The Ritchey Pro Micro Road Pedal is a lightweight, sleek pedal for SPD-cleat users. It's a cracker.
Weighing 210g, the Pro Micro Roads are at the lighter end of heavy, a whole 50g lighter than the £150 PD-6700 carbon Ultegra SPD-SL pedals, for example – Sisyphean arguments around cleat and fixing hardware weight not withstanding.
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The logical competitor to the Pro Micro Road is the Shimano PD-A600 SPD Touring Pedal. Both have an RRP of around £70, both can be found for £20 less online, and both are single-sided entry. At 286g the Shimano are a whopping one-and-a-half bottle cages heavier than the Ritcheys, assuming you accept the 50g Elite Ciussi Inox steel cage as the weight currency du jour. Plus, the Shimanos look enormous with the frankly pointless alloy body-surround-platform-thing. In comparison, the Ritcheys look the business - like little arrowheads you lock your feet on to go really fast.
The Ritchey finish is a curious mix of exquisite machining on the spindle and dimpled forging on the stainless steel body, but overall they look very good. Certainly they scrub up consistently prettier than an SPD-SL pedal with its much larger surface area to pick up scratches.
You are restricted to an 8mm hex for fitting, but there aren't many higher-end pedals featuring 15mm flats these days anyhow, and you want to keep your cranks scratch-free.
Ritchey says they are Shimano SPD cleat-compatible, but trying three different pairs of SPD cleats ranging from near-new to decade-old, I couldn't find any that worked in the Pro Road pedals. The Ritchey cleats clicked into various Shimano pedals with a bit more force than normal, so it's a mixed bag. If you want to mix'n'match Ritchey pedals and cleated shoes with the big S you may strike issues, and wider internet reports bear this out. This is their Achilles heel; if Shimano cleats worked, they would probably double or triple their market.
The cleat tension is adjusted using a 3mm Allen key, with five gradients showing where you are at. I found midway to be fine for secure hold under all-out efforts, and over the test period never had an unexpected clipout.
Once clicked in they feel just as good as any other high-end SPD-style pedal, with a decent amount of float, no fore-aft slop and clean entry/exit even with grime underfoot. Being single-sided you have to look a bit, and without the SPD-SL's large rear end they don't hang ready to clip into. I didn't find flipping them over to engage to be any hassle, the compactness meaning they didn't want to spin all the way over under their own gravity. Double-sided SPD's might be a boon off-road where you are clipping in-out frequently, but for even moderately-experienced road users the single-sidedness of the Ritcheys shouldn't be an issue.
The Pro Micros are fully serviceable, with kits available for £9 through your LBS, via the distributor Paligap. The service kit consists of 18 tiny bearings to do both pedals, plus other bits. The end cap unscrews with a 6mm Allen (check direction and don't overtorque), and be sure to pay attention to the order bits come out in. Cleaning it all up, regreasing and replacing bearings is the work of a few minutes. Ritchey have clearly thought this through.
The result of the chosen bushing/bearing design is that some grease will exit the inboard seal as you pedal, so the occasional wipe with a rag keeps the spindle neat.
Overall the Ritchey Pro Micro Road Pedal is a good choice for those wanting to be able to walk into cafés like a sensible person, whilst not adorning their bike with heavy mud-plugging foot hardware.
Verdict
Excellent lightweight, sleek pedal for SPD-cleat users
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Ritchey Pro Micro V4 Road Pedals
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
The Ritchey Pro Micro Road is for SPD-shoe users who are after a lightweight, compact pedal.
Ritchey says:
The perfect gravel bike pedal is back.
Standard road pedals and cleats will get jammed with rocks and mud, and mountain bike pedals are heavier and offer less cornering clearance, which is critical when combined with a road bike's lower BB height. Enter Tom Ritchey's personal favorite pedal, the pro Micro Road''the only road pedal that can keep going when the pavement ends.
Proven retention system offers fast, predictable entry and release and excellent mud-shedding characteristics
Superlight one-sided stainless steel body
Incredible cornering clearance
SPD cleat and shoe convenience for those occasional dismounts
Low profile design offers exceptionally low axle-to-cleat height for optimal pedaling efficiency
Bushing, needle and cartridge bearing system for long service life
Only 208g (pair)
Ritchey PRO - Race-level parts without the race-level prices. Ritchey PRO benefits from the trickle-down effect. Our line of Top materials and manufacturing processes, usually trickle down about a year or two after they come out as WCS creating Ritchey PRO - Pro level components, without the professional price tag.
The PRO Micro V4 is the successful result of Ritchey's quest to create a road pedal with an absolute minimalist design. The pedal is designed around a low-profile platform for maximum pedalling efficiency and power transfer. One of the lowest pedal platform to shoe sole heights on the market, providing an improved biomechanical position.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Features:
* Super low-profile cleat design
* Forged Stainless steel body
* Adjustable spring tension
* For use on Road, Tri, TT, Track
* 208g
* Cleats Included
* Float° 5
* 2 bolt fitment
* Chromoly axle
* Shimano® SPD cleat compatible
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
The fit and finish is very tidy indeed.
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
No problems or issues were struck during testing - and they felt solid all the time.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
Some slight markings where the cleat wore on the body, and some loss of black paint on the spring plate, but nothing major.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
9/10
At 210g measured they are pretty darn light, even compared with top-end Shimano products costing twice as much.
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
9/10
No issues with foot position at all.
Rate the product for value:
9/10
For as low as £50 they are a good price compared with similar weight offerings.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Very well. No issues.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Minimalism.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Perhaps the mottled/dimpled finish - fully polished would have looked quite the business.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Use this box to explain your score
I marked the The Ritchey Pro Micro Road Pedal down for the cleat incompatibility - they really shouldn't advertise it as such when they clearly aren't. Plus the fact the rear is painted black which wore off quickly - why bother painting it? If you can get your head around these two issues, they are great pedals.
Age: 42 Height: 183cm Weight: 72KG
I usually ride: Charge Juicer My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: club rides, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, MTB, singlespeed and Dutch bike pootling
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