Bike Stuff: PC Pedals

I'm house-sitting right now, so a pic will have to wait (check back next week) but I wanted to start a new little feature here.  Don't plan on these reviews being super-hardcore because there's just no need for that and I don't think my readers here are looking for it.

So I had on cage pedals, you know, like you'd usually put toe clips on.  They were okay, except that the cages would loosen and need to be re-tightened or they'd rattle and possibly lose bolts.  This seems like a good thing- you could take off the cage and replace it or fix it or put on a different cage.  But life just really doesn't work out that way.

More importantly, though, I was finding they would roll a little bit under my feet.  Not so much when I was pedaling.  That was okay (although they did cut up my legs a bit- more on that later).  But more when I tried to take a foot off and step back on I would somehow end up on the edge of the pedal instead of the face.

So we come to my new pedal choice.  Animal Hamilton PC pedals.  PC is polycarbonate.  Plastic- sort of.  It's kind of a super-plastic.  It helps if you think of the difference between cheap drug store sunglasses made of plastic and authentic sports glasses (Oakley, Smith, etc.) that are also made of "plastic", but of a whole different quality.  Let me remind you of some of the things made of this kind of plastic:  ski boots (even the best ones), mountaineering boots (kinda the same thing), the ramps you drive cars up on to change the oil, good toolboxes, and Saturn automobiles.

These are clear (it matches everything- and who wouldn't want clear pedals?).  But more important to me is that they are over an inch longer than my old pedals.  2 1/2" vs. 3 3/4".  I haven't had much time to ride them but early indications are that this feels good under the foot.  Grippier than the metal cages too.  Surprise!

Another difference is that the edges are angled, so that there will be no "edge riding".  This would of course make it impossible to put on toe clips.  This is one reason why the old ones had a flat edge there.  Since these are really BMX pedals, there's no need.

And light- they are in fact much lighter than metal.

And cheap.  Sixteen dollars.  Either that means they're a screaming deal for pedals or I've lost half a tank of gas worth of money.  And that wouldn't be so bad.  But no less than Fixie Dave Nice has recommended these PC pedals to me (though not this exact pair- the mechanic at Local BMX Co. did that.)  And he's ridden the Great Divide Race on them (I think- I'm not clear on this precise point).

So the big question is durability.  Just how long can/will these last?  Time will tell.

Update:  1/31/12

Well, it's been a pretty mild winter, so I have gotten a few rides on these.  But it's not summer, either.  That said, these haven't had any noticeable wear at all.  Very grippy, nice and large under my feet, and I continue to like them.