Review: Crank Brother 5050 3 Pedals

Check out MoreDirt's review on the Crank Brothers 5050 3 flat pedals after 4 months of winter abuse on the trails... Find out if they are still going strong!?

Crank Brothers have always been known for their stylish and innovative solutions to components but not always for their reliability. The old 5050xx pedals were a perfect example of this where you won’t have to look very hard until you find somebody who has blown a pair off the axles. We’ve had mixed experiences with the old incarnations of the 5050’s really enjoying the size of platform and grip provided but suffered terribly with reliabilty issues.  We entered this test of the new 2013 pedals with an open mind but still with an underlying expectation of great things!

First Impressions

First things first, The Crank Brothers 5050 3 pedals have been completely redesigned from the ground up to leave the only thing they had in common with the old 5050’s is the name and some select styling cues. The platforms are 5mm thinner, feature a vastyl improved grip sympathetic foot bed and more importantly they now use a 2 piece construction with a mix of polycarbonate and aluminium.

The new 5050 pedals retains its trademark large footprint platform from the earlier model but it has been on a bit of a diet. The 5050 3 pedals have had areas of metal removed from the platform to both save weight and help mud clearance from under the sole of the foot.

Technically Speaking

As discussed earlier, the new 5050’s platform is made from 2 completely separate pieces of polycarbonate and aluminum that are held together by 2 long Torx 22 bolts that sandwhich them together. This obviously makes for easy replacement if the worst was to happen and also means improved weather sealing as there is no longer an end cap on the outside edge of the pedal. Despite this, servicing is still a snap.

10 separate height adjustable grub screws are charged with the role of acting as pins but be prepared to have keep on top of tightening them. The other problem with this design is if you are to take a whack to pedal on a rock and bend the pin head you will no longer be able to get the correct size allen key inside to adjust them. The square cutaways in the polycarbonate inner section of the pedal will also give your feet a helping hand to stay in place.

The 5050 3 pedals uses a forged scm435 chromoly steel spindle that is kept spinning freely on a needle bearing on the inside edge and sealed bearings on the outside of the pedal as with all Crank Brothers pedals servicing should be a walk in the park and rebuild kits are available.

The Ride

We’ve had the Crank Brothers 5050’s on the trail bike since the start of January . They have been through some pretty brutal winter conditions, enduro races and countless laps of the local trail centre both by day and torchlight at night. They are still going strong which is a vast improvement on the old 5050’s .

If I haven’t already stressed this before… There are absolutely no similarities between the old 5050’s and these new pedals. They have different bodies, internals and have been reworked from the square one. It appears they have finally solved those pesky reliability issues.

While riding we loved the size of platform, the quantity and size of pins and the fact the body of the pedal is spaced a little further away from the crank arm. It may only be a few mm’s but it made the entire platform of the pedal usable without any over spilling sole.

They weigh in at a very competitive 403g per pair that's 3g more than the DMR Vaults and on par with lots of other pedals in this price bracket. They are still looking neat and tidy despite a few little battle scars and gashes to the paintwork and that’s 4 months of winter riding on.

As with any Crank Brothers product they are distributed in the UK by 2pure and if things go wrong the brilliant 5 year warranty will come into play and you’ll be back on the trails in no time.

Conclusion

To conclude… The 5050 3 pedals from Crank Brothers look smart, have a great platform and still spinning 4 months down the line which is a massive improvement on their predecessor namesakes. A vast improvement in nearly all aspects from the guys at Crank Brothers.

Innovative 2 piece polycarbonate and aluminum construction that not only looks good. It performs well and will last the test of time. The 5050 3’s from Crank Brothers have just become a genuine contender in the flat pedal market again.

Angus McIntosh

The Crank Brothers 5050 3 pedals have an RRP of £74.99 and are distributed in the UK alongside the rest of the range by 2pure.

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