When it comes to racing, pedals are almost as important as tires and suspension. Some riders prefer flat pedals, while the vast majority of racer boys and girls have migrated to the clipless platform. “They aren’t needed” some say, but the scientific proof says otherwise. Much more power is transferred to the drivetrain when using clipless pedals, instead of simply mashing down on the pedals, riders can begin to learn to spin. This helps transfer much more of the outputted energy directly where it needs to go, and keeps you from wasting that precious power needlessly.

That said, not all clipless pedals are up to the same standards. For years the de-facto standard was the Shimano SPD, as of late this has changed. Shimano pedals are simply too finicky. They jam up in mud, the bend easily when hit on rocks, they are hard to get out of if you hit them while clipped in etc.

Enter Crank Brothers and the Egg Beater. A few season ago these became the ultra lightweight, minimalist XC pedal of choice. Hardly any moving parts, nothing to get jammed up and some of the sexiest packaging known to man. I was hesitant to try them at first, after all, I had never really thought much about all the times my shimanoes had bummed me out and let me down. It didn’t really seem like an issue, as shimano was the best so I would just have to live with it.

Fast forward to the Mont Ste Anne world cup this year. The weatherman said it would rain, alot. Well, for once he was right. Friday night brought a monsoon that knocked down trees and washed away vast sections of the course. Practice was delayed for 2 hours while the UCI workers cleaned off the course to make it rideable again and to let it dry out. Sitting in the e.13 components compound, Cedric Gracia commented on how well his pedals had been working in yesterdays slop, while I lamented the fact that I couldn’t clip out at times. Cedric’s new mechanic, Jack, insited I try a pair of their spare mallets, even just for a run. I threw them on and away I went to the gondola.

WOW. I was blown away. I am not usually one who is easily impressed by bike parts, but these pedals seemed like a gift from the bike gods. They clipped in and out. That is it. I didn’t even think about them until I got to the bottom and looked down and realized I wasn’t on my own pedals. When a part works so well that you can forget you are using it, they are doing something right.

The main unit comes in the choice of a magnesium (M) or chromoly ( C ) body, along with a chromo axle and stainless steel retention bars. Each end of the pedal body is capped with a stainless steel “armor” plate. CB include 2 sets of plates with the pedals, one with long teeth, one with short. The pedals are grippy enough to ride on flat shoes or not clipped in, which is nice. The retention bars simply recess so you don’t feel them, and off you go. It's an empowering feeling to know you can jam down on the pedal in a sketchy section unclipped and ride through with confidence. Shimanos always felt slippery in this regard due to the cleat and pedal mechanism.

CB includes 1 set of cleats, 4 plastic cleat riser plates, 1 set of long cleat screws and 1 set of short cleat screws along with the armor plates. All this comes in a swanky foam lined box. Extra points for presentation!

Entry and exit is consistent at 15 degs, although you can go to 20 if you like by swapping the cleats (15 degs is the cleat with 2 dots on the right shoe, reverse for 20 degs.) We do not recommend the 20 deg position for downhill.

You cannot clip out accidentally unless you either slam the lower retention bars into a sharp rock, thus opening them, or you turn your foot. I never accidentally clipped out, either at Ste Anne or during my extended 4 weeks test on a pair of Mallet M pedals that were sent me when Crank Brothers heard how impressed I was.

I have been using Mallets in the M flavour ever since on my personal DH bike, and am loving life. I haven’t had a single problem, and have slammed these things into every rock on the east coast I think. The armor deflects shots very well, and the mechanism has nothing to break. Now I want a pair of regular egg beaters for my XC steed, and another pair of mallets in chromoly for my DJ bike!

Simply put, we love these pedals. If you feel the urge to go light, you can get the magnesium pedal body version that we have been testing (232g a pedal), and drop another $99 and get the Titanium axle upgrade kit.

Full rebuild kits are also available from the crank brothers website for an extremely low price as well, ass all the pedals are completely user serviceable! They also come with a 2 year warranty, just in case.

A few caveats – although our pedals have worked flawlessly, we have one team rider who bought a set and has managed to destroy 2 right pedals. Both times he bent the chromoly axle on rocks. These are most probably warranty issues.

The other caveat is just a heads up actually. The cleat is made of brass, this is so that the cleat wears, and not the retention bars. It is a great idea, but be aware that walking on these brass cleats can wear them down quickly as they are very soft.

Our verdict – GO BUY THESE PEDALS! You will not be disappointed, I was impressed enough with these to call Crank Brothers instantly upon returning home to get a test set on their way, I love them that much and want the world to know. They come in 4 colors so those of you with a weird need for matching colors can go nuts.

MSRP: $140 for the Magnesium Body. Can be found for $119 online.

Crank Brothers