and true muni pedals. A listing of bombproof pedals that won’t fall apart and leave you stranded during a ride. It should be a short list because in my experience there aren’t very many pedals that fit that bill. A description of the bearing design for each pedal would also be nice just to document what’s good in a pedal design. An exploded parts drawing would be good.
I know DXs will be there
You got it! Thanks Jesse R! Btw, I orederd the fusion sealed mags yesterday,and they’re coming today, via ups! I’ll let ya know how Ilike 'em!
I’ve abused the heck out of my snafu sealed bearing pedals, to no ill effect! They look pretty banged up from hitting the rocks, but like the energizer bunny, these keep on going! They still turn smooth as butter, and my 147 lb weight may contribute to their longevity.
That does seem like a very good pedal, but below is a link to one of many complaints I found about the “o ring spacer” in each pedal that causes “free play”. Read:
Im getting monoblocks for my bike so il put 'em on my uni for a while and tell you how they do.
You have to be careful about what year Aircorp pedal is being reviewed. the MTBR forum is full of reviews from old pedals and they make no distinction about what year pedal design they’re reviewing. Atomlab has gone through many revisions of the Aircorp pedal, almost yearly it seems. Each year fixes something or changes the pedal completely (like switching from sealed bearings to all bushings). The MTBR reviews are full of things that were fixed in the early versions of the Aircorp. From reading the news and info at Atomlab the newest version of the Aircorp does away with the O-rings and instead uses a wave washer. So the problem mentioned in the BMX-Test review should no longer be relevant. No telling if the new design didn’t introduce other issues. It’s hard to know with the pedals going through so many revisions.
O-ring wear is normal. The O-ring is used to seal the inside end of the pedal (next to the crank) and to also provide some friction so the pedal doesn’t freespin too much when you take your foot off the pedal. I have to replace my O-rings regularly because they wear and stop providing enough friction. O-rings are about 30 cents each at the hardware store. I keep a bunch in my toolbox and replace them as necessary. That’s the same for most any pedal that uses an o-ring.
I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses for the Atomlab pedals. They go through revisions each year. I don’t want to give a blanket recommendation for them because some years model were better than others. Nothing major in the recent models that I’m aware of that couldn’t be easily fixed or modded.
