System EX 365 Touring pedals

System EX SED 365 pedals aren’t the least bit glamorous but stripped and reloaded with lashings of lovely marine grease; make serviceable pedals for everyday town hacks. Bargain basement homage to Campagnolo’s classic rattraps, their aggressively serrated cages are drilled for toe-clips and straps but conveniently entertain anything from sandals to steel toes. Urban terrorists and furious fixers will rejoice in the knowledge their low profiles are particularly sympathetic to aggressive cornering. However, tourists and retro cross riders should dig deeper and in favour of sealed bearings.

£15 doesn’t go far these days and while the polished alloy bodies and loose bearings lack finesse, annual replacement and plenty of marine grease should keep them dependable for a few seasons. Turning the axles, bearings felt alarmingly arthritic but common to others at this end of the market, will bed in after the first hundred or so miles. Curiously the axles aren’t Cro-moly but Boron, an extremely hard and comparatively lightweight steel alloy used widely within the car industry.

This should withstand phenomenal abuse without failure-perfect for the rough and tumble of utility riding and urban commuting. Storming up the climbs, turning an eighty-one inch fixed couldn’t induce any disconcerting squeaks, creaks or flex. Similarly, full pelt descending with increasingly aggressive angles of lean failed to ground a dust cap or clip a cage at the crucial moment.

Talking of cages, these are razor sharp and so every bit the proverbial double-edged sword-just the ticket for flicking up and powering away at the traffic light grand prix but excruciating on contact with the shins. Much to my surprise, the polished alloy hasn’t tarnished despite regularly mingling with the salt monster but for all their cheer, examining the internals after three weeks indicates poor weather defences so stripping and thoroughly greasing the innards is fundamental to their longevity.

Verdict

Good for the asking price but require regular overhaul

All the deals displayed on our review pages are pulled from a constantly updating database feed of the best affiliate deals available. The criteria for deciding on what are the best deals is who is offering the lowest, delivered price. In most cases we will be showing the very best deal available online, but sometimes you may be able to find an item cheaper. If you can please feel free to post a link in the comments box below. To find out more about affiliate links on road.cc click here.