Paul Petch

Crank Brothers Candy C pedals – long term review

Everyone knows Crank Brothers for their gorgeous looking products that ship in equally gorgeous looking packaging. Aesthetics aside, are these pedals any good out there in the dirt? Everyone knows that Shimano dominate the pedal market, but Crank Brothers range of pedals are what most consider to be a true alternative to Shimano’s innovative SPD pedal. The amount of Crank brother pedals, in particular the Candy C you see on the bike shop floor is testament to their popularity. With relatively low weight, fetching design from the box to pedal, consistent marketing and some serious “cool factor” associated with Crank Brother gear, it’ s not difficult to see how these pedals (and the other Crank Brother gear) has risen to such prominence in the mountain bike market in an incredibly short amount of time

First impressions

The packaging design and feeling of opening a “unique” product is a nice touch when it comes to any Crank Brothers product, and the Candy C box is no exception to this marketing recipe. One you get past the well thought out and visually pleasing box (with a distinctive smell of vanilla??? or was that just me?) you get down to business and there are brass cleats, several screw lengths and clear instructions on how best to fit and service your new pedals. The first thing that stands out about these pedals is their weight….they are light at 308g a pair. Secondly, the finish is fantastic with little features such as stainless steel “kick plates” where you would make the most contact with the pedal body. If you compare these pedals and platform to the egg beater range is it fairly substantial.

Spec wise for the Candy C’s (as per the Crank Brother website) you are looking at;

weight	308g per pair
spindle	forged scm435 chromoly steel
body	fiber composite
kick plates	stainless steel
wings	formed s45c carbon steel
spring	300 series stainless steel
end cap	aluminum
standard cleat	premium brass
shims	included
release angle	15˚ or 20˚
max rider wgt	no restriction
packaging	standard
warranty	2 years
msrp	$90.00 / €79.00

After crushing and throwing the packaging into the recycling it was time to fit the funky brass cleats. Why exactly do Crank Brothers use brass cleats compared to the steel ones employed by Shimano? In their wisdom, Crank Brothers see it best that the cleats wear rather than the actual pedal contact points. Fitting is identical to that of Shimano in that you screw in two bolts, choose the position that best suits your riding style, crank down with an allen key and you are done.

Clicking into the pedal “wings” is simple and effective with a surprising amount of float to that of Shimano SPD’s. Float describes the amount of “rotational play” that is exhibited while fixed into the pedal, and more float generally equates to being able to point your feet inwards in a more natural manner….or outward if need be :) After taking the pedals for a spin the Candy C pedals felt positive (even with pronounced float) and stable under the rotation of cranks, even through and over trail obstacles… which was a good sign. Disengagement felt quite odd though when I first rode these on technical trails, as they don’t like being asked to “unclip” if pulled in an upward motion. So what? I hear you say……well its a big deal if you have ridden Shimano SPD’s for years that do infact unclip if you pull upwards! After a few slow motion stacks, I soon got the hang of the difference, but it still felt a bit unnatural. First impressions of the Candy C’s was good…..so how do I feel about them now…. a few years in?

Two + years in…

I’m not going to mess about here with waffle and “ifs, buts and maybes” Candy C pedals are just plain shit. I have literally destroyed 4 pairs of these (including the higher specced SL model) and they all follow the same path to destruction.

1. They look great and spin nicely. Attachment to the pedal is positive and inspiring.

2. After a few weeks of use the cleats become a little sloppy and vague as the soft brass wears.

3. Bits start to fall off such as the stainless steel “kick plates”.

4. Meanwhile the outside edges/ end caps (and where you undo stuff to service!) become broken and deformed.

5. After a few months the cleats are totally worn and useless, the mechanism that locks you into place is loose and sloppy and the axle bearings have some play.

6. You start unclipping for no apparent reason.

7. At about 6 months the bearings collapse and you are running metal on metal.

8. In an attempt to save the pedals you buy new cleats that cost an arm and a leg and also buy more bearings. At least now you can stay clipped in right?…well no as the part you clip into is now sloppy :/

9. After a few weeks you are back at point two- but this time the bearings fail in a few more weeks.

10. You now often have the “wings” snap off or pedal body remove itself from the axel right in the middle of an epic.

11. Grooves that have been “cut” into the sole of your expensive trail shoes by the “wings” now crack and your shoes are borked :/

11. You go back to Shimano’s SPD’s and deal with the extra weight in favor of reliability.

12. You also stop buying any Crank Brothers products… as you have now discovered that they are all shit and fail.

Why do they fail?

Unfortunately, all Crank Brothers pedals suffer with the same weak points. The brass cleats are too soft, and simply walking in them on carpet (:D) decreases their lifespan, never mind over rocky terrain. And once the cleats are worn out, they simply don’t stay clipped in. Add terrible material choice in the Candy C’s design and bearings that fall apart pretty much from the first ride…..these are just plain terrible. To give you an idea of how cheaply made these pedals are, head over to their recommended service guide. to see how many plastics parts are used!

But it does not end there. With normal everyday use, the “wings” where you clip into dig and rub the sole of your riding shoes. After about 12 months a pair of my shoes simply cracked across the sole at this exact wear point! Crank Brothers now offer metal plates called shoe shields that you can attach under the cleats to stop this happening….which of course cost extra. Why would you bother with these pedals?

But it is my fault….right?

Crank Brother users generally fall into two distinct groups. Lovers or haters. People that have had no issues will mock you for the lack of maintenance and tell you that you “must have had a bad batch” or “it’s because they are the OEM version”. Meanwhile the campers who believe that Crank Brother pedals are made of wax and twigs…will complain about how much TLC, time and extra COST is required to even keep the things spinning!

I’ve been accused of neglecting these pedals after two pairs failed on me, so I started to care a bit more and followed the officicail Crank Brother service guide. Did it make any difference? Hell no :D It did cost me extra though for bearing kits….that once again came in fantastic packaging :/ After two replacements the pedals where one more totally useless. Again.

Furthermore, how is one expected to re-grease the bearings every month if the outside edges where you screw the grease port tool is mangled after just a few weeks of riding? Quite honestly, the Crank Brother service guide is also bogus with estimated grease time of 100 – 300 hrs while cleats should last upto 500hrs!

Conclusion

Thankfully the 4 sets of Candy C pedals that I’ve lovingly destroyed have shipped on several of my bikes or have been given to me by friends. If I had paid for these, I’d be totally gutted and chasing refunds. The cleats wear out within a few months and you start to unclip. A few months later you will find that the pedals fall apart and the mechanism that holds you in starts to fail also. With no way to change the tension at which you are fixed in, it’s simply tough luck once they become loose and vague. Meanwhile the soles of your expensive riding shoes have a groove appearing which will soon crack :/ You might even be lucky enough to experience the ultimate in Crank Brother gear- when the whole pedal axle comes away or the “wings” snap while descending…..lovely!

I’m honestly struggling to find any positives at all for these pedals… but if I really really must….it has to be their ability to shed mud, snow and other trail slop. That’ s about it :/ As far as clipless pedals go, these Crank Brothers pedals suck…..pretty much like all of their stuff.

Total shit. Avoid.

Related posts:

1. Shimano DX (SH-MP66) SPD trail shoes – mini review
2. Bontrager Race Disk tubeless wheelset – long term review
3. Singular Swift single speed 29er – mini review
4. My current rides
5. Cove Handjob XC review

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 8:29 pm and is filed under Bike & Gear Reviews and tagged with Gear and Reviews, review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.