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Review: Crank Brothers Smarty Pedals

Who:
Crank Brothers

Product Tested:
Crank Brothers Smarty Pedals

Website’s MSRP:
$ 59.00

Specs:
weight 282g per pair
spindle scm435 chromoly steel
body composite
rails high-impact polymer
wings carbon steel
spring steel
standard cleat included
shims included
release angle 15Ëš or 20Ëš
max rider wgt no restriction
warranty 1 year

About Me:
6’0� 210lbs, 27 year old male. I’m a mountain biking enthusiast who enjoys rocking the big 29er wheels.

Testing Grounds:
Fullerton Loop, Powder Canyon, Chino Hills State Park, Peters Canyon various other trails in Southern California


Nice packaging

First Impression:
Nice looking box (better packaging than my SPD pedals came in). I also like the color rail options. When I first tried the Smarty pedals I realized right away that the release angle was wrong for me. Basically it took too much to ankle rotation to release the clip from the pedal. After riding once with that release angle, I went home and changed it (very easy to do). Now, using the 15 degree release angle, I am much more comfortable clipping out.

Strengths:
The Crank Brothers Smarty pedals are basically two pedals built into one. You have the option of using the clipless part for trail riding or the small platforms built around the clipless pedal for cruising around town/whenever you’d prefer to have your shoes unclipped while on the trail.


On the trail

As with any clipless pedal, the first and probably most important factor, is the ability to clip in and out. The Smarty pedals were easy to clip in and out. I originally assumed that the small platform would make this process difficult, but I was proven wrong.

At the same time I was testing the Smarty pedals, I also got a chance to ride the Crank Brothers Egg Beaters a few times. I even rode them back to back with the Smartys on different bikes to see the clip in/clip out difference between the two pedals. My conclusion is that the Egg Beaters are slightly easier to clip in (clipping out is the same). Because you’re able to clip in from all four sides, they are slightly easier to clip in than the Smarty.

This is not a dig at the Smartys. If I graded on a 10 point scale for ease of clip-in , the Egg Beaters would receive a 9 & the Smarty would get an 8. It’s easy, just not quite as easy as the Egg Beaters and there is certainly no shame in that.

Egg Beaters
Crank Brother Egg Beaters (not the Smarty pedals)

The reason why the Smartys are slightly less easy to clip in is because of the small platform that encompasses the clip-in. The Smartys took a split second longer to clip in because finding the Smarty pedal did not mean you had found the spot to clip in where as the finding the Egg Beater pedal meant you had found the spot to clip in.

Another plus with the Smarty is that the pedals shed mud like none other. When I was testing these pedals, I got to ride in some rare So. California mud a few times but the mud doesn’t bother the clip in mechanism. The open design of the clip doesn’t allow for mud to get in the way of engagement which means the Smartys clip in very consistently & very easily.

The Crank Brothers website says the Smartys MSRP for $59 but I’ve seen them for as low as $29.99 through pricepoint.com a few weeks back. Currently they’re being sold through pricepoint.com for $39.99 a pair. That’s a lot of value & versatility for the price.

Weaknesses:
I wasn’t able to find many weaknesses with this pedal. I did notice that to tighten or loosen the pedal you have to use a hex wrench. This caught me by surprise since I usually just grab a monkey or metric wrench to remove most pedals. But this is not too much of a problem because most riders have the appropriate hex wrench on a multi tool.


Only a hex wrench here

The composite material that the platform is made from does scratch. After falling a few times with these pedals, you can tell they aren’t brand new anymore. But on the flip side, after banging them around, they still work. That has to say something about their durability.


Stands up to a beating

The other weakness I found is that it is not a light pedal. This doesn’t really matter to me but to some of you out there it matters. At 282 grams per pair, it falls somewhere in the middle range of most mountain biking pedals. It is significantly lighter than Shimano SPD pedals, but it is not quite as light as some of Crank Brothers Egg Beater offerings.

Summary:
I see the Smarty as a great do-it-all pedal. If you’re a beginner rider who doesn’t want to be clipped in on the technical sections of the trail, get the Smarty. For the mountain biker who wants clips but uses the same bike for trips to the grocery store, get the Smarty. For the biker who lets his newbie friends borrow his bike, get the Smarty.

The Smartys rock because for the price you get a clip in and platform color coordinating pedal that works well in nearly all conditions.

For more info about the Crank Brothers Smarty pedal, click here.