After what seems like thousands of rebuilds I'm finally done with Vaults.
Have tried HTPA03, Burgtec Penthouse Mk5 and Nukeproof Horizons. Didn't like them and kept going back to Vaults.
So what to try next?
I have been riding the DMR V11 placcy pedals for a couple of years, and they have been much more durable than I expected (having heard about Vaults).
They're the same shape as Vaults, I believe?
Deity Deftraps. Low profile, grippy, tough, and don't develop bushing rattle after a week, unlike any DMR pedal ever.
Vaults - but with updated bushings and additional shaft seals.
2 pairs of V11's here. No complaints.
Stif have some V11s on 50% off price. I've just bought a pair in black for myself.
The SQ labs ones I use have been great. choice of sizes and a good width, flat with a little concave and great grip. not had to touch them!
I have a set of these from Reverse (the German Hope!). Very similar to the vaults I also run...
https://www.biketart.com/products/reverse-base-pedals?variant=43152171106483&gad_source=1
After rebuilding Vaults many times and smashing a cage and bending axles I went to OneUp plastic composite. I've now got 3 pairs and they've lasted ages despite being smashed off Peak District rocks.
I always default to superstar pedals. Grippy and minimal maintenance
I’ve got OneUps, the skinny ones with the bulge for the bearing. They’re ace.
However I did have to change the bearings in one of them after about 5 rides, OneUp sent me a rebuild kit and they’ve been spot on ever since. I’m hoping it was just a dodgy bearing. 🤞
Thanks all, will go through the list and try some out.
@onzadog - that's what I did, they haven't lasted much longer than the DMR OE stuff, hence why I've finally given up!
That's interesting. I've always liked the shape of the Vault but found durability lacking. I reckon the shaft seals made the most difference though.
I like the feel of my Crank Brothers Stamp 7's. But, the axle snapped recently on an innocuous section of trail and I went down quick when that happened. Fortunately is was on a slow single-track turn. If that had happened on the road I could have been under a car. CB replaced the axle on my 18 month old pedals. But that's spooked me a little bit.
I've got a set of OneUp alu pedals on another bike which I like underfoot.
I've got a set of the previous generation Hope F20 pedals on my hardtail. I feel like the pedal doesn't extend far behind the axle and they occasionally do an annoying thing where the pedal rolls under my foot on a climb. It only happens a few times a year, but I attribute that to this characteristic of the pedal shape.
I've got some V11's on my Road Bike. They work fine for that application but there are much better flat pedals out there.
I put grease ports in my Vaults. That made the bushes last WAY longer. Basically drilled a hole into the axle cavity near the outer end, tapped it for a pedal pin, then I can unscrew the pin, squirt grease in until you get clean stuff out at the crank end, replace the pin.
Have you got a grease port on both sides so you get consistent grip with your +1 pin. 🤣
Went through this quandary last week having just rebuilt one of my Vaults again and still not 100% happy with it. Pondered Hope F22s but they’re very expensive. Found some Deity T-Macs on eBay for under £80 posted (still some on there a few days ago) which review well for performance and durability, they turned up yesterday so eager so see how they go.
If we are talking Vaults with a grease port.
Funn Fundamentals are on my 'buy next' list, but the two pairs of Vaults I've had for years refuse to die. No idea what I'm doing wrong compared to others, but they're lasting very well.
Found some Deity T-Macs on eBay for under £80 posted (still some on there a few days ago) which review well for performance and durability, they turned up yesterday so eager so see how they go.
I'm not seeing any "normal" shops selling for that price, so I'd be giving them a very close look over to make sure they aren't the Aliexpress version
Found some Deity T-Macs on eBay for under £80 posted (still some on there a few days ago) which review well for performance and durability, they turned up yesterday so eager so see how they go.
I'm not seeing any "normal" shops selling for that price, so I'd be giving them a very close look over to make sure they aren't the Aliexpress version
Good catch, just had them out of the box and definitely some suspicious signs (logo font, axle), return already accepted they're going back.
I got some cheap eBay T-Macs two months back and they are the real thing. Not sure what the story is - change of distributor, stock from a failed company, deletion of model perhaps?.. the Super Villain seems to just be the Mk2 version without T-Mac's name and possibly sponsorship payments?
I'm also a big Vault fan. I've had mixed results with durability too, but for whatever reason my feet just seem to get on with them best.
I've got some Chiggle bargain Nukeproof Sam Hill/Horizons too. I tend to fidget around on them though and never fully gelled with them.
