Wolftooth introduced their waveform pedals last winter and sent us a pair along with an Arctodus steel fat bike that they loaned us. I started riding the waveform pedals on that Arctodus and then moved them to a corner unit singlespeed where they provided further duty. Pedals truly take a beating on mountain bikes, and […]
Archive | Pedals
2022 Sea Otter Classic Bike Expo (Part 3)
We’re back with Part 3 of our coverage of the 2022 Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental. The bike industry came out of hiding and brought out all of the new toys for all of the girls and boys! #alicecooper Surly Bicycles wove themselves into a new taller tent during the pandemic. They […]
2022 Sea Otter Classic Bike Expo (Part 1)
The 2022 Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental was last week. Racers, fans, and our favorite brands gathered at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey California! I walked the aisles of the expo to bring you the latest and greatest products coming to the US market from all of the best companies. It […]
Platform Pedal Shootout
Platform Pedals are ubiquitous to the fat-bike scene. When I started riding fat-bikes, I ditched the spd pedals that I’d ridden for years and enjoyed the foot loose and fancy free platform pedal cycling lifestyle from there forward. I still run spuds on some of my bikes, but I run platforms on just as many, […]
CABDA MidWest SitRep
I made a trip to what I like to call the belly of the beast, Schaumburg, Illinois, yesterday to browse groovy cycling wares at the CABDA Midwest Expo. CABDA has been around for a long, long time. Way back in the last century, the shop that I worked at (ABC Cyclery) used to prep and […]

Summer Solstice Bivvy
June 21st and the summer solstice luckily fell on a Friday, and luckily for me I finish work early on a Friday! YEAH!! The sun was shining, the forecast was good so a quick plan hatched to bivvy out for the night. I’ve had my eye on this sheltered spot facing east for some time […]
RaceFace Atlas Platform Pedal – We can Rebuild them
Back in the spring of 2014, we began testing a set of RaceFace Atlas Platform Pedals. In the Product Spotlight of the RaceFace Atlas platform pedals, I wrote “I have a new bike as of last winter and I’ve been lusting after these RaceFace pedals. My new Fatback 190, Otis, is built up with a heavy dose […]
DMR Lacon Vault Platform Pedals by Kitty
Originally these pedals were bought for a cruiser bike with ‘old-school’ slippery sneaker pedals. Hey, they matched the look of the bike! Just trying to accessorize. Anyway, they didn’t fit, so I put them on my favorite fat bike instead. Turns out the fatty is way more worthy of this pedal adornment level. (Don’t underestimate […]
Kona Alloy Wah Wah Pedal Review By: LT. LarSSon
Kona Wah Wah – Aluminum Edition The Kona Wah Wah pedals were dropped at my door via fat-drone with a little message that read, “Have fun”. I unpackaged the box to see some giant green platform pedals and I wondered, “Are my feet too small for these things”? I mean, I’m using these on my summer plus […]
Esker Pedal Review by Ronsta
Esker Pedals by Framed Bikes One of the great things about bicycles is freedom. Freedom to go wherever you want under your own power. For some that means going wherever you want, whenever you want, wearing whatever you want. Wanna ride the beach in your sandals and swimwear? Go for it. Breaking trail in the […]
iSSi Stomp XL Review
ISSI Stomp XL Pedal Review The iSSi Stomp XL pedal landed here in Wales from their HQ in Minneapolis. The Stomp XL is their first attempt at a platform pedal and first impressions are they look and feel great. They are available in four different colours from black, plum, lime and blue. The platform is […]
2018 Sea Otter Classic – Special Report
In addition to hosting every denomination of bicycle racing, the 2018 Sea Otter Classic has become the best bicycle industry trade show in these United States. Even the corporate giants of the industry come out and show their wares and simultaneously support their race teams. Along with the big boys, the Sea Otter expo area features […]
KONA Wah Wah 2 Pedal Review – By Tony Grande
So, there I was, sitting around on a Sunday morning, minding my own business when outta nowhere I get a message from everybody’s favorite uncle, Uncle Gomez! (in my mind, everyone is cheering like when someone says the secret word in Pee Wee’s Playhouse) “Do you ride flat pedals?” – Such an odd question […]
