Crank Brothers Mallet Enduro Pedals

Mikie

Mikie

Admin/iMTB Hooligan
Dr. Bob....
My chiropractor extraordinaire has told me that my pedals do not provide enough lateral support in particular to my right foot as that leg is one half an inch shorter then my left. The combo causes me to destroy my right cleat nearly 3 to one on the inside due to lack of "platform" not supporting the outside of my right foot always in "reach" to match my left leg.

Interesting subject...
I have used Speedplay Frog pedals for over 20 years and love the zero release resistance, and full float.

The Crank Brothers Mallet Enduro Pedals look to be a good compromise. Is anyone using these pedals? Like them? Thoughts?
IMG_0396.JPG

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I have been using that exact pedal for about 6 Months and really like them nice compromise platform vs clip. I use them with an "Enduro Type Shoe". (Example Pearl X-Alp, or Giro Terrado) I got them before I went to whistler as I wanted a little more platform incase I missed the clip and need to just ride on the platform in the step / gnar, now I use them with the new Bronson. I know are folks have heartburn about Crank Brothers as they have had some quality issues, I have not had such issues, but I do think some of the complaints are real. These pedals have given me no problems and have been a solid performer for the 6 months and I have beat on them. There is actually two versions of that pedals the LS has 5mm added to the Q (i.e. the spindle is longer) if you need more reach. They are not cheap.
 
I have a set. My warning for any pedal that has both traction pins and a cleat - make damn sure your cleat does not lock your foot into the pedal so that you cannot twist. If your cleat grabs tight, the traction pins will dig into the soles and you will lot be able to twist your shoe to unclip. Proper shimming is a must.
 
herzalot said:
I have a set. My warning for any pedal that has both traction pins and a cleat - make damn sure your cleat does not lock your foot into the pedal so that you cannot twist. If your cleat grabs tight, the traction pins will dig into the soles and you will lot be able to twist your shoe to unclip. Proper shimming is a must.
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Excellent Point, I could definitely see that happening and to be honest didn't think even about that! I use the Metal "Shoe Protectors" that act like a shim plus I like the way the cleat disengagement is a bit smoother, plus adjusted the spikes pretty low, plus I think with my shoes (PI X-Alp) its a good combo, but I did test clipping out for sure before I rode the first time.
 
Planning on that pedal
For my Mixer, with 5 10 shoes (their new BOA shoe).

Be sure to put the dotted cleat on the right shoe for easier disengagement.

Been using CB pedals for a few years. Candy TI and egg beater TI. Love them. Sending the eggies in for a rebuild as I have come unclipped while in the air a few times Lately. I have many, many miles on them, however. And quite frankly, it is not a proper "airborn" pedal (the eggie, that is).

Interested to hear how u like them.
 
I have a pair of the Mallet 3s in red that you can try. If you like them, they're yours... I ran them until I was looking to shave weight for the Redlands 100 miler. They were a full 1/2 pound heavier than the egg beaters I went to.

I know they've expanded the line since I bought mine. At the time, there was the normal mallet, and then a DH model, I believe...
 
Mikie said:
Dr. Bob....
My chiropractor extraordinaire has told me that my pedals do not provide enough lateral support in particular to my right foot as that leg is one half an inch shorter then my left. The combo causes me to destroy my right cleat nearly 3 to one on the inside due to lack of "platform" not supporting the outside of my right foot always in "reach" to match my left leg.

Interesting subject...
I have used Speedplay Frog pedals for over 20 years and love the zero release resistance, and full float.

The Crank Brothers Mallet Enduro Pedals look to be a good compromise. Is anyone using these pedals? Like them? Thoughts?
View attachment 23399
View attachment 23400
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So, should we call you Righty?

One thing I do like about flats is the support they give you...
 
I've never been on Mallets, but I've been on Eggs since they came out.
I love them, and CB has had some great trade in deals.
I've always used the easy release side. Never had an issue.
 
Cornholio said:
Aren't CB pedals notorious for failure?
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I'm pretty sure that reputation was earned with some of their earliest models, and hasn't faded. I've run Egg Beater 1s, Egg Beaters 3s, and the Mallet 3s with no issues. And they are dirt simple to maintain. Between the 3 pedal models, that's probably over 10,000 miles.


