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PRODUCT REVIEWS: ON TEST: MAVIC RACE SL TI PEDALS
Philip Booth
September 9, 2009
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THE STORY
Mavic has a long, storied history in the bicycle industry and in 2009 they launched a new line of road pedals. While not complete strangers to the pedal market, (think Mavic 646 from 1989) it has been several years since Mavic offered a complete line of road pedals. At the top of Mavic’s new pedal line is the professional level Mavic Race SL Ti.
TECH
The Mavic Race SL Ti Pedals feature an aluminum pedal body topped with a carbon fiber friction plate to help hold the cleat in place. A carbon-reinforced rear plate is then used to grasp the back of the cleat. The pedal’s tension can be adjusted with a 3-millimeter Allen key atop the rear plate. To further minimize weight, there are no wrench flats, just a place at the end of the spindle for an 8-millimeter Allen key. To complete the Race SL Ti Pedals, Mavic uses 6/4 titanium axel spindles. There is no rider weight limit for the Mavic Race SL Ti pedals and each pedal runs on two Mavic QRM sealed bearings and a cartridge needle bearing. The Mavic Race SL Ti pedals come with a pair of 7-degree float DuraCleats and hardware. The weight of a pair of cleats is 48-grams with the pedals coming in at 226-grams.
RBA SAYS
The Mavic Race SL Ti pedals are impressive in the amount of detail and thought that went into their construction. While the weight is impressive at 226-grams, Mavic wisely chose to stay with an aluminum pedal body for strength and durability. The pedal is also completely serviceable with replaceable bearings, spindles, friction plate, tension spring and rear cleat grasp. All of which make for a pedal system that is designed to last.
Setup on the Mavic Race SL Tis was easy as the cleats use a standard Look three bolt-mounting pattern. The cleat is also similar to the Look design in its large triangle shaped platform. This is definitely not bad as the design provides a large stable contact area that all test riders appreciated. The pedals hold the cleats securely even on the lowest tension setting and we never had an issue with unwanted or unintentional pedal release. The large contact point also helped provide solid power transfer which was aided by the absence of flex from the pedal bodies or titanium spindles. The 7-degrees of float was also well received by the majority of riders as it provided just enough movement for riders to find their natural pedaling position. A couple of testers commented that they would preferred more resistance within the range of float as it was basically free float until the 7-degree disengagement point.
Overall it was difficult to find fault with the Mavic Race SL Ti pedals. The weight is competitive, the serviceability is big plus and the performance is a good as anything on the market.
PRICE: $250.00
WEIGHT: 266-grams
INFO: www.mavic.com
BONUS POINTS: Weight, serviceability and performance |
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