iSSi Trail Off-road Clipless Pedals in DL Green
Thanks to Dave Lunz for his report on the iSSi Trail Off-road Clipless Pedals you can read all about below! When the fine folks at iSSi pedals sent Sven unt Uncle Gomez a set of lime green Trail Off-road trail pedals to test, my name popped up right away for some reason! The first reason being […]
Product Preview- Race Face Chester Pedals by Evan LarSSon
The Chester is a new flat pedal offered by Race Face, but who is this Chester they speak of? “I heard Chester made fun of Enduro before it was cool” and “I can’t ride today” said Chester NEVER, are a couple of things I’ve seen on the interwebs. I was curious if this new line […]
Issi Pedal Review by Steve Meurett
The ground is covered with white-the first snowfall here in western Wisconsin. It won’t last to be sure, but it does get the heart pumping for fatbike season. Actually, there is no “fatbike season”….the fattys roll all year, as it should be now-a-days. But, the snow does remind us that bikes, clothing and gear need […]
First Impressions – Catalyst Pedals from Pedaling Innovations
I came across a story about a new pedal design, called the Catalyst, from James Wilson at Pedaling Innovations and thought that the concept and design of the pedal may appeal to some fat-bike riders. Fat-bikers already use flats a lot more than traditional mountain bikers and James sent us a set of Catalyst pedals to […]
Salsa Beargrease X01 en Fuego
So you get a new fat bike as winter 2015 comes to a close and the thought is, “O well, that was nice, put it in the bike storage until next winter so I can ride it again.” Wrong homie. I took out Salsa Beargrease X01 on the red dirt bacon strip of Cuyuna […]
Product Spotlight – iSSi Trail Clipless Pedals With Multiple Spindle Lengths
Last week we introduced you to the iSSi Triple Trail clipless pedal and this week we have another member of the family, the iSSi Trail. Bike Black Ribbon Tester, Steve Meurett has a look at these versatile pedals. Pedals-sexy as the latest carbon fiber fatbike frame? Hardly. Yet, without them, you’re not going anywhere […]
First Look – iSSi Triple Trail Clipless Pedal
New in the test kitchen is a set of iSSi Triple Trail clipless pedals in a fetching lime green color. The iSSi Triple Trail pedal is a fully serviceable, high-performance Shimano SPD-compatible clipless pedal available in 8 colors including our test set in lime green. The Triple Trail has a mid-sized pedal body for stability and protection […]
RaceFace Atlas Pedal – Long Term Review
Seven Months ago, I threaded a set of RaceFace Atlas platform pedals onto my Fatback, and it’s probably time to check in and show how they’re holding up! I introduced the RF Atlas pedals in a Product Spotlight back in May 2014. I ride flats all year long and I’ve been kind of spoiled for the last few […]
A visit to Jade Cycles – Holland Michigan
Earlier this month, on a trip to Michigan, I stopped in to see Jim Degracia at Jade Cycles in Holland. Jim is a real entrepreneur and runs two bike brands out of his shop. We featured a story about their rims and hubs, back in March, that you can read here. Jade’s Fat Rim is […]
Product Spotlight – RaceFace Atlas Platform Pedals
I’ve been riding the same set of pedals for about two years and since I have a new bike as of last winter, I’ve been lusting after these RaceFace pedals. My new Fatback 190, Otis, is built up with a heavy dose of RaceFace’s components. The Bar, Stem, Seatpost and Crank are all from our Canadian […]
1st Look – VP Components VP-001 Pedals
Last September out in the Nevada desert, at the Outdoor Dirt Demo, just before Interbike, The dudes from VP components had the kind of luck(?) to find themselves, next door to the Surly tent, which also gave them front row seats to watching Cheaver, Chewie, Spinner, Dave Nice, Cale, Dirty and I get day drunk […]
45NRTH Helva Pedal ♦ Long Term Review
Ten months ago, we introduced you to 45NRTH’s Helva pedal and started our product test. The photo above shows the Helvas fresh out of their box, all clean and virgin-like. Three months later we offered a progress report on the Helva’s and the pedal noir photo (above) shows you what our test set of pedals, […]
Fyxation Mesa 61 Pedals
This is a preview of the Fyxation Mesa 61 pedals that Nick from Fyxation dropped off a couple of weeks ago for us to check out. The Fyxation Mesa 61 Pedal is very similar to Fyxation’s other Mesa offerings in size, with a modified shape, but is made from 6061 Aluminum for more aggressive fat-bike […]