Shimano Saint MX80 Flat Pedal

RRP: £59.99

I've been using saint mx80 flat pedals on two of my bikes now; my downhill rig and my Nukeproof Mega enduro bike.

Positives:
-Reasonable price
-Understated looks. If you're already running saint (particularly cranks) the understated grey/black/gold looks great, and there're no tacky bright colours to fade over time.
-The 9 pins are easy to remove. The pedals come with washers for you to choose your amount of grip, although removing these (if you always want them in the long setting) is a bit of a faff.
-Aesthetic finish is durable. The upside to grey is that it can't really fade with use, and the black elements in the pedal hold their colour well.

Negatives:
-Weight - 494g is pretty chunky for a pedal. Particularly as there's no Ti axel upgrade to make them lighter, the standard ball bearings are all you can get.
-Looks (I know, I listed it as a positive too!) If you're looking for a stunning set of pedals, these aren't for you. There's no DMR-style 'pimp my pedals' kit, or shiny anodising in an assortment of colours. What you see is what you get.
-Relatively small platform surface for those of us with big feet. If you're size 12 like me, they do feel like standing on a lego after a long day's ride. Certainly better footwear on my part would help, but the narrow platform is also to blame.
-Incredibly 'flat' feeling platform - it feels very much like your foot is resting on top of the pedal instead of moulding to it.

I run them on two bikes, so can't really give these pedals a terrible rep - they perform admirably each week. However, I get the impression that there're better sets out there - I'm not upset enough about the weight to spend double what these cost on Ti-Axelled dream pedals, but extra weight on a bike is never a bonus either. The bearings on one (of four) pedals have failed, but it's hard to get too upset considering they've stood up to over a year of abuse (I'm not shy of clipping the odd tree root or entire rock garden!).

Overall, they're not pedals to be sniffed at - they look at home on pretty much any build and do the job. However, if you've got some money spare and really want to treat yourself (or add a pop of colour to your ride) there're more cost effective options out there. I've got 2 new sets of pedals in to test over the next month, so will put a comparison out there then!