Nashbar Road Pedal Review

If you don’t already know Nashbar.com, you should check out the site.  Think of it as a discount bin for cycling equipment.  Nashbar has tons of name brand equipment at really great prices, mostly closeouts and last year’s models.  Nashbar also has their own white-label products, including these pedals.

I picked these pedals up a few years back when I started riding seriously.  I recently picked up another pair of these for my wife who’s starting to get a bit more serious about her riding.

Appearance:

The Nashbar pedals are made of cast aluminum with a plastic back and metal springs.  The spindle is made of chromemoly and features sealed bearings.  I don’t buy products based on their appearance, but these pedals are really decent looking.   My family now has a set of black pedals and a set of silver, both are nice looking and don’t attract attention to themselves.

Installing Nashbar Pedals and Clips:

The installation is pretty simple.  Using a wrench, simply unscrew your previous pedals and screw in the new pedals.  Installing your cleats are a bit harder and really depends on your preferences.  The easiest way to install the cleats is to put on your shoes and have a friend install your cleats while your feet are straight.  Once you get the cleats installed, a quick trip around the block will go a long way make sure you have  a good fit.  The most important part of the install is to get the release setting figured out and dialed into your preferences.  See below for details.

Comfort and Fit:

I think the comfort has more to do with your shoes and making sure you have a good fit than it does the pedals.  However, these pedals have a bit of float, 6 degrees according to Nashbar and if that bothers you, you might want to tighten them up a bit.

Now, once you get the cleats set properly, you need to get the release point set properly.  There’s a set screw in the bottom of the plastic part of the pedals that controls the spring tension on the release clip.  If you’re new at using clipless pedals, you’ll want to have a pretty easy release to make sure you don’t fall over trying to get out of the pedals.  If you’re used to using similar pedals, you can tighten the pedals quite a bit so your shoes won’t pop out.

I’ve used these pedals for quite a while now.  I’ve used them in century distance rides, olys, a bunch of sprints, and my daily riding.  I’ve tried other pedals and different cleat styles.  The only problem I’ve had from the Nashbar pedals was the spring that holds the plastic piece fast against your cleats.  One day, early in my use of these, the spring simply popped out of it’s seat, causing my shoe to release.  Pulled over to the side of the road and used my tool kit to loosen the set screw as much as possible and the used an allen key to push the spring back into place.  That was over a year and a half ago and I haven’t had any trouble since.

Overview:

The bottom line is these pedals are a great deal.  I’ve used many other pedals and have had varying experiences with them.  More expensive pedals are going to be made of higher quality material, or be a prettier color, or have a lifetime warranty, etc.  But for about $35, you won’t be disappointed with the Nashbar Road Pedals.  There are tons of nicer pedals with more adjustments, etc, but for the average user, these pedals are more than sufficient.  I don’t have any hesitation using them during training or during a race.  If you’re a beginner, or cheap, or both, these pedals will do the job, no fuss and no frills.