Crank Brothers Candy Pedals
Their first product may have been a tyre lever but anyone who’s been around the MTB game for a while will know Crank Brothers for their pedals, and it all kicked off in 2001 with the Egg Beater. The four-sided retention mechanism made it truly unique and the Egg Beater really has stood the test of time. The simple four-sided mechanism now features on everything from entry-level commuter-style pedals through to World Cup winning DH pedals—even the skeleton like form of the Egg Beater remains for XC racers who are chasing the lightest possible setup (as light as 179g for a pair).
It’s a long and impressive lineage but Crank Brothers has encountered more than a few hurdles along the way. Most of these hurdles have been self-inflicted too, with numerous design and quality related issues tarnishing their reputation. Back in 2004 they had some beautiful looking cranks that would invariably fail within the first few rides. More recently the Kronolog dropper was a flop on the reliability front and there have been a host of pedal durability issues along the way. While they’ve had some great designs, these issues have impacted on the company’s reputation.
A lot has changed however and in 2008 Crank Brothers was bought out by Italian company Selle Royal. For the first five years there were no changes in the structure of the company but in 2013 the new owners got on with the job of improving the products. Possibly the biggest change was the introduction of a dedicated engineering department. Company founders Carl and Frank remain, and they still add the creative flair that makes Crank Brothers’ products stand out, but the new department ensures that the ideas stack up from an engineering standpoint. They've also added a range of additional quality control checks at a manufacturing level.
Multi-Flavoured
The Candy remains as their go-to pedal for XC-style trail riding. It's compact and reasonably light whilst offering more platform area than the venerable Egg Beater. You'll find five models within the Candy lineup; they start with the nylon bodied Candy 1 at $89 and go through to the titanium encrusted Candy 11 at $649. Alloy bodied pedals start with the Candy 2 at $149, while the $199 Candy 3 gains stainless steel retention wings. We tested the $249 Candy 7, as it incorporates the new ‘Traction Pad’ feature.
While the pedals don't look radically different to those from a few years back, the internals have been revised substantially. All Candy models use Enduro brand cartridge bearings on the outside with Igus LL-Glide bushings sit to the inside and double seals are used to keep the crud out. This update allows them to offer five year warranty on their pedals—that's pretty impressive and shows the confidence Crank Brothers has in their current product.
A pair of Candy 7s weighs in at 320g (bang on the claimed weight) and all of the other alloy-bodied models are in the same general weight range. It's not quite as light as the older generation Candy but it still places them part-way between Shimano's XT and XTR models. In any case, we're happy to carry a few extra grams if it leads to reliability and longevity.
The Candy 7 shares the same materials and construction as the Candy 3 but gains 'Traction Pads'. These are replaceable nylon pads that slip into the pedal body. In addition to the regular traction pads that come fitted to the pedals, you also get a thicker set in the box. These can be used to snug up the shoe-to-pedal interface if your tread is worn or your shoes happen to have a very shallow cleat channel. The cleats also come with a range of spacers that allow the pedals to accommodate shoes with deeper than average tread.
To begin with I chose to use some really old shoes, expecting I'd need the thicker traction pads. I was surprised to find that they provided a suitably snug connection with the stock pads. Next I used them with the aggressively treaded FLR shoes. With these I left the stock traction pads in place and fitted a 1mm spacer shim under the cleat. Between the two adjustment methods, the Candy 7 was able to accommodate just about any combination, providing a slop-free fit regardless of whether the shoes were worn out or brand new. Given the range of tread depth that tried without needing to swap the traction pads, I suspect that most people won’t need this added feature (that makes the Candy 3 a better value option in my opinion).
In addition to tweaking to suit differing tread depths, you can also fine tune the release angle. Flipping the cleat orientation lets you select between a 15 or 20-degree release. As a regular SPD user, the shallower release angle felt more natural to me. When clipped in, the Crank Brothers pedals offer a distinctly different feel to Shimano pedals. With SPDs you feel locked into the pedals and there’s very little side-to-side ‘float’. Even in the 15-degree cleat position, the Candy’s offer a large amount of lateral free-play with next to no ramp-up in resistance as you twist out towards the release point. Despite spending the past 10 years on Shimano pedals, it only took me a couple of rides to get used to the Crank Brothers system. Once the cleat position was sorted, I didn’t suffer any accidental release and I can certainly see how the resistance-fee float would be more forgiving on your knees and other joints.
I had the opportunity to test these pedals in a wide range of conditions and they always clipped in reliably—even in sticky clay-based mud. They also got bashed around on plenty of rocks and looked a little worse for wear after three months on the trail. One rock impact even dislodged the silver cover that sits on the end of the pedal body; Crank Brothers calls them ‘Bashguards’ and they’re available as a spare part for $10 each. It’s good to know that almost every part can be purchased as a spare, including the retention wings, springs and bearing service kits.
Three months of riding certainly doesn’t constitute a long term review but I did strip them down at the end of this period to check the bearings and see if they’d ingested any crud. Having owned some earlier generation Candys (over 10 years ago), I can confirm that the main bearing on the new pedals is higher in quality with good seals that should keep them running smoothly for a long time. Additionally, I couldn’t detect any contamination beyond the main seal and the grease still looked fresh—all reassuring stuff.
As with most older generation Crank Brothers pedals, the body is held onto the spindle with a right-hand threaded nyloc nut. Using a reverse thread nut on the left-side pedal would serve as a more concrete fail-safe if the outer bearing did fail catastrophically—a criticism that can also be levelled at many other pedals. Given the higher quality bearings now in use, this is far less likely to pose a problem.
Crank Brothers may have had a bumpy past but their new management seems to be steering them in the right direction. Eye-catching design and a pretty box are no longer enough. Nothing is released before it has been tested and proven by their engineering division—and that’s exactly how it should be!
While I’ve been as sceptical as anyone about the Crank Brothers brand, I’ve been totally impressed by their more recent additions. I’ve now spent over a year on their Highline dropper post without needing to touch it and the grease still looks fresh inside. With a five year warranty to back up the pedals (and this includes bearing wear), the new Candys could well be travelling a similar route.
Distributed by Lusty Industries
