I guess I’ve been on flats on my full-suspension bike for two seasons, and so the pedals I bought initially to see if I could transition away from clipless, a pair of RaceFace Chesters, are pretty beaten up, and since I know I prefer riding flats now, I wanted to invest in an aluminum pair, and there are a ton to choose from.
I ended up picking these Wolf Tooth Waveforms for the simple reason that they come in an olive-green color that matches my hubs and headset. Yes. I chose based on color. I want you to know that there are a million practical reasons to pick a bike or bike part, but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants, and that’s ok. That belies the time I spent comparing pedals though, which is not the sort of thing I like to spend time on. Everyone says their pedal has the best shape, is the most stable, is the grippiest. But you never really know what’s good until you ride it, and so…olive green.
What I discovered is that the Waveforms are, in fact, grippier than the Chesters, and have a better shape. Where the Chesters really are flat, there’s a concavity (1.5mm from edge to center) to the Waveforms that take the ball of your foot like a mother’s bosom takes a sleepy baby. The shape of the pedal does also mimic the roundness of your forefoot, so I found myself really feeling confident on them and moving my foot around much less. Eleven stainless steel pins ensure grip, and you get a half dozen spare pins with each set, so you can replace them as they break.
The Waveforms have sealed cartridge bearings, so they’ll keep spinning even after you’ve dragged them through the wet and muck. The leading edge of the pedal is tapered as well, so pedal strikes are less likely to arrest your momentum
The Waveforms come in large and small sizes (I got large and have a 9.5 (US) foot), and there are eight different colors: Espresso, Olive, Red, Raw Silver, Black, Blue, Orange, and Ultraviolet Purple. They are $199 retail, so not cheap, but I’m a fan of investing in things I know I’m going to use, and these are them.
Concave platform pedals….yesssssssssssssssssssssssss! Welcome to the dark side! As much as I destroy everything and my affinity for Wolf Tooth products these may eventually may become a possibility if my Factor/HTs crap out. Other contenders are the Tenet Omens and the Deity Supervillains.
I am going on five years (I don’t go by seasons as I ride year round) back on flat pedals. I have noticed zero downsides after riding clipped in for decades. I am faster and more confident than ever and the learning efforts have been fun. I believe the axiom that you are more connected to your bike by not being connected to it. I’m not too hung up on stats/bike computers, but I run Strava just for giggles and to see where I went. My speeds have gotten faster aboard flats and the only real hang up (literally) I have had with flats is ascending chunk. Learning how to do that again has been fun though. I’ll even go as far to say, they’ve made climbing a fun challenge as opposed how I used to just view it as toll to be paid for the descent.