Remember when Odyssey came out with the Twisted PC pedals? It’s weird to think that has been a few years ago now (1996 to be exact). It’s even weirder to think about how many people acted like it was the worst thing ever… Then before you knew it every company had a similar plastic pedal. The biggest problem with the Twisted PC’s was after a few pedal slides or just wearing down from use of the pedals, the pins wouldn’t grip as well. Sure, the pedals are cheap and pretty disposable, a lot of people wanted a plastic pedal with actual pins.
I’m not sure how long the new JC/PC’s have been in the works, but I do know it has been at least two years, and they finally got it right. Plastic pedals with metal pins… ah, the grip.
Alright, so let’s go into detail with these pedals. It’s a plastic version of the well known and loved Jim C pedal. The pedal itself is pretty interesting though. It features two pieces for the shell of the pedal, with no bearings, a tapered axle, and a bunch of pins holding it all together.
The first run of these pedals were a limited edition “Oreo” style with white, and black. When the next batch comes in they will come in black, white, or the “Oreo” if you prefer. The plastic itself was an issue with the pedals that pushed the release back. The first batch turned out that they warped when the climate changed, and left the spindle wobbly. That was what caused them to have to get some more samples done, and make sure everything was spot on, and clearly they are now.
Like I said above, the pedals don’t have bearings. I actually cracked these open for the first time to make the video, so I didn’t know what it was in place of the bearings. It’s basically just two rubber O rings and a dust cover/O Ring. The spindle itself is a tapered spindle that’s pretty beefy.
The pedal is all held together by 16 pins with nuts on the opposite side of the pedal. It’s safe to say they are held together really well by this. I talked with Ben Ward (one of Odyssey’s product designer) about how many could be taken out, and he said it’s safe to take 8 pins out without having the spindle wobble.
The JC/PC is a little bit heavier than a regular Twisted PC obviously. The savings in weight without the bearings is replaced by the pins and over sized spindle which equals out to being heavier. However, if you take half the pins out you are able to cut a few ounces off that.
The grip of the pedal is great. I’ve been running the regular PC’s since they came out so I was used to the pedal slip. So the change to these made a huge difference in grip. In fact, they were almost TOO grippy. I fell twice because my foot got stuck to the pedal. Pretty embarrassing.
Overall, the pedal is definitely living up to all my desires that I had when I heard about them. They are grippy, and solid with the feel from the metal Jim C’s. The pedals don’t flip around easy or wobble at all so there isn’t any noise or anything coming from them. They don’t wear down very quick because the pins stop you from rubbing on the shell too much. However, they will have replacement shells for these available for when you wear one side down too much.
My only complaint, and issues I see people having are these. The pins are pretty long, so taking a shiner does suck. I’d say grinding them down a bit will do the trick. Also, taking a few of the pins out won’t hurt and will save some weight. I asked Ben Ward if they planned on making some pins that came flush, and the idea is still being tossed around but could be a possibility. If anything you can always just grind them down flush for a “grind” side if you wanted. Otherwise, like most of Odyssey’s stuff it’s pretty flawless.
The pedals should be retailing for about $34.95 and will be available in about 1-2 weeks (around December 1st). If you are looking for some new pedals, these might just be the ones for you. Since the majority of the cost for the pedal is the spindle, they will have just the plastic shell available for purchase also for when you do grind the shit out of the pedal! So the replacement cost isn’t going to be too much!
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