Straitline AMP Pedal Review

Straitline AMP Pedal: Straitline's new AMP pedal has been designed with trail and all-mountain riding in mind, making it a lighter weight option and with a smaller platform than their original Defacto pedal. Straitline is confident that the AMP (All Mountain Products) pedal can do double duty on a downhill bike as well, despite their svelte 363 gram weight. And if that isn't light enough for you there is also a titanium axle version that comes in at just 272 grams. Just as found within the Defacto pedals, Straitline forgoes using any sealed bearings - the AMP's rotate on a pair of Igus bushings that they say are both lighter and more reliable in the long run. The AMP pedals retail for $185 USD with a cromoly axle, or $288 USD for the titanium option.


The details: While Straitline's Defacto pedals are known for their large platform, the AMP's body has been shaved down to only what is needed, helping to achieve the 163 gram/pedal weight that is shown on the PB scales. What's left is a shapely body that measures 18mm tall at its thickest point (over the pedal axle), and 93mm long by 95mm wide - slightly smaller some other pedals out there. Unlike many other manufacturers Straitline has left the leading and trailing edges of the AMP completely closed to increase strength, but it does make use of chamfered edges that should help it to glance off of rocks and roots. Seven pins per side, each one machined by Straitline into a hexagonal shape to supply more gripping edges, work to hold your feet in place, and while the body does have a concave shape to it, this is somewhat offset by a raised center section over the pedal axle. Straitline have machined in small ridges along this portion to add to the traction.


The body features some impressive CNC work, but the real talking point lies within the AMP. Just like their original Defacto pedals, the AMP's rotate on two Igus polymer bushings. Why use only bushings instead of sealed bearings or a combination of the two? Straitline is confident that their bushing design not only holds up much better to wear and tear than those tiny sealed bearings could ever hope for, but they also claim that the system is extremely easy to perform maintenance on. It does't hurt that two Igus bushings weigh quite a bit less than two sealed bearings as well. The burly looking axles, which are also machined in house, taper from 12mm to 10mm at their outer end, and accept an 8mm hex wrench instead of a pedal wrench.


Unlike most designs that use some sort of locknut to hold the body in place, Straitline has employed a double circlip layout that is claimed to be vastly superior to using a lock nut or other circlip designs. The first clip, which is completely covered by a protective aluminum cap, is the workhorse that holds the body in place. This is backed up by a secondary clip that does double duty retaining the clip cover and acting as a failsafe. The system doesn't require a thin walled or extra long socket to take apart, but only a flat blade screwdriver (or anything else for that matter) to pry the circlips free from the axle.

Performance: The AMPs have a number of features that set them apart from other pedals, including their hexagonal pins, Igus bushings without employing any sealed bearings, and beautiful machining, but how do they feel beneath one's feet? Despite using just seven pins per side the AMP's do provide quite a bit of traction, doing a great job of keeping your feet where there are supposed to be over rough terrain. There are options out there that do provide more grip, but we never found ourselves wishing for those while using the AMPs. If we did slip a pedal it was purely down to rider error. The hexagonal pins bite much harder than a standard flat top pin, or even an open setscrew type, simply down to their many edges that bite into the rubber sole of your shoes.

The slightly smaller platform size, something that is quite noticeable when the AMPs are set beside the older Defacto pedals, wasn't overly evident while descending, but could be felt when putting the power down on a climb. This is likely exaggerated by today's soft soled shoes that don't offer much support, allowing your feet to flex over the pedal body. A large platform obviously doesn't equal increased traction though, with the AMPs rating high in this regard despite the platform size.


While it's easy to see where the AMPs have made contact with the ground, their lean body has stood up to the abuse quite well. We've also yet to lose a pin (they did ship with extras) or even manage to damage one, proving that the hex shaped pins can shrug off abuse much better then the thinner setscrew style that is commonly found elsewhere. The Igus bushings, while not allowing to the pedals to spin as free as we'd like to see, have absolutely zero free play or rattle to them, with the AMPs feeling as solid as they did on the first day. In fact, the same goes for our Defacto pedals that are many years old at this point, corroborating Straitline's claim that their bushing design is more dependable than micro sized sealed bearings. We did dismantle them, simply out of curiosity, and found that it is indeed is as easy as advertised, taking about thirty seconds to take apart and another thirty to put back together.


We like the AMPs, but two points of contention came up during our time on them. Their platform, at just 93mm long by 95mm wide, is noticeably smaller underfoot, especially while climbing, than much of the competition. This is further aggravated by today's soft sole platform shoes that easily flex over the small bodied pedal. Those with monster sized feet may want to look elsewhere. A larger platform, especially one that is longer, would greatly improve the feel.

Our second issue is down to the Straitline's use of Igus bushings - they simply don't spin free. Not even close. We would be fine with them if it was just a bit of seal drag, but we're talking about some serious resistance here, and it didn't seem to get any better after putting many rides on them. This does seem a bit contradictory for a pedal that has been designed to appease the needs of the trail and all-mountain crew. We know that there are many riders out there who don't give a care to how easy their pedals spin, and this is fine if they are on your DJ or DH bike, but for a set of pedals that are designed to be ridden both up and down, it does seem a touch odd. Can you feel the resistance when you ride? Nope, but you also can't feel if your disc rotors are rubbing slightly - are you OK with that? The bottom line is that the resistance will take extra effort to overcome, not something that we want to be thinking about at the bottom of a major climb.


Pinkbike's take:
www.straitlinecomponents.com