Composite Pedals: Details of our favourites and what to look for if shopping for flat pedals

Composite pedals offer excellent value, light weight, colours and options... all that while saving you money compared to alloy flat pedals. Hopefully this gives enough information to act as a bit of a buyers guide, even if you aren't choosing between these 3 pedals.
We look at our favourite composite pedals from OneUp Components, Crank Brothers and Marin, look at weights, price, number of pins and offer some buying tips.
While we try to keep this simple, with only 3 options, I think you will be able to apply the knowledge shared here to choose between these, Raceface, Deity, Kona, Specialized and many other popular models of flat pedals.

[@kevinborovsky3558]

Thanks for the review do enjoy component overviews 🎉

[@Chan1881]

The OneUp’s are such a great value: quality construction and nice & slim. That’s what I tend to buy. Also have a pair of blue aluminum Wah Wah 2’s that are such a good looking pair of pedals, nice & robust, and are perfect for larger feet.

[@ashurany]

Run the stamp 1s (small) on one bike and raceface chesters on another. Both are quality pedals with outstanding grip.

[@tomrodriguez9052]

I have been using the Stamp composite pedals for that last 6 months. The big ridge for the spindle doesn't allow as good a contact with the pins and not as good a grip as the alloy version I have on my other bike, I'll be switching them out soon.

[@chrisbfleetwood]

Good video. My favorite pedals are kona wah wah 2 composite pedals.

[@chrisbfleetwood]

120mm x 118mm body if I remember correctly.

[@BikeBrosBikeShop]

@@chrisbfleetwood Yup, I've heard a number of people with good things to say about Kona Pedals. A few people have mentioned that they sense a similar vibe between Marin and Kona... so adding good pedals to the mix just helped Marin seem that much more like Kona.

[@chrisbfleetwood]

@@BikeBrosBikeShop those Marin pedals do look really good!

[@jasonsheridan6222]

I've used the Race Face chester, Crank Bros stamp 1 L and the One-up Components composite pedals. In my experience, the one-ups are noticeably grippier then the stamps with my favorite ride concepts shoes. In terms of grip, I would rank them: One-up, then Race Face just a bit less and finally Crank Bros provided noticeably the least traction. The reason the stamp has less grip is because there's no concave shape. The plastic over the spindle/middle doesn't let the pins dig into the sole of your shoes.

[@That_Stealth_Guy]

I have used the Crank Bros. Stamp 1' on several of my bikes( currently installed on 4 out of my 6). I have yet to have any failures. They endure pedal strikes pretty well too. My only major complaint with them is that the area surrounding the pedal pins is constantly holding on too mud and grime. Nothing too difficult that wont come off with soap and water and a good stiff nylon brush, but they do seem to keep dirt trapped there more than my E-thirteen Base pedals I use on my other two bikes.

[@BikeBrosBikeShop]

That is interesting. I hadn't every really noticed the difference in one pedal vs another for mud sticking... something I'll look for

[@That_Stealth_Guy]

@@BikeBrosBikeShop Don't worry too much about it. I was really having to think about what kind of complaints about the Stamp 1's I have. It is that and the silk screened logos wearing off. The latter isn't something I care for since I would much rather see the logo embossed into the pedal vs. painted on, but to each there own.

[@dcrump]

New to mtb riding and had question about large bike pedal size…

[@IsraelMagalit]

"Concavity" 🙂 That Marin looks interesting.

[@BikeBrosBikeShop]

Did I say that?

[@IsraelMagalit]

@@BikeBrosBikeShop no, but you should have

[@BikeBrosBikeShop]

@@IsraelMagalit darn, wish I had!

[@IsraelMagalit]

@@BikeBrosBikeShop lol no worries. Good video. Thanks for sharing!

[@toasterbear]

What's the update on the Marin Oso vs. One up composite?? My biggest concern is pedal strikes (I have an ebike and size 13)

[@BikeBrosBikeShop]

We haven't seen any signs of one being tougher than the other. The OneUp has a longer history to give some extra confidence but for toughness it seems most brands are doing a good job. Those Osos are nice and big!

[@mikelo303]

Still do not understand that until this day they make flat pedals not CONCAVE. Complete flats are DANGEROUS to use and slip easily. Concave pedals are way, way better and nobody talks about it and almost nobody mentions it. There should be standard measurement showing how concave pedals are to help people choose and yet not even manufacturers mention it at all.

[@BikeBrosBikeShop]

While I am a huge flat pedal fan and user (my personal collection of pedals I've tried and swap between bikes is kind of ridiculous), I think pins can make up for lacking concavity. My biggest gripe on pedals is when the bearings develop play too quickly - either from bad bearings or bad design that has the end cap coming loose. Concavity comes at the expense of pedal thickness and that is a trade-off. It is amazing how a few mm of pedal thickness can affect how many pedal strikes you can experience. Also, shoes designed for flat pedals have gotten so good that I actually find some shoe/pedal combinations provide so much grip that they're distracting because making fine adjustments of where your pedal sits under your foot becomes impossible without raising your foot completely clear of the pedal and hoping you get a proper position when you put your foot down. As much as I point out the concavity and size, I personally use each of the pedals I mention and with the right shoe I can be quite happy with either. My excitement of the Marin pedal is that it starts getting close to the ridiculous traction of a Deity Tmac pedal (probably the best traction available) while being much cheaper and with more bevel to reduce the impact of pedal strikes.