At 472g a pair, the Mallet DH pedals are only 50g heavier than the narrower Mallet 3s and feature an all-aluminium platform that’s 4mm wider and much closer in shape to the original Mallet design.
You’ll notice the additional width in platform on the bike, but the biggest difference is the extra 5mm axle length, putting the pedal mechanism further away from the crank than on other Mallet pedals in the range. This means your shoes don’t sit as close to the crank, making unclipping far easier.
As with all CrankBros pedals, clipping in – no matter how muddy the cleat – is just as easy as clipping out. The mechanism isn’t as tight as the likes of Shimano or Time but we don’t think that’s a bad thing. There’s no spring adjustment, though. The eight pins per side help with shoe traction, especially unclipped.
After nearly two months of hammering, our samples have a small amount of axle play in the needle and cartridge bearing arrangement and the platforms’ anodising has faded on the edges. But we love the wider platform and longer axle, which made a noticeable difference on the trail.
This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.
