Reviews

Since I ordered a new pair of Five Ten Freeriders, I decided to replace my pedals, too. My old battered Wellgo MG5's have a mix of pins...the original "gentle" pins coupled with some sharper ones. The Freeriders feature the super grippy Stealth sole, so I do not think the super aggressive, sharp pins are necessary.

The pedals are only $30, so rather than seek replacement pins, I just got me some shiny, red, new MG5's. I would have liked to get some of the Pedaling Innovations Catalyst pedals, but they are beyond my retiree's MTB budget....and I think I am able to get about 95% of the benefits of the Catalyst hypothesis on the MG5's.

I have three years on my old MG5's and they have been true MTB workhorses. They are pretty light (though probably not that critical in their role). But they are amazingly durable. Many harsh rock strikes have scarred, but not damaged my old MG5's. The bearings have held up well and are still perfectly serviceable after three years of riding...maybe 300 rides covering Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico. I strongly favor the rocky and rock garden trails so these pedals have seen serious abuse. The magnesium bodies are astonishingly tough. From my motocross days of repairing a few cracked magnesium cases, I had not expected such durability.

Riders who are running shoes with less sticky soles (e.g., The Bontrager Flatline) will probably desire sharper pins on their pedals...you could sharpen the stock pins on the MG5's or replace them. The front and rear pins could use backside inserted pins. The one's on the side cannot.

Though I have never suffered pedal bite on my shins or calves, it is a bit comforting to know that my pins are not the standard razors featured on most pedals...and that my Freeriders can make up for the lack of pin aggressiveness with their grippy soles. The sharper pins do tear through Freeriders faster than the dull MG5 pins...which is why I was able to get almost three years of use out of my Five Tens.

I really like how sticky my Freeriders are when it comes to off bike rock climbing. I am not into bouldering, but these shoes really do give gecko confidence on steep slickrock surfaces. This is why I am not fond of going with a slicker Bontrager Flatline shoe...which I think would function fine with aggressive pins, but still lacks that slick rock stickiness.

If you put MG5's on your bike, be sure to remove all of the pins and Locktite them into place.