Edco 3AX pedals

Edco's 3AX pedals are designed to help with hip-knee-foot alignment, but £250 is a lot of money to spend on pedals that don't guarantee performance gains or better comfort for all. They're also considerably heavier than competitors.

The 3AX pedals are purported to alleviate knee pain and increase power transfer by giving your feet the freedom to 'sway' sideways and move more naturally than just the rigid lateral movement offered by most clipless pedals. It's a fascinating idea and Edco has certainly done its homework before bringing them to market, but I'd like to see some further improvements if there's to be a second iteration.

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The company quotes studies showing average efficiency improvements of 5.47% in a test pool of 30 cyclists, riding at a power output (W) of 2.5x greater than their bodyweight in kg. It was this exhaustive testing and research completed over four years that earned Edco an innovation award at Eurobike last summer – but are they any good on the road?

Coming in their own neat presentation box (as they should for £250!) and with Keo-compatible cleats, setting the cleats up was a standard affair, as was mounting the pedals which requires an 8mm hex wrench rather than a pedal spanner.

It's worth warning you that engagement of the 3AX pedals takes some serious getting used to – my understanding is that because of the pedal moving side to side, working with the natural direction of your foot, you have to wriggle your foot to engage, rather than being able to just 'scoop' it in as with a Look Keo or SPD. As a slight overpronator I had to angle my foot inward slightly to engage the cleat, and no matter where I placed it on the sole of my shoes the same thing happened. For me this makes the 3AX pedals unsuitable for rides with lots of foot-down junctions en route. After a lot of use I just couldn't make clipping in seamless every time, which could potentially be dangerous in heavy traffic.

Once clipped in I was largely impressed with the pedals. They take some getting used to and it's odd at first when you move your foot around atop of the pedals – I'm used to my feet feeling pretty rigid – but after a while the difference is negligible.

As someone with reasonably good left-right balance and efficiency, I couldn't really tell the difference going in a dead-straight line, and based on my anecdotal evidence and ride data I can't claim efficiency improvements myself. I did definitely feel the pedals gave a more comfortable ride than the mid-range ones I've been used to, especially out of the saddle and turning corners, where the extra freedom of movement was welcome.

The exposed aluminium spindle does hang down quite low, which didn't fill me with confidence when taking some tight corners – I just about cleared them each time – but for crit racers it would definitely be worth experimenting with clearance before going for these.

That spindle and all the exposed metal does make me question the longevity of these pedals; it means there are numerous entry points for grime and they did get dirty quite quickly during my test rides. I'd like to have seen some more protection on the underside of the pedal – perhaps a casing over the spindle, although that would add more weight and even less clearance, and the 3AX are already heavy at 390g.

Walking in the 3AX cleats isn't too bad. They're a bit flatter than Look Keo cleats, less protruding than SPD-SLs, and they're quite hardwearing, so for short walks they're fine.

If you prioritise weight over comfort and are a reasonably efficient rider, it's fair to say the 3AX pedals may not be for you. To give some comparison, Shimano's Dura-Ace 9100 pedals are 228g a pair with an RRP of £224.99, and Look's Blade Carbon Ti are 248g for £249.99 but can be picked up for less if you shop around. It means the 3AX lag with regards to both weight and price compared with the market-leading brands.

> Buyer's Guide: 10 of the best clipless pedals, from £20…

In summary, I'm not convinced that the 3AX pedals are a complete revolution in pedal design just yet. Edco's quoted studies of 30 riders, although exhaustive, don't quite go far enough to demonstrate that all riders would benefit. Visiting a bike fit specialist and/or a physio would also definitely be worth it before deciding you need these pedals for their promises of greater knee comfort if you struggle with knee injuries.

For myself, I noticed slight improvements in comfort but not in performance, and would like to see some more weight reduction and a redesign of the pedal body before I could fully recommend them for all.

Verdict

An exciting innovation, but they're not really worth the outlay for the majority of cyclists