Egg Beater Pedals



nick183015

New Member
Oct 25, 2005
36
4
8
Hi, I was looking at these pedals from Crank Brothers and thinking of using them on my "to and from work" bike. They they seem very easy to get in and out of etc. Has anyone used them and if so what are the advantages / disadvantages of them? thanks.
 
nick183015 said:
Hi, I was looking at these pedals from Crank Brothers and thinking of using them on my "to and from work" bike. They they seem very easy to get in and out of etc. Has anyone used them and if so what are the advantages / disadvantages of them? thanks.
I don't own them and am no expert, however .....
I attended a national cyclocross championship, just to check it out, and the one thing that stuck in my mind was that the majority of these national and world class racers use egg beaters. One comment I have also read is that they are great for staying clear in muddy conditions. I think that if you get the expensive, Ti models, they are pretty light (as pedals go).

Here's a nice Q&A for them:
http://www.crankbrothers.com/tech_eggbeater.php
 
fish156 said:
I don't own them and am no expert, however .....
I attended a national cyclocross championship, just to check it out, and the one thing that stuck in my mind was that the majority of these national and world class racers use egg beaters. One comment I have also read is that they are great for staying clear in muddy conditions. I think that if you get the expensive, Ti models, they are pretty light (as pedals go).

Here's a nice Q&A for them:
http://www.crankbrothers.com/tech_eggbeater.php
thanks fish. I will go and have a look at them.
 
nick183015 said:
Hi, I was looking at these pedals from Crank Brothers and thinking of using them on my "to and from work" bike. They they seem very easy to get in and out of etc. Has anyone used them and if so what are the advantages / disadvantages of them? thanks.
Hi Nick,

I've been using egg beaters for about 3 years. They're superb. Best bit - you always get straight in to the pedal as the 4 sides means you never have to worry about pedal rotation.

The only problem I've heard about them (and I haven't experienced this myself) is that the axles can bend. I did have this problem with my Time ATACs, but hey, they took a hell of a pounding (I don't ride suspension:D).

All in all, a brilliant pedal. I've got the steel ones. I'd love a pair of the Tis.

Happy riding. :)

Steve
 
Thanks Steve. Do you have any experience with the Crank Brothers Candy pedals? If so how do they compare?

What type of cycling do you use your egg beaters for - Mtb / Road / commute etc? How do you find the lack of a platform on the egg beaters?

thanks for your answers to my questions!
 
Hi Nick

I use eggbeaters and have done so for the past few months. Previously I used Shimanos and one of my bikes still has them on it. The first thing I noticed was how secure I felt. Also, the ease with which you can click in and out. As with one of the other posts, as it is a four sided pedal you really don't have to do much other than stand on the pedal and push down. With Shimanos I tend to have to flip them round to level. This isn't always the case but does happen. Maybe I have poor form; I don't know. Anyway, I use the eggbeaters for commuting as well as for off road use. Great either way. The lack of platform never bothered me. The only downside I guess is when i'm working on the bike and I want to have a quick spin to check whatever adjustments i've made; without the platform it can be 'fun' using ordinary shoes. They do come with clip on platforms though so if I really need to I 'll use those. Minor point though. I will eventually change the other bike to crank bros pedals. I've not tried the Candys but could imagine they would work similarly to eggbeaters. It still has the four sides so I guess you just need to make sure you put your foot down on the flats and not on the side of the pedal (what are the chances?). Whatever the case, I highly recommend them. Oh, BTW, they're really cool looking too.
 
I have had the chromoly eggbeaters for just over a year. Initially I used them on my hardtail, but have since moved them to my road bike. I use them with Specialized Body Geometry Mtn Comp shoes.

They've been fine - one of those products you just use and don't think much about. No need to look down or flip pedals to click in. Have done zero maintenance on them. Very similar action to the Shimano SPDs I used previously. I have the cleats on the "float" setting. Click in is definite, but clicking out is a bit less definite. I have once or twice come out of the pedal when really hammering.

No great experience in muddy conditions. Look cool. Light. Very happy with them.
 
nick183015 said:
Thanks Steve. Do you have any experience with the Crank Brothers Candy pedals? If so how do they compare?

What type of cycling do you use your egg beaters for - Mtb / Road / commute etc? How do you find the lack of a platform on the egg beaters?

thanks for your answers to my questions!
I use the eggs for MTB, but they've been on my road bike too - I had no problems with either, and the mud clearance when running on the MTB is superb. By superb, I mean I've NEVER not been able to click in straightaway because the pedals were gunked up. Way better than SPDs or Time ATACs.

I haven't tried the Candy's but they look pretty nice. I'm not sure that the platform is necessary though - Like 1id1ot says, riding without cleats on the Egg Beaters can be "fun" but hey, my bike is for riding, not for pootling around on! I've certainly never noticed the lack of a platform when riding seriously (with the right shoes).The added platform of the Candys may well detract from the mud clearance too.

Like 1id1ot, I'll probably get another pair of these for the road bike to save swapping shoes - will go for the SS though, as the Ti is a tad expensive:
An extra £50 to save 81g? Not with the state of my wallet, thankyou.

