Pedals

Wherever you stand in the clipless versus flats debate – and whatever your budget – you’ll find a pedal to suit your riding style in our 12-strong grouptest

- Paul Burwell

When it comes to pedals, most of us fall into one of two camps: clipped-in, or footloose and fancy free on flats. Some of us also chop and change between the two depending on what, or where, we’re riding.

Either way, the two-pedal types are perfectly descriptive of what they do. A flat pedal is just that, a platform that you stand on, while a clip-in pedal (also known confusingly as a clipless pedal) incorporates a binding on either side that locks together with a metal cleat that’s bolted to the bottom of the shoe. Stamp on the pedal and the two are secured together but twist your foot and the binding releases.

There are pros and cons with each design – too many to go into here – but we have included both styles in this group test because we know there are riders with a foot in either camp, albeit not at the same time. We have also included some plastic entry-level flat pedals because most bikes come with terrible, throwaway pedals, and these models are a really cost-effective way of increasing confidence and security on the bike if you’re just starting out.

The market is swamped with flat pedals; maybe 10 times as many as there are clip-in options. You could argue this is because they’re easier to design and make, but every single flat-pedal manufacturer we’ve talked to has their own ideas about the shape, thickness, pin placement, pin size and even material, so it’s no wonder there are so many. We can’t include every pedal here, but to make this test as comprehensive as possible, we’ve featured several top-end aluminium flat pedals, four budget plastic options and also four caged clip-in pedals that offer added security and efficiency with the support and control of a platform model.