Magnetic Pedals for Gravel Bikes. Any Good?

What is the best pedal system for gravel bikes? Do magnetic pedals actually work? Is there any place for them on a road bike?

[@Ghostina1]

I use the gravel an the new road Magped on several bikes. Flawless

[@CyclespeedTours]

Cool. There doesn't seem to be much difference between the Magped Gravel and Road?

[@LainOTN]

@@CyclespeedTours The main difference are: - The road comes with a 3 hole Iron plate for road shoes. - The road has a float adjustment option via spacers. But the force magnets etc, is the same. And the feeling is practically identical (but the float adjust is a nice touch on the road version) Gravel is slightly lighter thought. 212 gr vs 214 gr the pair (If you count that the 2 hole iron is lighter (64gr pair) than the 3 hole one (75 pair), the gravel wins on total weight 276 vs 289 the whole road system) Not much difference, really :)

[@CyclespeedTours]

@@LainOTN Thanks. Yes, for sure the cleat mount has to be different to account for SPD-SL, but it's a bit odd that the road would weigh more than the gravel.....

[@georgec2894]

Interesting pedals and nice looking new shoes! I've always used dura ace or ultegra pedals except for 18 months on garmin vectors. I still go hunting for a better system and always come back to the shimanos, it seems. But this system could have a place for gravel riding for sure.

[@CyclespeedTours]

I am a big Dura Ace road pedal fan - very reliable and light enough. (I tried Garmin Vectors but had very variable readings so sent them back). I'm not convinced by these Magped yet......but for MTB, yes.

[@rokibuca]

I use gravel pedals, which work fine but I would say they are too expensive for normal users just go with PD-M520

[@endtimeslips4660]

i use road model it fantastic pedal, but the plastic which attach to the shoes worn out after about 6 or 7 month. in ride sometime we did skid our shoes to the ground when we do emergency stop. there is the moment when plastic cover for the shoes got damage very quick and the magnet so far not yet replace. for this last 9 month using it, i already notice the magnet become more weak but still use able. yes it worn out heavy scratch everywhere because some time a sand stuck between the iron plate and the magnet. compare with KEO. i think i spend equal same amount of money because the replacement for plastic cover not cheap either.

[@CyclespeedTours]

Thanks, interesting feedback. They say that the magnet won't lose strength, but I¡m not so sure....

[@endtimeslips4660]

@@CyclespeedTours you will fell it after use it for long. the material for the magnet not very strong more over the road in my country Vietnam not clean, many random thing like sand, sometime clay like material stuck in the plastic bracket of my shoes it like a sand paper. and one more thing for road version the hexagon bolt that hold the magnet by time also got sanded down within the magnet surface also.

[@CyclespeedTours]

@@endtimeslips4660 I was in South Vietnam in February, we loved it! Saigon, Can Tho, Phu Quoc.....

[@endtimeslips4660]

@@CyclespeedTours good month. for now season is hail season many rain many thing happen sea also not friendly. sometime flood in the city.

[@MS-bw7yt]

What is wrong with some Shimano spd's? Especially when you consider the system weight (pedal + cleat) spd's are not really that heavy and they are dual sided. If weight is super important you can even go for aftermarket titanium axles. There are so many different pedal systems on the market but I think in terms of durability, stability and performance, Shimano with spd-sl on road and spd of road is just in a different league

[@CyclespeedTours]

XTR pedals are 313g, so 110g more which is not insignificant, and the cleats would weigh about the same. But they are double sided which helps. I agree that it's hard to go wrong with Shimano, both road and off-road. I think the magnetic work best in a downhill, aggressive MTB environment where little retention is needed and clipping/unclipping is super easy. I'm 50/50 about sending these back.

[@MS-bw7yt]

@CyclespeedTours totally agree with the MTB part. I think there magnetic pedals really shine. But for gravel, cyclocross and even XC MTB, good old spd is just unmatched in terms of reliability and performance. I am a 195cm, 95kg sprinter, so I couldn't care less about weight. Staying clipped in and a stable plattform is just so much more important for me. But if you really care about weight, you can mod xtr pedals with meti titanium axles.

[@ervin7178]

@@CyclespeedToursI feel like if magpeds had any viability in DH and Enduro we would have seen them used by at least a few riders in the pro field, but spd, crankbrothers, or even flats are preferred

[@CyclespeedTours]

@@ervin7178 Maybe it's a question of time and awareness?

[@weinoberger]

I’ve recently started doing a lot more gravel riding and went for SPD. The familiarity of clipping in and out vs SPD-SL was great and ability to clip in with shoes caked in mud is amazing. I’d be interested to see a mud test with the magnets but I can’t see myself moving to a new system

[@pmcmpc]

Can you hop the bike or lift the rear wheel with them?

[@CyclespeedTours]

Yes, no problem.

[@SlickOne79]

Did you end up keeping them?

[@CyclespeedTours]

No. I realised that to make sense for gravel they should be 2 sided for fast re entry. I think they do have merit as a road pedal though