Race Face Atlas Bike Pedal

Have a few hundred miles on these and so far I love them. First reaction from people that see these (aside from being very attractive) is they hope you never loose grip and have them bang your shin. If that ever did happen I'd say you likely would be loosing a significant amount of blood because the cleats would prove to be very effective at ripping your flesh off. Do I think that would be a problem - fortunately no.These replaced a set of Wellgo pedals that I put around 4,500 miles on. The Wellgos also had cleats but were not nearly as effective as the Atlas'. My feet have slipped off the Wellgos multiple times and I have the scars on my shins to prove it.The Atlas cleats are 100% effective at keeping feet glued to the pedals. I have had no problems with my feet slipping even a minuscule amount. Almost feels like I'm clipped in except you obviously can't apply force on the upstroke. Nonetheless these pedals allow me to apply a lot of force with 100% confidence my feet are going to remain on the pedals - even in rough terrain. I'd say the end result is at least a 1-2 MPH increase in overall cruising speed.There have been some articles indicating that this pedal has a grease port at the end. I disagree. This unit has 4 SEALED ball bearings in each pedal. Sealed means each bearing is sealed to a degree from outside elements. This includes any grease introduced from the outside. In order to grease the bearing itself you would have to disassemble the unit and remove the seal from each bearing. Then you could grease the bearing. Of course the purpose of a sealed bearing is to keep it free from debris and increase its life span without any maintenance. Just be aware that introduction of any grease through the 'port' likely doesn't do anything. The purpose of the 'port' is to store a spare cleat and cover the nut used to disassemble the unit.I've read some articles that indicate users have had an issue with the assembly nut (or dust cover - or spare cleat) rattling loose on these pedals. Upon receipt I did disassemble and used blue lock tight on these parts. I opted to use anti-seize when installing instead of grease since the pedal shaft is steel and the crank on my bike is aluminum. Yes, the pedals themselves are aluminum and very attractive.As a final thought the turn clearance seems slightly better than the Wellgos. I have scraped the pedals in a few turns but they seem to offer a little bit better clearance overall.I'm very happy with these so far.

If you’re looking at any of the following brands of pedals, you will want to review my attached image because it illustrates a detailed comparison of the following pedals in an easy to read format.• RaceFace Atlas• RaceFace Chester• Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Small• Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Large• Specialized BenniesNOTE: I kept the metric system formatting of millimeters, but also converted the numbers to the imperial system of inches to help.MY EXPERIENCE:I was using Specialized Bennies, which were not bad for the $80 price however, I felt like I did not have enough foot surface area when riding. I wear size 9 shoes in the Five/Ten brand, and I felt like I was always adjusting my foot positioning. It was kind of annoying having to frequently change foot position, especially when riding blue and black trails. Anyway, I just bought a new full sus all mountain bike and needed new pedals for the bike. After some research I chose the RaceFace Atlas pedals because they have more foot surface area compared the Bennies and it is a slim pedal that will reduce rock strikes. Also, the RaceFace Atlas is 20 grams lighter than Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Large; See Attached Image For Comparison. I particularly like the fact that the RaceFace Atlas pedals are using sealed bearings and not a sleeve like the Crankbrothers Stamp. Overall, the RaceFace Atlas pedal is a better quality design in regard to components compared to Crankbrothers. Last, I also like the fact that the RaceFace spindles can be changed out and there is a hidden pin / grease access port to keep the pedals maintained.I’ve been using my new RaceFace Atlas pedals for just over a month. I ride primarily on packed dirt with abundant sand (the joy of sand). I ride about 30 to 40 miles per week on blue and black trails. I’ve had no issues with my RaceFace Atlas pedals so far and I highly recommend them.ADDITIONAL INFORMATION I RESEARCHED“6061-T6 Aluminum Properties.The alpha-numeric suffixes attached to alloys, such as 6061-T6, represent the temper, or degree of hardness. It also represents the method by which the hardness was obtained. In the case of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, the “T6” indicates that it was solution heat-treated (forged) and artificially aged.”Forging is manufacturing process where metal is pressed, pounded or squeezed under great pressure into high strength parts known as forgings. The process is normally, but not always performed hot by preheating the metal to a desired temperature before it is worked (not poured). It is important to note that the forging process is entirely different from the casting (poured or foundry) process, as metal used to make forged parts is never melted and poured (as in the poured or foundry process).The bottom line is that forged aluminum has higher strength and lower weight compared to standard cast (poured or foundry) aluminum.

Although I do not have a wide variety of experience with flat peddles, I've been mountain biking since mountain bikes were invented and these are the best peddles I've ever owned. It seems the slop on the spindle in an earlier model has been rectified as mine do not have any play. I just rode them in Moab on the Klein Attitude Race hard tail I've been riding for 25 years and it made such a huge difference I'm ordering a second set for another full suspension I own. I cannot speak to durability at this point. The traction screws are very grippy and the platform fits my size 12 feet extremely well, although these pedals may be larger than you need if you have very small feet. They are very rigid and yet very thin compared to spds and so I gained a quarter inch or so of clearance and was also able to lower my seat the same amount. One nice aspect of the traction screws is that they tend to hit rocks as opposed to the peddle structure when tolerances are close and so far have protected the beautiful anodizing better than expected. The screws are very sharp and tend to scratch up or destroy anything else they come into contact with so you may want to remove the pedals or cover them during transportation. Some folks have had problems with their legs getting munched but I had no such problem; maybe not the best idea for bar leg beginners. That being said, it is very easy for me to lift my feet off of these peddles and reposition them while riding. Note that installation requires an allen instead of a normal wrench. Here's to hoping they hold up!