Being a flat pedal racer since 1982 I'm always on the look out for the best pedal and shoe combination. At the moment I am using the Sun Ringle Octane Mag pedals and standard Vans with the waffle sole, it's a combination that's pretty hard to beat. But it comes at a price.
There are literally hundreds of pedals that would be fine for BMX, so how do you find the best? And how do you get bang (or grip in this case) for buck? Really it's just trial and error, an expensive and time consuming process.
I was looking for a good grippy reliable set of pedals for one of my bikes and the pedal suggested to me was the Wellgo LU-A52. The LU-A52 is a low profile platform style pedal equipped with a CNC machined cromo spindle, sealed bearings, replacable pins. The amazing thing is these pedals are cheap and still weigh in at only 544 grams for the pair. As a comparison the Sun Ringle Octane Mag pedals weigh 486 grams for the pair. Oh and if you were wondering, Wellgo make a Magnesium body version if you are looking at shaving weight, and they make a loose ball version of the Alloy pedal if you are looking at saving money.
They aren't a bad pedal, the only problem I found was the pins were a few mill' short than what I was used to. They didn't offer the same grip as the Octane Mag, that took me a few minutes to get used to. It could be that I ride in Vans, and the waffle sole is a little deep for the pins, a flatter shoe pattern would be perfect for these pedals, or alternatively Wellgo could consider some longer pins.
I have been doing gates and a fair bit of track riding with these pedals and found them quite reliable. I haven't slipped a pedal once.
Rating 18.5/20:
| Value for money: | 5/5 |
| Weight: | 5/5 |
| Functionality: | 3.5/5 |
| Looks/Finish: | 5/5 |
Comments:
These pedals are distributed in Australia by Elite Cycle Imports (ECI) www.eciimports.com
Reviewed by Shane Jenkins/bmxultra.com July 29 2008