After using my Vaults and the NPs, the T-Macs feel decent straight away. Immediately liked them much more than the NPs but overall found them lacking a little bit of bite (it was still wet and muddy at this point though). So I swapped the standard 8mm pins on the front and back edges for 10mm ones and they're now the grippiest pedals I've ever used.
The other wildcard suggestion for 'Vaults but higher quality' I've heard is Raceface Atlas pedals. Zero personal experience, but I've been told this a few times.
I really fancied some Hope F22 but I've heard comments that the area in front of the axle is significantly larger than the rear which causes them to flip more readily when riding with a midfoot position.
@mattrockwell The ones I got were (probably) definitely knock offs, they may have been perfectly ok, but I’m not paying premium over Ali Express replicas on the pretence they’re genuine.
Now watching thread with more interest.
For anyone looking for a slightly smaller platform: https://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&c=84&p=940&tb=001. Fairly generic but they stood out in feel for me. I prefer thru pins for ease of replacement and a bigger platform for my size 11s, but despite these lacking both of those attributes I really liked these. Used them for years before swapping to Vaults.
the two pairs of Vaults I've had for years refuse to die. No idea what I'm doing wrong compared to others, but they're lasting very well.
Same here. I do the occasional full rebuild (once on one pair at 6000kms), replace the bushes a bit more frequently when there's a wee bit of play, and in lieu of having a grease port do the thing of filling the end cap and pedal end with grease then screwing the end cap on slowly so old manky grease gets pushed out the crank side
Have bent the frame at a couple of the pins right enough, but they still work, in fact just bought another pair off eBay for the 'new' bike. Vaults FTW 🙂
@razorrazoo Mine were shop soiled ones or ex display I think - the box came very battered and pedals still had fresh feeling bearings, but looked like they'd bounced around somewhere out of the box for a long time. There were plenty of others new and cheap around when I bought mine, I just got the 'new (other)' ones as they were cheaper. The seller didn't have multiple units either.
Hopefully I got lucky. Dunno though, maybe I just can't tell the difference.
@razorrazoo Mine were shop soiled ones or ex display I think - the box came very battered and pedals still had fresh feeling bearings, but looked like they'd bounced around somewhere out of the box for a long time. There were plenty of others new and cheap around when I bought mine, I just got the 'new (other)' ones as they were cheaper. The seller didn't have multiple units either.
Hopefully I got lucky. Dunno though, maybe I just can't tell the difference.
I guess if you're buying from a genuine shop' with an eBay presence and there's plenty of other reasons why they're cheap (such as battered packaging) you've a better chance of them being real. TBH it hadn't even occurred to me that something as mundane and niche as an MTB pedal had copies until it was mentioned in the thread, but I got a good image off the Deity website and could see differences in the TMAC font (too thin), Axle (different shaped above the thread), Number of spare pins (17 - there should be 20) and the machined grooves looked different to the image in width / chamfer).
Quick thread update for anyone else looking - I found some Deity Supervillains on sale and took a punt.
Love them, bit more concave than the Vaults (I would say Burgtec are the flattest platform followed by Vaults, followed by Deity). Hopefully they last.
I know the OP is sorted but if anyone is still looking, these Unite flats feel quite close to Vaults. Really good quality and all pins screw in from the bottom so if you sheer one off you don't have to drill it out.
Always got a discount on, listed at £100, I paid £70 and happy with that as my preferred Burgtec Mk5 are always around £115. One ride so far, feel super grippy and you can buy a full service kit so they should last awhile. Lots of colours as well, if you're *that* kind of person 😉
The 'problem' with suggestions of UK made pedals apart from hope is that the future of the companies making them seem unclear, so getting spares may be an issue in the future.
Superstar for example no longer has any machines, the business is in liquidation on companies house so looks like they may be selling off everything they made before the machines were auctioned off.
Unite Components have the machine they make their pedals up for sale and have already sold their lathe - so unless they are using other manufacturing, spares may be hard to come by there in the future too.
Not a problem if you are paying £30.00 but they are considerably more expensive than that.
Personally, if you are up for paying around £100.00, just buy Hopes or Burgtecs, you know they will last forever and you will be able to get spares when they do eventually break down in some way.
I have V11s on both bikes. I swapped out the brass bearings for igus straight away. Learnt that lesson from using vaults, the brass bearings as they wear also wear the spindle. The Igus bearings last forever
Quick thread update for anyone else looking - I found some Deity Supervillains on sale and took a punt.
Love them, bit more concave than the Vaults (I would say Burgtec are the flattest platform followed by Vaults, followed by Deity). Hopefully they last.
How much and where from for the Deity pedals?