I also liked the customer service... I took my Egg Beater 1s into the Laguna store. I wanted to rebuild them before a really big planned ride and needed the parts. They took a look at them and said that the parts had all been redesigned since their original release. They ended up swapping everything out and handing them back to me completely redone at zero cost. :thumbsup:
 
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I've been running Mallet 3's for a year now and really enjoy them. It allows me to unclip (or BE unclipped even if not by choice) and still have a stable platform when descending. It allows me to focus on the trail and not my clip/unclipped state. I don't really tell much of a difference when clipped from CB's Candy's which I ran previously. But unclipped? Ya, big difference.
 
Cougar said:
I've been running Mallet 3's for a year now and really enjoy them. It allows me to unclip (or BE unclipped even if not by choice) and still have a stable platform when descending. It allows me to focus on the trail and not my clip/unclipped state. I don't really tell much of a difference when clipped from CB's Candy's which I ran previously. But unclipped? Ya, big difference.
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Does their retention system still want to roll your foot off the pedal though? That was my experience with a previous model CB platform/clip combo, but, that was years ago.
 
RS VR6 said:
The Speedplay Syzr pedal will allow you to shim the pedal to compensate for different leg lengths.

http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.syzr

https://www.bikerumor.com/2016/10/0...ind-new-feature-for-leg-length-discrepancies/
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That was a very encouraging read. I had heard both good and bad rumors about the syzr pedals. Speedplay has always thought outside the box.

I am confused about one of their claims compared to other MTB pedals. They claim a direct connection from shoe to cleat to pedal over other pedals, yet their cleats attach the same exact way that all cleats attach. Got to dig deeper I guess.
Thanks for the info Lee!
 
From what I gather on the SP interface is the the cleat is what stabilizes the shoes. Most MTB shoes rely on the lugs on the soles of the shoes to contact the pedal body to give your foot stability. As the lugs wear...your shoes can start to rock side to side. That's why Crank Brothers sells those shims for the Eggbeater and Candy pedals that go onto the pedal. It kinda thickens the pedals to that the worn lugs on the shoes make better contact with the pedal body.

If you look at road bike pedals and cleats...it relies on the cleat to provide stability for your foot. That's also why you can get those varus/valgus shims to angle the cleat to straighten out your knees when seated and pedaling. You can also stack straight shims to adjust any leg length differences. It's something not really possible with the majority of mountain bike cleats.

Two pedal systems that I know of that use the cleat to stabilize your foot is the Syzr and Bebop pedals.
 
RS VR6 said:
Most MTB shoes rely on the lugs on the soles of the shoes to contact the pedal body to give your foot stability. As the lugs wear...your shoes can start to rock side to side. That's why Crank Brothers sells those shims for the Eggbeater and Candy pedals that go onto the pedal. It kinda thickens the pedals to that the worn lugs on the shoes make better contact with the pedal body.
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If you clip most hard-soled, XC/Trail mtb shoes into most click-in pedals (not including pin and cleat pedals like the Mallet, or flat-soled skate shoes with cleats) you will see that nothing makes contact with the pedal other than the cleat and immediate area surrounding it. The lugs never touch the pedal body, thus the lugs wearing out makes no difference on cleat interface, except that the cleat wears more when you walk.

Secondly, if the soles contact the pins as the cleat engages, you will want to shim your cleat. As your shoes wear, there would be LESS need for a shim, since the cleat will be sticking out farther, relative to the shoe sole.

Side note - most hard-soled MtB shoes have to have some of the sole trimmed away near the cleat to allow for proper engagement and release.
 
The lugs on all my shoes will contact the pedal body. If your shoes do not contact the pedal body...it will have unwanted side to side movement. I don't see your cleats lasting too long with that happening. When you buy pedals, they will all come with some kind of shim you can place under the cleat in case your lugs are too deep and makes clipping in and out more difficult.

I also have two pairs of clip in flat soled "DH" shoes. Both pairs the soles contact the pedal body on my Mallet 3 (2012 model) and XT Trail. I screwed the pins all the way in on the Mallet pedals so that they do not go into the sole of my shoes. I eventually replaced them with the XT Trail.

Edit: Maybe I should have been more specific. MTB shoes rely on the lugs or sole on AM shoes for lateral support. Without that support...your shoe will rock side to side...not good for your knees. On an Eggbeater...there isn't much room for your shoe to make contact.
 
