Product Review: Maglock Stealth Pedals
Maglock Stealth Pedals
We were interested in trying out the Maglock pedals since they started their crowdfunding campaign. The pedals are a very interesting idea, and they are made of a high-density polymer-composite material. The neodymium magnets are inside the pedal, and there’s a metal plate covering them. The cleat you put on your shoe is made of a steel alloy, simply a machined piece of metal that you bolt on.
For someone who rode clipless for a while and decided against it, and ultimately going back to flats, we were very curious what it would be like. On flats, you can come off the pedals easily when needed, but you sometimes come off the pedals over bumps and small hits. These are the times you think to yourself, “Here is where being clipped in would be advantageous!”
We immediately thought that these pedals would be a perfect middle ground for this. It’s a great way to learn to use regular clipless pedals, like Shimano SPD or Crankbrothers Mallet for example. When your shoe gets close to the pedal, it immediately attracts to the magnet and pops in place.
It only takes 25–30 pounds of force to pop off the pedal, which is a drop in the bucket compared to a normal clipless pedal. You likely won’t get the full advantage of your pedal upstroke with these pedals, as you might pull off the pedal.
Riding with them is very intuitive, and we found that overall we liked the security on trails, but on the street they weren’t as helpful. They were okay, but when you step off the bike, you’re walking around on a metal cleat, and that can be annoying. On the trail on a mountain bike, they worked wonderfully over bumps and small jumps.
Because of the magnets and the metal cleats, these things are heavy! The pedals weigh in at 615 grams, and the cleats are another 200 grams. That is rotating weight as well, which is more important. On e-bikes we don’t always consider weight the way traditional bike riders do, but it can affect handling.
Installing them is easy. The pedals go on with a 6mm hex wrench or a 15mm pedal wrench. The cleats use two small hex bolts and can attach to any two-bolt cycling shoe.
The company has a higher-level pedal, the Fort Knox, that requires 30-35 pounds of force to disengage from the pedal. It’s made of machined aluminum, uses rare-earth magnets and costs $165. There are a few interesting accessories—one that keeps your foot on a narrower part of the pedal, cleats that don’t scrape the ground as much when you walk on them, clear magnet covers and more.
The price of the Stealth pedals is $100
Pros:
• More secure than flat pedals
• Easy to “clip in”
• Easy to get out of
Cons:
• Not as secure as clipless pedals
• Heavy
• Metal surface of the pedal gets scraped up quickly
THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO GET
ELECTRIC BIKE ACTION
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