The offerings in slim platform pedals available continue to evolve, and we came across a few at Sea Otter that definitely caught our eye. The first ones we came across were on Ian Massey’s bike. Ian’s a pretty fast local guy that races pro DH and enduro that receives support from Point One, and had the latest prototype pedals on his pump track rig. Their current model, the Podium was already light and thin with a design that tapered from 11mm to 13mm. The new design has been trimmed more for even less rock deflection, and the studs thread in from the back to be easily removed if damaged.
I’d be remiss to not mention the Syntace Titan test pedals I bolted to my Black Market Riot recently. These are pretty dang sweet, and we’ll have a review of them up in the next few weeks.
There is a ridiculous amount of thought that went into making these things, provided you can afford/ justify their cost.
Check them out: Syntace USA
Next up we stopped by the Novatec/ HT booth and made Matt Condroshoff show us the latest goods. A lot of fast local guys were running the HT pedals last year and the designs continue to rollout.
Novatec is another brand popping up on the radar. Like HT, they’re from Taiwan, with lots of experience in OEM. They’re owned by Joytech, and are positioned as the high end hub and wheel offerings from the brand. The Diablo DH wheels are a local favorite with the guys, coming in at 1780 (is that right?) for the set. In case you’re not keeping track, that’s a reasonable weight for trail/ all mountain wheels. For a gravity rated set of wheels, it’s super impressive. They’re also tubeless ready. Built with Sapim Race double butted spokes and alloy nipples helps keep the weight down, and axle caps are swappable and compatible for QR/9mm, 15mm, 20mm in the front and QR, 10mm, 12mm, and x12 in the rear.
The alloy cassette bodies features a bit of reinforcement for durability. If you’ve ever had to tap off a cassette after a few months of use because the freehub body is notched, you’ll appreciate that touch.
Check them out: Novatecusa.net