Hope F20 pedal
Itโs fair to say that the Hope F20 pedal was received with the same excitement that all new Hope products enjoy โ that is, flippinโ loads. Hope are proud to admit that they took something like two years to get the pedal ready to sell and took great delight in teasing us with it all the way through the process. Finally though, the F20 is here and features โ you guessed it โ 20 pins, T6 aluminium platform, 3 cartridge bearings and one Norglide bush per pedal as well as being fully CNCโd in the UK. If youโre interested, Norglide is the self-proclaimed world leader for bearing production and also (presumably in a separate department!) claims to insulate a third of all of Europeโs homes!
Back to the F20 pedal, sorry. The quality of construction is the first thing that jumps out at you, the F20 just feels good. The pedal is solid, itโs smooth and itโs tough. Everything has been precisely machined and while there is no excessive fat anywhere to be seen, thereโs enough material to offer a solid platform. The total weight per pair clocks in at around 400gms which is very respectable for a solid flat pedal. Stomp your foot onto the F20 and youโll get a safe, reassuring feeling that does nothing to discourage rowdiness.
Attention to detail is what will stand the F20 out from the crowd and justify spending the extra cash over one of the usual rebranded offerings that flood the internet. The first winner is that the pins are screwed into the pedal body via the underside. That means that pedal mashing wonโt affect your ability to remove or replace pins. All pedals should do this. The body of the pedal is also machined with a โgroovedโ pattern to add extra friction and contribute to grip which is a nice extra feature. Fitting and removal of the F20 is done via allen key with no pedal spanner option โ presumably to save weight, again no complaints. The finish however (as you can see from the photo) could be improved. Whilst it isnโt getting any worse, the anodizing quickly looked worn and tatty after just a couple of rides. Itโs disappointing given the quality of the rest of the construction.
Grip is where I feel the F20 warrants a bit of discussion. The solid, reassuring feel of the F20 adds loads of confidence and the grooved platform is also a nice, albeit subtle, touch.ย My feet are a modest size 9 and they seem to offer an amply sized platform โ which was also confirmed by my size 11 clowned-footed test pilot who borrowed the F20โs for a few runs. Iโm not fully convinced however that the F20 offers the most grip out there. Despite Hopeโs claim that the F20 is โin the average for concavityโ any concaving really is very subtle and isnโt obvious to the eye or the foot. I donโt think the F20 is a bad pedal at all โ I just donโt feel that my feet are locked in to it quite as securely as I have experienced elsewhere. Thatโs not necessarily a bad thing though and switching between my older, grippier pedals I did notice that I was struggling to reposition my foot in the way Iโd become accustomed to on the Hopes. I wouldnโt be put off by this but do consider it if you donโt ride in shoes with sticky rubber soles or you liked to be super locked-in.
tested by: Jamie
cash-money: ยฃ120
web: hopetech.com
the word: Incredibly good quality pedals with great attention to detail โฆ but not the grippiest weโve ever ridden. Teamed up with sticky rubber soles they work well, but not perfect with a โnormalโ shoe or if you like loads of grip.
