Flat Pedals that Last

Where is the play? Is it not just a question of it being the 6mm Allen bolt on the end cap needing a tweak or locktite?

HTPA03 have proved very durable for me. Got myself a rebuild kit but haven't had to use it yet as there's no play at the bushings after 2 plus years of regular use. Brilliant value and performance too.

I haven’t noticed any play in any of the flat pedals I’ve used. I find as inner bushings wear they spin more easily though- which can be annoying. The bearings in the outside edge of the pedals are always fine though.

Both my bikes have superstar nano evo on which I like. I have previously run the Carbon Cycke exotic pedals which have been fine too - but the platform isn’t quite as large / grippy as the Nanos.

I've got DMR Vaults that are five years old now. Done one bearing/bushing change in that time. The anodising is a bit worn now but they work just fine still.

The Pembree ones look really nice and the new Hopes are meant to be an improvement too.

Shimano flats?
All my shimano pedals will outlive me.

Unite instinct pedals, tight tolerances, stiff to turn axle when new, zero play in mine.
A few shops have the anodised v1.1 for around £80, do a Google search or buy direct from Unite and pay £100 for the newer cerakote V2 version.
I got mine a while ago when they were about £60.

As one of the world's biggest DMR Vault fans... HTPA03 are the best I've had for durability.

DMR V12 Mk1. Twin bearings (pretty sure they are) and last forever. I have a pair they have been abused badly, they vibrate when spun but aren't slack, have a slightly bent axle and the pins are rusted to buggery. They just keep going.

I know not everyone got on with them as the platform isn't huge but if they suit you they're worth it.

Carder ten four ....expensive but never had a pedal as good .
I'm surprised to see the unite v1 gets a mention my experience is a blomonge has more durability

Never experienced unwanted party in my Nukeproof Neutron EVOs. I try to service them reasonably regularly, and have been using them for years on my hardtail and diet jumper. I'm 13 1/2 stone and not the most delicate rider.

I have never found a pedal that does the develop play within 6months. I love my burtecs

Saint flats are rubbish for this. Superstar last well

Shimanos are quick and easy to adjust the bearing preload on.

Pinnd use bearings throughout and have a lovely concave profile.

I got the Burgtec’s on the basis that they are easily servicable, but within a week of being serviced they have play in them again.

Which ones? My Mk4 have been the best I’ve had so far for longevity so haven’t replaced a bushing yet to know how that goes.

Superstar Nano were the worst for me, I think because the sealing wasn’t up to much.

BBB BPD32. last forever, cost nothing.
had mine for 2 years on my fargo, done 10000 miles. no play.

https://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&c=84&p=940&tb=001
Bought these back when I had a 26" wheel bike. Bike went to my son when he outgrew his little Boardman at 14yo... pedals moved to his Remedy when he got more serious.. he's now 20, worn out or busted every damn thing, except my cheap Carbon Cycles flats. Well, they were cheap, gone up by about £30 since then!

Shimano XT flats are sturdy and easy to adjust if they do develop play. also, available in 2 sizes!

Unite instinct pedals, tight tolerances, stiff to turn axle when new, zero play in mine.

Inboard bushings on mine have 1-2mm of play after less than 100 hours.

They'll probably do me a long time but for my next ones I'll be considering inboard bearings, having previously discounted this as being in the way of my foot.

If you are a serial pedal destroyer, like me, you'll know it's really really hard to find something that lasts more than a couple of months - including many of the brands mentioned above. Maybe it's a combo of weight, power, rock strikes and wet conditions I'll ride in.

Eventually I gave up on anything that used bushing and move to pedals with full bearings like the original OneUp alloy pedals - it was a revelation when I got a good six months out of them before having to change bearings! I still managed to destroy the first set in a couple of years when the axles started to break through the alloy pedal body.

Unfortunately in a design revision OneUp changed the set of 3 outer bearings to one bush, I thought I'd try them but in less than a month the bearing seized onto the axle... but I managed to press it off and fit some original spec bearings and they have been fine since.

There are a few other bearing only pedals like PNW Loam and Race Face Atlas so more than one option.

Thanks @sillyoldman 👍 - we just released SS axle versions this week too.

https://www.pinnd.co.uk/products/cs2-pedal-black

Transparency - I work with PINND.

