Breaking pedals

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Is it me being new to mountain biking, or is breaking pedals a common thing? I seem to bottom the pedals out on the ground often. I’m trying to keep the pedals horizontally parallel but it’s not a natural position for me. I’ve broken the metal that wraps around the pedal, off both sides now and will be replacing them soon. They are the pedals that came with my bike, platform pedals I think they are called. Just when I stopped falling off and riding into trees too……Thanks.

[slipfinger]

First off, if you have cheap caged pedals they will not hold up to much abuse at all. You will be well served to have a look for some thinner platform pedals that will stand up to the abuse and give you a little more ground clearance with the thinner platform.
Secondly, I’m not to sure which bike you ride and the geometry of your bike but it could just be conducive to pedal strikes. You may have a low BB height and 175mm crank arms which is a strike waiting to happen. With-out spending some cash the only real fix is to adjust your position on the bike. When coasting downhill you should always have the pedals in a neutral position, basically pedals level. When cornering you should always have the pedal/crank arm leading into the corner in the up most position or 12 o’clock position. Doing this will help you avoid making contact with objects around you on the trail.

You probably will still experience the odd pedal strike no matter what you do, but low profile platforms and body positioning should help you eliminate most of them. Also look where you want to go and not where you are going….

[gar29]

^^ What Slipfinger said^^ The cheap pedals that come with the bike are only good for a few hard shots. Just practice with keeping your pedals horizontal. If not, what will happen is one of these times, you will catch a good rock and it will shoot you somewhere you don’t want to go. I learned that one the hard way… You can find reasonably priced platform pedals or if you want to try out clipless but still have a platform, you try out a hybrid style pedal for a reasonable price.

[Reimiraa]

If you ever go to clip less I recommend the crank brothers Candy. Simple cheap ($55) and small platform to them. Small learning curve. I slowly transitioned from platforms to cages (death traps as my group riding peeps called them). Then to these. Also they transfer energy better.

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[gar29]

"Reimiraa" wrote

If you ever go to clip less I recommend the crank brothers Candy. Simple cheap ($55) and small platform to them. Small learning curve. I slowly transitioned from platforms to cages (death traps as my group riding peeps called them). Then to these. Also they transfer energy better.

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I rode with cages back in the olden days in the 90’s. I agree on death traps! The only way to get your foot out is by puling it back, not the more natural stepping off way with clipless pedals. I had more crashes because I couldn’t get out of the darned things!

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