Pedals worthy of my noble steed

July 24, 2012 5:13 PM

I have a very nice Dutch roadster bike. Help me (in Canada) find replacement pedals fit for this king of the road.

I have a high-end Batavus roadster. Its pedals, though pretty, haven't held up well. One has lost its cap, and the other is beginning to get a little grindy. The treads have worn too, so it's not as if I could do a simple bearing job on them.

What I'm looking for are good quality replacement block pedals. The kind you can use with any shoe. I've done every kind of bike, cycling style and pedal in the past; now I'm a runcible middle-aged gentleman just riding his bike to the station every day. None of the local bike shops have what I'm looking for, and Batavus no longer have a dealer in Canada.

posted by scruss to sports, hobbies, & recreation (15 answers total)

MKS make the nicest 'traditionally-styled' pedals out there, in my opinion. Another option is something like the Crank Bros 5050-2.
posted by kcm at 5:30 PM on July 24, 2012

Well, here's a way to contact Batavus dealers in Amsterdam if all else fails. There are clickable links in the left scroll down menu to individual shops with email addresses, and most folks here speak/read English.
posted by likeso at 5:30 PM on July 24, 2012

Something like this? http://www.amazon.com/MKS-RUBBER-3000R-Touring-REFLECTORS/dp/B001CDMKE8
posted by twblalock at 5:41 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Perhaps something from the Velo Orange pedal selection?
posted by supercres at 5:57 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Those MKS Lambda pedals from your Velo Orange link look extremely good, supercres.

I wasn't aware anybody was making a pedal of that quality you could use so well with street shoes.
posted by jamjam at 6:29 PM on July 24, 2012

Rivendell has some nice ones. I'm in love with the Grip Kings, myself.
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:38 PM on July 24, 2012

I can vouch for the Velo Orange sealed bearing road pedals; I run them on my city bike (with leathered half-clips) and they get lots of compliments. Very shiny. The leathers add that extra oomph if you are down with half-clips.

I have MKS sylvans on another bike and they are also very nice, though not as pretty as the VO's (not chromed). However, lots of my lady friends who exclusively rock platform pedals really love the rubber platform MKS pedals - no slipping without cages, according to them, and the nicest-looking for the rubber platforms on the market.
posted by par court at 10:15 PM on July 24, 2012

I have the Velo Orange Touring Pedals and love them. VO makes excellent stuff.

As said above, I think the MKS Lambda would be great for your bike, as would the Velo Orange City Pedals.

Nice pedals are nice. It's one of the most noticeable upgrades you can do to your bike (concerning ride quality, not bling factor).
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 11:42 PM on July 24, 2012

I've been meaning to try out Ergon's new PC2 platform pedals. They might look a little odd but they look interesting.
posted by brianogilvie at 2:04 AM on July 25, 2012

Thanks. Those are the what; now to the where to buy them. Canada appears to be a bike parts backwater.
posted by scruss at 8:52 AM on July 25, 2012

BAM.

http://www.curbside.on.ca/blog/archives/135
http://dutchbikeguide.com/batavus/

There's got to be a city close enough to you on that list.

Also, maybe you mention where in Canada you are? Halifax is far from BC, yeah?
posted by willhslade at 11:11 AM on July 25, 2012

No bam for you, willhslade. Curbside (well 4th Floor) stopped being the sole Batavus importer for Canada more than a year ago. It's where I bought the bike from, and where I asked about pedals first.
posted by scruss at 11:46 AM on July 25, 2012

Dang. Was gonna tell you to call Curbside. If they don't sell them anymore, they might have known where to get replacement parts.

eBay?
posted by custard heart at 4:40 PM on July 27, 2012

Curbside recently started to stock Velo Orange, so I got the City pedals. Note that they do also stock the MKS block pedals, but they don't seem to be significantly better than the old Raleigh-style pedals that you used to be able to get for pennies.
posted by scruss at 6:53 PM on July 27, 2012

Nice. Are you adding clips to them?
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 10:01 PM on August 4, 2012