Crank Brothers Smarty Pedals

Advantages: Ease of entry; Mud clearing; Float
Disadvantages: Durability of pedal and cleats

..."Oh look! Someone's stolen your pedal!" At first glance it can certainly look that way when you see the quirky Crank Brothers Eggbeaters on a bike. These are minimal in the extreme, and look unlikely to be able to operate in the intended manner. But operate they do, and pretty well too. Eggbeaters take their name from the shape which, clearly, makes them look like they're ready to whisk up an omelette. They are a type of 'clipless' pedal (quick precis, there are basically three types of pedal: normal 'flat' style; flats with 'clips' - the little straps that go over your foot to attach you; and clipless, which attach you to the pedal by a variety of methods, culminating in a cleat on the sole of your shoe). These pedals are aimed at the mountain bike market, though can be used on a daily road bike (as I do) thanks to their simple... Read review

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Advantages: Virutally indestructable
Disadvantages: None

...Before I go and review a bottom bracket, it might be worthwhile if I explained to everyone what exactly a bottom bracket is. Let's start at the pedals. The pedals are attached to the cranks, the cranks are then attached to a spindle that goes through the bike frame. This spindle and the bearings that surround it form the bottom bracket. As you may have guessed, it's not a very exciting thing to write about, so my apologies in advance for a very dull opinion. There's two times that anyone is likely to come into contact with a bottom bracket, if you're building up your bike from parts, or if there's a nasty grindy noise when you pedal and you need a new bottom bracket. In this case, many people will take their bike to a shop to get it looked at as although changing a bottom bracket is easy enough, it requires a few specialised tools... Read review

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Advantages: Lightweight, Durable, Value for Money
Disadvantages: No lock out on the forks, no disc brakes, poor quality chainset

...After a long break from cycling I decided to get back into mountain biking. My budget was limited and I wanted something lightweight and durable. After coming across the Trek 4300 my mind was quickly made up, lovely lightweight frame that wouldn't be out of place on bikes twice the price. A reasonable set of Shimano Alvio shifters and forks with adjustable pre-load. Perfect for what I wanted, something I could commute to work on but also give a good thrashing around the local MTB routes. The bike is versatile, the adjustable pre-load works well and although the forks aren't fantastic, they'll serve you well as long as you're not throwing it off 6 foot drop offs. The only things really letting this bike down are the Suntour SR cranks. Mine were poorly fitted and the pedals had been cross threaded which meant that when I went to fit... Read review

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