Hope this helps. :)

Steve
 
i have two sets egg beaters (cro-m and stainless axel, can't justify ***). one for MTB and other for my go to school and work bike. they are excellent. very easy to get in and out of and are much better in the mud than spd's. road spd's for a long time and they blew chunks in mud if you have to get on and off.

a nice thing about egg beaters is you normally can get great deals on them with the combo deal of shoe and peddles (i.e. answer mtb or road shoes with crank bro egg beater peddles). Answer shoes are very comfortable
 
i've never noticed the lack of a platform on mine. and i'm about 185 lbs and have ridden mine for 3 years w/o any axle bend.

also...the candy seems like a waste of money. you are paying more money for them to reduce the number of sides you can use by half. :confused:
 
i also think that the candy and the like sort of defeat two of the biggest strengths of the egg beaters and that is the clogging factor and the 4 way entry into the pedals.
 
I use them on my 'cross bikes and couldnt be happier. I feel that my DA spd-sl pedals are a much more comfortable and efficient pedal, but for cross purposes they are useless. So if you must have a mountain pedal, then heck yes, egg beaters are excellent.
 
Hi Nick

I switched to Eggbeaters earlier this year after a long and happy relationship with Look pedals. My main reason for switching was the price - I could get the EBs for £50 when a decent Look pedal replacement was going to cost me £70 (Keos weren't available at this point). I'm mostly happy with them but do have one reservation which may not apply in your case.

I'm a roadie, which meant that I immediately had to place an order for some road cleats. At £16, these almost wiped out the savings I made by opting for the EBs but they are worth it as they have rubber pontoons which protect the cleats from the floor (and vice versa). They also obviate the need for Kleat Kovers which, incidentally, aren't compatible with the new Keo cleats (a major strike against Keos for commuters).

Compared to Look cleats, the EB cleats cover a smaller area. This is an advantage when wearing overshoes, the undersides of which are prone to getting caught under the edges of Look cleats.

As for 4-sided entry, this hasn't been that huge a benefit for me. I often find it a hit and miss affair to engage the cleat with any of the sides of the pedal, since the hit surface is that much smaller than my old Looks. Having said that, you can slide the foot in either direction to engage the cleat, compared to Looks which can be entered from one angle only.

Compared to the plastic Look cleats, the brass EB cleats are lasting much longer.

To my mind, the only downside of the EBs is the arrangement of bearings. Instead of a set of bearings on each end of the axle (as with Looks), the EBs use a catridge bearing on the outside and a bushing on the inside. One thing I've heard about bushings is that they don't like getting dried out; indeed, I've noticed squeaking noises emanating from the EBs from time to time. I reckon I should be squirting grease into these things occasionally but don't have the knowledge (or the grease gun) to do this.

I also note that there is some lateral play in each pedal. Whether this is due to the bushings becoming worn or whether it's a design feature, I don't know.

Crank Bros sell pedal kits which include a complete set of replacement bushngs, bearings, seals and endcaps. Theoretically, the pedals should last a lifetime (I've never heard of bent axles before now, though) with regular maintenance. You can also buy replacement axles to upgrade a set of ChroMo (say) EBs to Ti ones (say).

Some high-end road shoes only offer a 3-hole cleat pattern. Crank Bros cleats all use a 2-hole SPD pattern; a 3-hole adapter is available but I wouldn't feel right about mounting these things on my expensive carbon-soled booties. If I were rich and fit enough to justify such bling, I'd almost certainly opt for Keos.

Oh, and one more thing: Crank Bros sell a roadie equivalent to the Candy called the Quattro. Like the Candy, it surrounds the EB cage with a platform, which adds a certain amount of weight and puts some weenies off. But the quattro is designed for tighter cornering than the EB and is the better choice for crit racers.

That's it: all I know about Eggbeaters. In conclusion, I'd buy them again for commuting and I wouldn't buy anything else for x-country or cyclocross. For road racing, I'd probably opt for Keos over Quattros (but it's a very, very close call).

Cheers,

Paul
 
there are also shoe-egg beater combos for both road and mtb. Answer makes the shoes . i bought mtb set and then a stand alone egg beater pedals for the other bike.
 
1id10t said:
The only downside I guess is when i'm working on the bike and I want to have a quick spin to check whatever adjustments i've made; without the platform it can be 'fun' using ordinary shoes. They do come with clip on platforms though so if I really need to I 'll use those.
There are clip on platforms for Egg Beaters?
 
Ricitius said:
There are clip on platforms for Egg Beaters?
No, the models with platforms are the Candy and Mallet but the platform on the Candy's doesn't do anything.
 
DiRt DeViL said:
No, the models with platforms are the Candy and Mallet but the platform on the Candy's doesn't do anything.
Damn. I guess I'm going to have to find a mallet version.
 
DiRt DeViL said:
No, the models with platforms are the Candy and Mallet but the platform on the Candy's doesn't do anything.
I disagree. I have the Candy C and use it on a road bike with the road clips on the shoes. When you use the road clips it connects to the pedal and does have a platform for support. I love them.
 
buckybux said:
I disagree. I have the Candy C and use it on a road bike with the road clips on the shoes. When you use the road clips it connects to the pedal and does have a platform for support. I love them.
Compared to SPD and Time Atac I prefer the ease of clipping in of the Eggbeater pedals. For me, it's a matter of convenience as a commuter to have recessed cleats on my mountain bike shoes. I don't mountain bike but I think the distinction nowadays is more marketing than actual differences. I know many road people who have mountain bike shoes because you can walk in them easily.

For a clipless system, Crank Brothers has one of the slickest, in my opinion.