DMR V-Twin Pedals - Review

Set Up

The V-Twin pedals come with their own cleats, but if you already have a set of Shimano cleats mounted up to your shoes those will work just fine. According to DMR, their cleats offer 5-degrees of float, while Shimano cleats have 4-degrees, but I wasn't able to detect a difference between the two out on the trail.

My set of test pedals came with one shim already in place under the nylon bumpers, but I found that the shoes I was using (Shimano's AM-51) didn't need that extra height, and I ended up removing them. The process is easy, but it is fairly tedious – by the time all is said and done you'll have extracted and then reinstalled 28 small Torx screws. In other words, not something you'll want to to every day. The goal of the adjustable bumpers is to have more of the shoe in contact with the platform, rather than just resting on the clip-in mechanism. It's also possible to add up to seven traction pins to each side for even more grip, although that can make it more difficult to get out, so it's worth experimenting to find the setup that works best for you.




Performance

If you've used an SPD-style clipless pedal before, getting accustomed to the V-Twins won't take any time at all. There's a wide range of adjustable spring tension, and at their tightest setting the V-Twins offer more resistance than a comparable set of Shimano pedals, which could be good news for riders who have trouble keeping their feet locked in. They're not quite as tight as HT's X1 pedals, but it was more than enough for my needs – I ran them about 1/3 of the way into the available range.

Compared to Shimano's M647 pedals the feeling of clipping in and out of the V-Twins is nearly identical, and unless you went on a ride with a Shimano on one side and the DMR pedals on the other it'd be hard to tell them apart. I actually did go on a ride with that exact setup, and found that the action of the M647 felt a tiny bit smoother, but it's a very subtle difference – the two feel extremely similar.

In theory, the V-Twin's larger platform should provide a bigger target to aim for, but I found that locating the pedal wasn't any easier than the set of XT pedals I had installed previously. That's likely due more to years of muscle memory than anything else – I don't usually struggle to find my pedals again no matter the platform size. That being said, the larger surface underfoot does make it possible to get away with using softer soled shoes without feeling like your foot is curling over the pedal spindle on long rides.

Mud clearance is on-par for this style of pedal, and on the few occasions when I had trouble clipping in a few solid kicks against the side of the platform was all it took to clear the mud from the bottom of my shoe and get back on my way.




Durability

After almost six months of use the V-Twins are starting to show some battle scars on the aluminum body, but they're still spinning smoothly, and there's only the slightest amount of play, which isn't detectable out on the trail. When I pulled them apart I was pleased to see that there was still plenty of grease on the spindle, and there wasn't any internal rust to be seen, an impressive feat considering that the number of deep puddles and rainy rides they've been on. The bearings and the bushings are still in good shape, and when it does come time to replace them it's a simple process.



Pinkbike's Take

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