OneUp Components Clip Pedals
Stated Weight (pair, with pins): 410 g
Platform Size (width x length): 80 x 90 mm
MSRP: $159.99 USD / $218.99 CAD
Intro
OneUp has slowly but surely expanded its components catalog, focusing on solid, no-nonsense parts at competitive prices. Their flat pedals have been around for years and have proven quite popular, and now OneUp is offering something for clipless riders, too. True to form, OneUp has taken a unique approach that manages to hit a reasonable weight while emphasizing dependability. So what has OneUp done to sway folks from one of the more established clipless pedal systems out there?
Design
Pedal Body
There are a few key elements of the new Clip Pedals that stand out — starting with the pedal size and shape. They’re especially thin, with the body measuring just 14.4 mm over the axle, and the total clip mechanism at 28.6 mm. Comparatively, the also notably slim HT X3 pedals that we love here at Blister are 14.3 mm over the axle, with a taller cleat mechanism that measures just over 29 mm.
The idea behind that thin platform is to help avoid pedal strikes from underfoot while also helping stability by keeping the shoe sole that much closer to the axle. It’s worth calling out though that OneUp’s claim of being “the thinnest mountain bike clip pedals in the world” doesn’t quite hold up when we’re talking body width over the axle (again, the HT X3 is 0.1 mm thinner) but the Clip Pedals are thinner than the HTs when including the clip mechanism.
[For reference, Shimano Saint SPD pedals have an 18.7 mm thick platform and 33 mm thick clip mechanism; XTR Trails come in at 17.1 and 29.9 mm, respectively.]
The Clip Pedal’s platform is also pretty sizable for its low 410 g weight, measuring 80 x 90 mm (width x length). That’s bigger than the 68 x 82 mm body of the Trail-oriented HT T2, but slightly smaller than the larger 85 x 91 mm platform of the Downhill-oriented HT X3. That’s still a rather sizable platform, and it’s in line with other gravity-oriented pedals.
Typically a bigger platform means higher weight, but OneUp has managed to keep the Clip Pedals fairly lightweight at 410 g per pair, even with the aluminum platform construction. Again using my preferred HTs as a comparator, the rather lightweight T2 undercuts the OneUps by about 30 g, while the OneUps have a nearly 60-gram edge on the heavier HT X3. It’s an impressive weight figure for such a big platform, and while true XC riders will still seek something lighter, packing a large pedal body into a lightweight package should appeal to a broad swath of Trail, Enduro, and Downhill riders.
That 410 g weight includes the pins, of which there are four per side. The pins are hollow and accessible from the backside of the pedal to make it a bit easier to swap them from the other side if one gets smushed — a nice touch. A chromoly steel axle turns on an inboard IGUS bushing and three cartridge bearings, and OneUp says the axles are DH-rated.
In typical OneUp fashion, there’s a boatload of colors to choose from (eight, in fact) so you can get as matchy as you’d like.
Mechanism
While the combination of a thin platform, low weight, and large footprint is impressive, the cleat mechanism is equally interesting. It’s a custom stainless steel design based on the tried-and-true SPD design for easy sourcing of replacement cleats but offers 5° of float and a 12° release angle. For reference, normal Shimano pedals with the standard cleat provide a stated 4° of float and a 13° release angle, as do HT pedals with their X1 cleats.
[It’s worth noting that stated float and release angles can be a little misleading — HT pedals with the X1 cleat feel more locked in / like they have less float than Shimano’s SPD pedals, despite the same nominal angles.]
Those float and release differences are quite minor, but the bigger differentiator is OneUp’s promise of a tighter cleat fit as well as higher possible release values. One of the big reasons that we’ve been so partial to the HT pedals here within Blister’s bike review team is the notably crisp release and higher possible release tension. If OneUp’s design can get closer to that HT feel while offering standard SPD cleat compatibility, it could be a very compelling design indeed.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) SPD pedals have been popular for a reason, but most implementations have had less retention and a propensity to develop more play over time than some other designs. Has OneUp’s effort to create a custom mechanism addressed these historical traits of SPD designs?
(2) OneUp emphasizes the thinness of the design, but how well does the platform support the shoe itself?
Bottom Line (For Now)
There are a lot of SPD-compatible pedals out there already, but OneUp’s Clip Pedals bring some compelling design elements to the table. As nice as the low weight and body size sound, it’s ultimately the claimed improvements to the SPD mechanism that have us keen to try these out. We have a pair on the way for some testing, so we’ll have a lot more to say on how they perform soon.
I think XT Trail pedals or even the venerable M530 would be a better comparison.
We’ll comment on those too. We brought up the X3 because its combination of a notably secure / play-free clip mechanism and very thin profile match the two biggest attributes that OneUp is touting.
The X3’s platform size is more comparable too.
David: Can’t imagine the challenges of writing an introductory article on a product you haven’t yet tested! Such are the vagaries and incessant demands of internet websites and social media, eh? :-)
That said, you did a great AND HIGHLY CREDIBLE job of comparing a known vs. an “unknown” based on the tech specs ….. all you had to work with.
As a flat pedal MTB’er who uses the OneUp composite pedals (excellent, durable, inexpensive, etc.), I’d be interested in your future takes on: (1) why clipless pedals haven’t gone composite (or have they?); (2) will OneUp shake up the industry with such a pedal; (3) thank heaven the weight included the 4 pins for the weight weenies! :-).
Well, full credit to Zack for writing this one, but thanks for the kind words either way!
There have been a few clipless pedals that used a plastic outer cage in the past (most prominently the Shimano m424 and m647) and Time has done a few XC pedals with a composite body but they’re certainly the exception. My hunch is that building a composite body that can handle the stresses (especially in terms of screw pull-out) that a clipless mechanism induces gets tricky and requires advanced materials that get expensive. But that’s truly just a guess on my part.