Race Face Atlas Pedal - Review
Race Face Atlas Pedal
With their headquarters located only a short drive away from the North Shore, Squamish, and Whistler, the folks at Race Face are familiar with the abuse that a set of pedals needs to be able to handle over the course of a season, which is why they designed the Atlas pedal. The Atlas is their top of the line offering, sitting one step above the Aeffect pedal that we reviewed earlier this year. Wide and thin, the pedals use an aluminum platform that measures 101x114mm, and taper from 14.5mm at the outer ends to 12mm in the center. Ten traction pins are located around the perimeter of each side, and all ten of them thread in from the opposite side for easy replacement. The pins located on the leading and trailing edges of the pedal are angled slightly inwards to provide even more grip. A total of four sealed cartridge bearings keep the pedals spinning smoothly on a chromoly axle, with one oversized bearing that sits closest to the cranks, and three smaller ones at the outer portion of the axle.
Installation of the Atlas pedals is about at easy it gets, but don't forget to slip on a pedal washer – otherwise the pedal body will sit directly against the crankarm and prevent the pedals from spinning. Also, the shape of the body means that the Atlas won't work with Race Face's protective crank arm boots due to the bulge where the inboard cartridge bearing is housed, although plans are in the works to slightly modify the axle in future versions to correct this. Available in black, blue, red, and green. Weight: 357 grams. MSRP: $179.99 USD. www.raceface.com
Light, thin, and reliable, the Atlas pedals took everything we threw at them in stride.
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Over the course of a season I'm constantly switching between different bike and pedal setups, but the Atlas quickly became my go-to this year, the pedal I found myself reaching for most often when given the choice. The pin layout combined with the slight amount of concavity provided plenty of support, and they were comfortable enough for all styles of riding, whether it was a long trail ride or an extended bike park session. Slipping a pedal was a rarity, and even when pinballing through the roughest rock gardens my feet stayed fimly glued into place. I'd initially wondered about the lack of traction pins in the center of the pedals, but this never became an issue - there's more than enough grip to go around, especially when they are paired with a sticky rubber sole. Even after months of hard riding, the Atlas pedals have yet to develop any play, and nearly all the pins have survived being bashed into logs and dragged over rocks. Sure, there's a decent amount of scuffs and scrapes on the body, but that comes with the territory, and the fact that they're still spinning as smooth as silk is what matters the most. Plus, should they ever need service, Race Face offers a complete rebuild kit that even includes a bearing press and removal tool that will have them up and running again in no time. The price of the Atlas puts them on the higher end of the scale, but in this case the high level of performance they offer makes them worth every penny. If you're looking for a new favorite pedal, there's a good chance the Atlas pedals will become just that. - Mike Kazimer |
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There are LOTS of options that are more expensive than this pedal (just as there are LOTS of cheaper options) so it is not absurd to say this is a mid-price pedal. It is for sure a lot of money, but don't argue that this pedal is not factually in the middle of the price spectrum for flat pedals.
I'd rather spend more of my money on a pair of 510 shoes and a used pair of pedals.
www.pinkbike.com/news/review-bazooka-funn-bigfoot-pedals.html
FYI - I seviced the pedals today - for the first time, and the bearings were mint! No grime or rust, just shiny and perfect. I tightened the allen bolt and the horizontal play disappeared. Wow! Did not expect that to happen. Any pedal I've had were rusty and filled with dirt after 3 months. Spikes, electrons, wellgos, dmr v8... These are absolutely the best I ever had. I wish I took a picture of the axle when I took them apart. Shiny with clear grease after 6 months of daily use/abuse.
The price complainers here are right
Btw, Wellgo B54 are cheap ($50) and reliable (still spin like new after 2 years of rock grinding and crashing).
ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb11447460/p4pb11447460.jpg
Mmmm what the thickness of the crank arm ( or bolt thread lenght ) u suggest ?? The more further apart between the bearing is better but at some expense !
I guess the Tioga MT-Zero is a good example for the bearings size.
www.pinkbike.com/news/Tioga-MT-ZERO-Pedal-Tested-2012.html
I really want some but need to be sure before parting with £125 gbp.
its too bad that pedal mfgs dont realize that pedals are arguably the most disposable part of the bike (aside from tubes/tires)...that being the case, why the hell cant they be more affordable? (rhetorical question)
please stop the madness...pedals shouldn't cost more than $50....
Let's just not try to make the Spike nor the Atlas a godlike pedal. To me Atlas is way better than the Spike - more grip, bearings > bushings, concave platform => more natural feeling. Others may prefer something else, I'll stick with what feels best to my sole!
Have you ridden it at all though? I just don't see how would it ever possibly have less grip.
plus - come on RF, you give us protective boots (what a great idea!!!!) and then your own pedals are not compatible? please don't do stuff like that...
I never rode Atlas pedals so can't comment on them, but I can comment on HT's - I don't ride that good and give my bike rough time almost always and the pedals are getting the worst treatment. and still, I only once cleaned them and relube them and that only when I changed cranks, cause I thought what the hell, I'll clean them while they're off bike... friend of mine who's riding really good is riding the ones you have, AE01 and he also never had any problems. and he is kicking the living s**t out of them...
I agree bearings are better than bushings, but really can't say anything against the bushings in HT pedals. I don't know maybe you just got a bad product... sorry to hear that.
Each pedal is clearly marked with an “L” or “R” on the body, which makes installation incredibly easy, unless you don’t know right from left
Erm... Are there people out there who struggle with which side to put an asymmetrical pedal on??
- are you shitting me!! Seriously, thats a massive design FAIL....back to the drawing board fellas, just not good enough for the price being asked.
They have no need for after market adjustment or "bodging" with shims etc. and to top it all off, they only cost £75.00 a pair, and even come with a spare set of replacement pins in some cases!!! Race Face have come close but no cigar in my opinion, and I stand by my comment that this ranks as a fail.
And for the record, the crank protectors fit just fine with my XT cranks and current flats, so it still counts as a fail in my book, but I guess what do UK riders know about riding mountain bikes, eah!
If Race Face are treating it as a design problem that needs addressing for future production runs, my guess is it's a design problem that was missed, and needs addressing! And that's a FAIL!