Sport And Biking Talk: MagLock magnetic pedal review

A good amount of float is available when the pedal pins are not making contact with the shoe.

Lowdown: MagLock magnetic pedal

All riders start with platform pedals. Then at some point folks convince them to ride clipless pedals to gain more control and efficiency with the bike. But clipless pedals entails a rather steep learning curve, specially for mountain biking. Instantaneous click in and click out action take months to master.

Enter Maglock who sought out to use technology aka magnets and Kickstarter to provide a middle ground between flats and clipless. Their idea was to use magnets to help secure the rider’s foot to the pedals.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA2zbeop1PA

Stat Box


Attractive force: 30-35 lbs	Weight: 1020 grams, 200 gram cleats
Dimensions: 3.75” x 4.00” x 0.85”	Price: 165 grams
	Rating: 2 out of 5

Pluses	Minuses
Innovative use of technology	1220 grams with cleats is 3x heavier than normal
magnets pack a punch with 35 lbs of force	insufficient grip during jumping or tech maneuvers
magnets help during pedaling upstroke	traction to the pedals is low during lateral forces
clicking in is easy indeed	axle interface has a lot of play
	changing tension process is tedious
	cannot have both float and pin contact
	feels like skating on ice on some shoes

Big, flat cleats provide float as they’re free to slide around the magnetic plate.

Full Review

The pedals arrived and I seemed like the perfect candidate for these. I was riding clipless for 15 years but was disappointed at my ineptitude when not clipped in. I couldn’t jump, drop, corner or feel connected with any bike when I wasn’t clipped in. So I took the time to learn how to use flats 5 years ago. It took a whole year to be proficient but I achieved a level much higher than before and now feel comfortable clipped in or not. When I need the additional 2% pedaling efficiency, I’ll clip in. But most of the time, I’ll ride flats and have the millisecond advantage of going on and off the pedals and be ready for challenging descents. And I love being comfortable on any bike using any pair of shoes.

No one in the office test crew would touch these pedals but I was giddy with excitement. If it worked, then it could be a great crossover pedal or teaching tool for many riders.

Weight and price:

Took them out of the box and was shocked to feel the weight. Pedals were 1020 grams and cleats were 200 grams. This is rotating weight too so it’s a double whammy. For comparsion, Raceface Chester flat pedals weigh in at 340 grams. Shimano XT clipless pedals weight in at 340 grams too with an additional 50 grams for the cleats. So the Maglock system weighs in at about 3x the normal alternatives.

Price is high too at $ 165 as it significantly higher than the $ 50 Chester and $ 120 XT’s.

The big cleat requires an SPD shoe. But it is rare to find an SPD shoe with a good flat pedal rubber interface.

The experience:

Clipping in is easy no doubt. About an inch away, the magnets lock on and there is significant force to pull the pedal and cleat together. It even makes a distinct clicking sound. There are pins in front of and behind the cleat position so there is a limited space where one can put the one’s foot on the pedal. The multitude of foot positions offered by flats is limited by this system.

There is float since the flat cleat is free to slide around with the magnet plate. On some shoes, there is some contact with the shoes to the pedal pins, on other shoes, there is none. And there really is no easy way to adjust the height of the thick cleat.

Clipping out was a little bit strange since there’s no distinct way to do it. Twisting out doesn’t work consistently. Lifting up at an angle seemed to work the best. But one can slide off the side or just lift straight up and overcome the full 35 lb force of the magnet.

Pedaling was fine since the magnet force helped keep the foot in place at the top and bottom of the stroke. A little bit of pull a the upstroke was an option as well.

Descending is where things got hairy. on a couple jumps and drops, my feet pulled straight out of the pedals completely. Even though there is 35 lbs of retention force, that is a mere fraction of what a clipless retention force when pulled straight up. Pulled straight up, An SPD pedal is locked on and provides hundreds of lbs of force. And when using the Maglock, pulling up at angle, which is often the case will lead to accidental pedal separation.

The worst part is landing some jumps, our shoe completely slid out of the pedal through the side. Since there’s nothing stopping the cleats from sliding to the side, awkward landings can dislodge the rider from the bike at the worst moment. This cleat system negates what flats are best at, optimum contact between the rubber sole and the pedal pins.

The other effect of the pedals is the main contact point between the rider and bike got muffled. Since the main contact point is a big flat cleat with float, feedback between the bike and the rider feels disconnected. Our responsive and agile bike felt vague and disconnected.

1020 gram pedal host powerful magnets to provide retention

For beginners but not really

To Maglock’s credit, they target this pedal towards beginners who want to step up but are not ready to commit to clipless pedals.

Our problem with that is that flat pedals are awesome. They are incredibly safe and capable in very challenging terrain. They can be used to pedal up any mountain as well. Riders just need to the time and technique to use them properly. Putting some retention in the pedals actually hinders the learning by the beginner rider.

The small gains in pedaling efficiency by the Maglock is negated by the extreme weight of these pedals.

Clipping out is best done by tilting up from the inside of the foot.

Flawed Premise

A problem with Maglock solution is it tries to use devices to stay attached to a flat pedal. As someone who’s ‘re-learned’ how to use a flat pedal, the magic of flats is the rider uses physics to stay attached to the pedal. Weighting and unweighting the pedal is the core of flat pedal control. Heel positioning is key too to staying glued to the bike.

Observe kids at a bmx dirt jump park and how they use flat pedals and you’ll see ultimate control and flexibility with the bike. And see trail riders who’ve only used flats all their lives and you’ll see the glory and ease of use of flats.

So putting a magnetic force on a pedal to stay glued to the rider is contradictory to how flat pedals are used. But can they help the rider stay on the pedal and have better control? We gave it a few shakedown rides to find out.

Another issue is these pedals require SPD type shoes to be used with platform pedals. SPD shoes by nature are narrower, stiffer and don’t have grippy soles designed with flat pedals in mind. Most of them feel alien when used with a flat pedal. We found the perfect Fiveten pair of shoes with a flat, grippy sole and SPD compatibility. Even then, the experience was not good.

Summary:

It’s an interesting concept at first glance. But a deeper experience with it reveals a heavy and expensive pedal that makes the riding experience vague and unsafe.

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