I can relate, in the last 6 years I've run the following pedals and all but the OneUp's have needed new internals in the first 4-9months. The axle snapped on the OneUp's twice, but they were still one of my favourite pedals I've used.

DMR Vault
Burgtec Mk 4's
OneUp Alu
DMR V12's
Burgtec Mk5's
DMR Vaults again
Crank Brothers Stamp 7's

but within a week of being serviced they have play in them again.

Again I can relate to this. For me, I think this has happened because I've continued to use the pedals when they've developed play and started to wear the axle.

I've got some Hope pedals on a bike I don't ride much, they've lasted over a year!

DMR Vaults are currently £60 at Evans so well worth a punt.

Fooman makes a good shout about full bearings rather than using a bushing. However,the shortest lived pedals I've ever used were RaceFace Atlas. The tolerance on the axle was so crappy I have to put shims between the small bearings and the shoulder and then still file off the end of the axle so the 3x small bearings were actually fixed in position otherwise the body would slide up and down.

Even then, it would munch through the big bearing at an alarming rate. On one side, the lip in the body designed to retain the seal wasn't there so the seal would walk out but I cam to the conclusion it didn't matter as both main bearings would fill with crap at the same rate even when I switched to SRS bearings.

I actually have better luck with DMR Vaults. They rattle like anything else but it takes minutes to full them full of grease and the bushings cost peanuts.

I'm sure there was a thread on here years ago where someone sourced some harder wearing bushes. If the Vaults had an oil seal on the inboard side that was properly retained then the flat pedal market would be much smaller.

Exactly the opposite experience from 5lab.
My Saints have been on 3-4 bikes and must be 10 years old and have never needed a service.
I bought some Superstar Evos for a new bike and they barely lasted 6 months.

I’ve had harder wearing bushes in Vaults, it just wears the axle faster.

Cheap option- Aliexpress Thinkrider flats.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003156742316.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.312.2f0b1802U9N9v1

They've soared to a dizzying £20 since I got my first set, nightmare! But they're good ime. 3 bearings, no bushings but otherwise very HT-ish, the platform is almost the same as the old Nukeproof Horizon Comp. I've used. I've used a couple of sets of these for about a year now and they've not missed a beat, and I just checked and they have essentially no play. They've had some hard use on the big bike but I should say I weigh 10 stone so I'm not stressing them as hard as some folks will!

IME even a pretty loose pedal can usually be made to feel right again just by filling them with a suitable grease. With most rebuildable pedals, that doesn't even need them to be stripped- you can remove the end caps, fill the hole with grease, and then refit the endcaps and the act of tightening them up basically greaseguns that grease you've just added through the whole body. Repeat til clean grease comes out the crank end. (obviously not all pedals work this way but most modern ones do. You've got to be extra careful with plastic pedals too as it'd be fairly easy to damage the plastic thread).

I just went and had a wobble of all my pedals, my ancient Nukeproof Horizon Comps do have just enough play to slightly knock at the crank end, but I can't feel it as play while riding- that's just because of reasonably frequent repackigns using that method. They're on their original bushings, done tons of hard use inc alps holidays, dh racing, the megavalanche, and lots of endless pentlands swamprides.

Opinions on Superstar seem all over the place here.

My experience was the original imported Nanos had amazing durability, then the UK made Nanos (X or Evo, not sure which) of which I had three pairs were terrible and needed the bushings changed way too often (but the bearings lasted well enough).

They then updated these, so I dunno if they got on top of the problem.

Nukeproof Horizon lasting well so far. Anyone got feedback on longer term durability?

One Up Aluminium pedals are solid. 2 years on mine and no play so far.

I think DMR still seem to be the leaders in solid, long lasting flats.

The Pembree ones look really nice

Avoid - big platform but weak internals. First pair lasted me 2 months of summer riding, got replaced on warranty and the second set didn't do much better.

HT felt good but longevity wasn't great, but they are serviceable if you have the tools.

I'm currently on my second set of Nukeproof Sam Hills for when I ride flats, they're a chunk cheaper than most of the ones listed above and feel decent.

Chromag pedals have been good in my experience. I've currently got a set of Scarabs that I have had for 3-4 years and done nothing to them other than change some pins.