A good set of flat pedals should last you a lifetime, and Joe has been running the UK-made Carder TwoTwelve pedals to see if they’re up to the job.
Taking on a swathe of Far Eastern produced and other UK-made flat pedals, Carder’s TwoTwelve has plenty to do to get noticed. Joe has been hammering the TwoTwelves to see if they’re up to scratch.
Photos by Dave Price.
Key features:
- UK made in Devon
- 425g (pair)
- 8mm & 10mm pins included
- Available in 7 colours
- £94.99 RRP
- CarderTech.co.uk
There are a lot of great flat pedals on the market to choose from, so these had better be good if they want to stand out. If you want a UK made flat pedal then there are a few options out there so the TwoTwelve has some tough competition, but they have proven their worth so far.
A pedal doesn’t have to do too many things really. Provide a good solid platform with plenty of grip and keep spinning smoothly whatever is thrown at them. That’s about it really.
So how do they shape up? The pedal body provides a good size platform for your shoe, and there is slightly concave to allow your show to sit into the pedal slightly. The body seems pretty tough as they have shrugged off many a rock strike with no more than a few scratches.
They come with a choice of 8mm or 10mm grub screw pins. I have been running them with the 8mm pins right through winter, on various bikes and have never felt the need for more grip. Combined with Fiveten shoes the grip is ample. Perhaps with a less sticky shoe there may not be as much grip, but then the option is there to swap to the 10mm pins for some extra grab. The pins are of the grub screw type so are inserted from the top.
I did manage to bend a pin after striking a rock, and was able to remove it easily with some pliers and the thread was intact, so replacement was a piece of cake. The only downside to grub screws is that the small hex heads get blocked with dirt which makes removal a bit of a pain as you need to pick it out with a small pointy thing before you can get the hex key in. That is a pretty minor gripe though.
The pedal body spins on a steel axle with two bushes and two sealed ball bearings, all sealed in with two seals per side. Initially there was a fair bit of friction, probably due to the double seals, but after a few rides they had worn in to be silky smooth, and have been for several months now despite riding them through the particularly wet winter we have had.
Also to note they were on a bike which chewed through several sets be brake pads and a set of rear wheel bearings in the same time period. Once the wet period was over I dismantled the pedals to check on the condition of the bearings and axle, and the grease was still pretty clean so the seals are obviously doing their job. A quick clean and re-grease and they should be good for another few months. It is an easy 5 minute job too, so it is worth doing periodically just to keep them running silky smooth even if you don’t think they need it.
What do we think?
UK made, plenty of grip, tough and reliable, Carder have produced a pedal that has what it takes to compete with the big boys of the flat pedal world.
We Love:
- Plenty of grip
- Reliable
- UK made
Could Do Better:
- Nothing really