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RS VR6 said:
The lugs on all my shoes will contact the pedal body. If your shoes do not contact the pedal body...it will have unwanted side to side movement. I don't see your cleats lasting too long with that happening. When you buy pedals, they will all come with some kind of shim you can place under the cleat in case your lugs are too deep and makes clipping in and out more difficult.
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Here's a photo of my clipped-in Sidi Dominator 5s in my new XT Trail pedal. None of my MtB shoes has contacted the pedal body, and none has had side-to-side play. I am guessing when they are weighted, there may be just enough contact to stabilize the arrangement.
XTR Trail Contact.JPG



I agree with you 100% about the Mallets and DH/Skate-soled shoes.
 
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I'll snap some pics when I get home. All my shoes contact the pedals. If the shoes were not meant to contact any part of the pedals...then the pedals can be made super tiny. Crank Brothers makes something called the Tread Contact sleeve for the sole purpose of having the tread on your shoes touching the pedal body. The new version of the XT pedals (XC and Trail) have an increased platform section. The lugs on your shoes should be making contact with the immediate area around the spindle.

How old are your shoes? :D
 
RS VR6 said:
I'll snap some pics when I get home. All my shoes contact the pedals. If the shoes were not meant to contact any part of the pedals...then the pedals can be made super tiny. Crank Brothers makes something called the Tread Contact sleeve for the sole purpose of having the tread on your shoes touching the pedal body. The new version of the XT pedals (XC and Trail) have an increased platform section. The lugs on your shoes should be making contact with the immediate area around the spindle.

How old are your shoes? :D
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My shoes have fit on the pedals that way since new. As has every other shoe/pedal combo for the last 20 years.

Due to warranty claims, I have had 3 set of XTR Trails (with the "platforms" around them) and two sets of XT Trails (same thing). What you are looking at in the picture above is a 2016 XT Trail pedal - just like this:
XT Trail.jpg


None of them has contacted the shoe when it was unweighted. Same was true with my Pearl Izumi, Specialized and Vittoria MtB shoes. Same was true of the non "cage" version of the XTR and XT pedals. Same was true on HT, Time and CB Candy pedals. For 20 years.

I would argue that if your sole is making solid contact with the pedal body, that it is preventing the necessary twist to get out of the pedal.

So let's throw this to the forum - everyone go click your shoes into your pedals and report back. How much sole contact do your clipped-in-but-unaccompanied shoes have on the pedal body?
 
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herzalot said:
My shoes have fit on the pedals that way since new. As has every other shoe/pedal combo for the last 20 years.

Due to warranty claims, I have had 3 set of XTR Trails (with the "platforms" around them) and two sets of XT Trails (same thing). What you are looking at in the picture above is a 2016 XT Trail pedal - just like this:
View attachment 23506

None of them has contacted the shoe when it was unweighted. Same was true with my Pearl Izumi, Specialized and Vittoria MtB shoes. Same was true of the non "cage" version of the XTR and XT pedals. Same was true on HT, Time and CB Candy pedals. For 20 years.

I would argue that if your sole is making solid contact with the pedal body, that it is preventing the necessary twist to get out of the pedal.

So let's throw this to the forum - everyone go click your shoes into your pedals and report back. How much sole contact do your clipped-in-but-unaccompanied shoes have on the pedal body?
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Yep I've got two pairs of Shimano shoes & two pairs of Shimano pedals and the soles don't contact the pedal body with any of them unless I'm really torquing them. One bike has xt trail pedals with the outer cage and the other has xtr race non caged pedals and to be honest I cant tell much difference between them. With all the bashmarks in my trail pedals I think I know the purpose of the outer cage.
 
Northwave Striker on XT Trail, Teva Pivot on XT Trail. Both contact the spindle area of the pedal. My XT Trails are the 2016 model.

Sidi Dominator Fit on Eggbeater 3 and Candy 3. Same deal. The lugs contact the spindle area.

IMG_20161228_233310686.jpg


IMG_20161228_233702776.jpg


IMG_20161228_233918040.jpg


IMG_20161228_234025175.jpg
 
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Dominator Fit on the Mallet 3. No gap. I'm also running a CB shoe protector shim under the cleat that slightly raises the shoe. I've been running clip in's since the late 90's...and I haven't come across a combo where the lugs do not contact the pedal body. :)

I can feel my shoes rock side to side if they are floating above the pedal.

IMG_20161229_133502523.jpg
 
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RS VR6 said:
Dominator Fit on the Mallet 3. No gap. I'm also running a CB shoe protector shim under the cleat that slightly raises the shoe.

I can feel my shoes rock side to side if they are floating above the pedal.

