The Nukeproof Horizon Pro pedal is a big, meaty flat pedal that was designed – Nukeproof tell us – with the direct input of Sam Hill, the undisputed king of flat pedal thunder.
According to their sales pitch, Sam insisted on a pedal with a large platform, deep concave and removable pins to allow customisation. You rarely know quite how much input pros have into signature products but Nukeproof insist that the Horizon was built from the direct feedback of Sam and his mechanic Jacy.
The Horizon Pro pedal comes in a ‘Sam Hill’ version (seen here) and a standard version. Sam’s version has his name on them, a polished finish and costs an extra five quid. Opt for the standard ones and you’ll save the price of a pint, your pedals will be plain black … but that’s it.
After two months of thrashing them round our local trails it’s time to check in on Sam’s handiwork…
Vital stats:
2 x high quality DU bushings & 4 x sealed cartridge bearings per pair
Forged 6061-T6 alloy body with CNC finishing
Cro-Mo axle
Adjustable pin heights
Weight: 430g
Got Sam Hill written on them
£79.99 for the Sam Hill Version
£74.99 for standard version
Reliability
The Horizon Pro Sam Hill pedal arrived at the perfect time of year to expose failings in crap products. I slapped them on at the start of December, commenced mud-plugging and have shown them zero love since that day. Nothing shows up poor seals and bearings like the British winter, right?
Each Horizon pedal contains 1 x DU bushing and 2 x sealed cartridge bearings – a pretty standard setup for top-end pedals.
Despite my lack of love they’ve held up to the winter slop and repeated hammering very nicely. One pedal is spinning slightly less freely than the other but, there’s no significant reduction in performance and no sign that they’re falling short of Sam Hill-esque performance. A quick service and a bit of grease should bring them back up to as-new performance.
Despite claiming not to ride in the wet, Sam Hill famously smoked the field at Champery in what was basically a monsoon. His pedals seem to be just as compatible with rubbish weather.
Chunky platform
The Horizon Pro isn’t the most-low profile or the lightest pedal out there – the DMR Vault and Hope F20 both offer thinner pedal bodies. The plus side of that is a decently roomy perch for your feet. For my modest size 8’s there’s loads of room … I wouldn’t expect bigger footed pilots to have any problems.
I’ve suffered plenty of pedal strikes whilst riding the Sam Hill (thanks largely to soft suspension set up rather than pedal dimensions) but so far haven’t manage to bend axles or knacker the pedal body. I’ve lost a couple of pins here and there and whilst they aren’t supplied, spare pins for Nukeproof’s pedals are available online.
Grip
The Horizon Pro has 10 pins on each side. The 3 front and rear pins on each side are removable and neatly offer height adjustment with tiny washers. Add the washers for lower pins, remove them for higher pins. As all pedals should, the pins can be removed from the underside of the pedal body, meaning they’re easy to remove when they’re mashed up.
I’ve ridden the Horizon’s in wet and dry conditions and only suffered any issues with grip where I’ve lost pins. The polished pedal body isn’t textured as you would see on something like a Hope F20 … but that’s only noticeable when you’ve got lazy with maintenance and aren’t running pins where you should. Teamed up with 5:10 Freeride EPS and Giro Jacket shoes and grip has been flawless.
Value for Money:
So the Horizon pedal works well. It’s grippy, it’s got a decent sized platform and (so far!) it’s done well in the mud. Is it better than the competition though? Not necessarily, it certainly performs as well as any other pedal we’ve ridden in recent memory though. No complaints at all.
For me, this is where value for money comes in. There’s a heap of pedals that all perform super well and hit all the feature and performance boxes – the difference between them is price.
The Horizon Pro Sam Hill is £79.99. The DMR Vault is £114.99. The Hope F20 is £120. Burgtec’s Penthouse is £99. All are thereabouts similarly well specced and perform very well. You can certainly get cheaper pedals (the DMR V12 and the Superstar Nano-X for example) but to me – the Horizon Pro feels like great value for money.
What we think:
The Horizon Pro offers all the features you want from a really decent pedal. Removable and customisable pins, a large pedal body, serviceable bearings and a DU bush to keep the muck out. All of that adds up to a grippy, tough, long-lasting pedal that also manages to look good.
For me the clincher is the price. At a penny under £80 the Horizon Pro punches hard whilst costing a few beers less than its competition. If your skint, give the DMR V12 a look and save a bit more cash … but if you’re not, the Horizon Pro will be an excellent pedal.
Thoroughly recommended.
Buy Nukeproof Horizon Pro Sam Hill pedals online here.
Find your local Nukeproof dealer here.
