HT 878 review

A good value, relatively light XC pedal

Our rating

3.0

90.00

40.00

The cleat mechanism holds you tight in the pedal

What Mountain Bike

Tom Marvin

Published: September 17, 2017 at 12:00 pm

Our review

Great locked-in feel, but leave you feeling perched on top and unsupported Buy if, You like a secure connection to your pedal, and run stiff XC shoes

Pros:

Positive locked-in feel, good value

Cons:

Tall cleat and little support

HT may have a premium image, but at only £40 / $54 the 878 represents good value for money for a relatively light cross-country/trail pedal. While a lack of a proper cage helps keep the weight down, you do get a little side-foot support.

The cleat has a very positive engagement/disengagement that many will like, and the mechanism holds you tight in the pedal – we’d like a bit more float from the stock cleat, but this is available as an aftermarket option.

There’s not masses of shaping to guide you into the pedal and, without a cage, if you’re trying to re-clip in mid-trail after a dab you might find them a bit tricky to locate, but as we’ve mentioned, when you’re in, you’re definitely in.

The cleat feels tall, especially paired with a relatively shallow-treaded shoe - What Mountain Bike

Tension adjustment is fairly wide, despite the locked in feel. Our only real issue is that the cleat seems to feel pretty tall, especially when run with a relatively shallow-treaded shoe – you certainly feel like you’re stood directly on the cleat, rather than being offered any surrounding support, so it’s much better suited to a stiffer soled shoe.

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Senior technical editor

Tom Marvin is a technical editor at BikeRadar.com and MBUK magazine. He has a particular focus on mountain bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, too. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus, and was previously technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. He is also a regular presenter on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel and the BikeRadar podcast. With more than twenty years of mountain biking experience, and nearly a decade of testing mountain and gravel bikes, Tom has ridden and tested thousands of bikes and products, from super-light XC race bikes through to the most powerful brakes on the market. Outside of testing bikes, Tom competes in a wide range of mountain bike races, from multi-day enduros through to 24-hour races in the depths of the Scottish winter – pushing bikes, components and his legs to their limits. He’s also worked out that shaving your legs saves 8 watts, while testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. When not riding he can be found at the climbing wall, in his garden or cooking up culinary delights.