I had some 5% back store credit burning a hole in my rivbike.com account, so I recently made a "purchase". (Thanks guys!) Part of my order was a pair of King Grip pedals. Did my first ride with them today and thought I'd share my thoughts for those who are considering them.
The ride was my normal 10 mile commute, unseasonably cool with a slight breeze. Rode in my size 14 Chaco sandals, with socks (fashion at its best!) due to the cooler temperatures. Last night I installed the pedals. They were surprisingly light. They look very bulky and heavy, but when I held them I was pleasantly surprised. Too lazy to find the grease, so I put a dab of wax based chain lube on the threads and figured the existing grease in the crank arms would be sufficient. The spindles have both hex flats for a 14 mm pedal wrench and recessed holes for an allen wrench. I used the flats since I already had the pedal wrench in hand from removing the MKS touring pedals. The MKS touring pedals were bothering me in that I was constantly suffering from pedal strike. I tried, seriously, to teach myself how close they were to the ground, but it seemed that even on the most subtle of turns they would touch the ground. The King Grip pedals, on the other hand, had amazing clearance. I pedaled through every turn, even some that I shouldn't have and couldn't get them to hit the ground. I tried standing with one foot low and swerving back and forth on the bike trail trying to get them to touch, and they didn't. They had GREAT clearance! (Grant responded to my previous complaints about the MKS pedals, indicating that the King Grips had the best clearance of the pedals they sell) On the MKS pedals I have been using powergrip straps. I didn't miss the attachment at all with the King Grip pedals as the platform held the shoe in place well. Overall they were good pedals. My concern, though, is that they felt too narrow. I felt like I had to keep my feet in just the right place to keep them centered over the pedal, and yet I was still pushing against the straps of my sandals as my foot wanted to migrate outwards. It may be because I tend to pedal somewhat toe out, and on my old Speedplay Frog pedals I always special ordered them with extra long spindles, but I think that I'd also prefer a longer spindle with the King Grip pedal so that I could feel like my foot was actually on the pedal. Maybe I should try them with a set of those "knee saver" spacer, but I don't have any available. I also quickly understood why some here have been adding an extra support along the outer edge and am somewhat tempted to go back through the archives and see who was selling those and try to modify these accordingly. Anyhow, hope that this quick review is helpful to anybody considering these pedals... -Rex -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