View attachment 23532
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If those are touching they are barely touching! Shove your driver's license in there to see if they are actually touching. ;) But that side profile pic shows exactly my point - 89.64% of the "platform" part of a clip-in pedal does not touch the shoe.

How does a shim under the cleat raise your shoe? Seems it would have the opposite effect - raising the cleat to engage easier, and leaving the shoe hanging.

You've got me all confused. Now I have to go buy shoes and pedal inserts and cleat reducers, and platform enhancers and stuff...o_O:confused::(
 
herzalot said:
If those are touching they are barely touching! Shove your driver's license in there to see if they are actually touching. ;) But that side profile pic shows exactly my point - 89.64% of the "platform" part of a clip-in pedal does not touch the shoe.

How does a shim under the cleat raise your shoe? Seems it would have the opposite effect - raising the cleat to engage easier, and leaving the shoe hanging.

You've got me all confused. Now I have to go buy shoes and pedal inserts and cleat reducers, and platform enhancers and stuff...o_O:confused::(
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Barely touching... But that is with no pressure applied. Imagine a couple hundred pounds of force applied. Maybe you need to pedal harder? :whistling:

My mallets were the same way... In fact, I wore down all the shoe lugs around the cleat area from the contact. That extra support is the only thing I miss with the Egg Beaters.
 
herzalot said:
If those are touching they are barely touching! Shove your driver's license in there to see if they are actually touching. ;) But that side profile pic shows exactly my point - 89.64% of the "platform" part of a clip-in pedal does not touch the shoe.

How does a shim under the cleat raise your shoe? Seems it would have the opposite effect - raising the cleat to engage easier, and leaving the shoe hanging.

You've got me all confused. Now I have to go buy shoes and pedal inserts and cleat reducers, and platform enhancers and stuff...o_O:confused::(
Click to expand...

Nothing gets by you! :inlove:

I do have a shim under the cleat. Sidi will not warranty their shoes with CB pedals unless you use them shoe shields. You're totally right about the majority of the shoe not touching any part of the pedal. What I should have said in my original post is that MTB pedals rely on the shoes for lateral stability.

As for shims...they are there for shoes with different depth of treads. I have some Look Quartz pedals that came with a bunch of shims. They even have a guide on their site that tells you which shim to use depending on manufacturer. I've tried my shoes with no shim...and I had to use a lot of force to clip in. Too thick of a shim...my shoes would rock left to right. Like they are floating above the pedal.

If I was to somehow able show you...it would make a lot more sense. :D:p
 
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Great discussion as always...
To be honest (no... lie Mikie ;)) I think what Dr. Bob is suggesting is flats. That is the only way to get the left to right lateral support he thinks i need. I don't see myself going to flats. Of the pedals discussed, the Syzr's show the most promise for leg adaptability. I'm going to dig into them more and see if they are the most viable...

This is me being varaxis...
To me, it makes no sense to have clip pedals and have shoe sole contact. It would impede on the performance based on what we call in aerospace a "riding condition". Having rubber contacting the pedal is a variable that can only temporarily be controlled. Battling temperature changes which will vary the durometer reading of the shoe density, and then the uncontrollable wear of the bottom of the shoe means you would constantly be adjusting the shimming less and less to the point that shimming would be ineffective. So to me, it would make more sense to find a cleat that uses every bit of the sole stability connect point to empower left and right lateral stability. Or... simply go to flat pedals and I don't see that happening.

I currently believe that Speedplay Frogs supply far more lateral stability then Shimano SPD's or Crank Brothers just based on design.

shimano-spd-cleats.jpg
Speedplay.Frog.jpg
crankbrothers-pedal-cleats-0degree.jpg
 
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In my opinion this whole combination is much more than just when your clipped in it's about when you are not / can't / struggling. ( this may not be the OPs point) I've been riding Crank Brothers for as long as they've been out a so I'm pretty solid that clipping in and out but occasionally /example you're in the chunk and your foot pops out (intentionally or otherwise) I can just slam my foot back on the pedal not clipped in using my sole and the pins in the pedal finish up that section of chunk without having to worry about forcing/ focusing on getting clipped back in.

When I get home take a picture of what my shoe clip combo looks like now you got me interested!

EDIT: LOL I'm a dork... Bike in shop.. Thus no pic..(Do you ever have that moment when you open the garage and your bikes not there and you panick for a second and then realize it's in the shop! Doh!!)
 
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