Best Flat Mountain Bike Pedal for All Mountain, Enduro, and Downhill

Rarely does anything do everything as well as the Race Face Atlas mountain bike pedal. Generally, any component that leads its class in one area will invariably come up short in another. This is not the case with the Atlas. It provides a grip, platform, profile, and weight that are all class leading or just behind it. If you are in the market for a high-end flat mountain bike pedal, then we suggest trying out the Race Face Atlas.

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See Our Best Flat Mountain Bike Pedal Review!

Grip

We feel that the number one priority of a flat mountain bike pedal is to provide you with a solid, grippy platform that makes you feel like you are one with your bike whether you are bombing ski runs or rock gardens. In short, if this is your line of thinking, then look no further than the Race Face Atlas, because it is the best flat mountain bike pedal for you.

Sometimes, a lightweight pedal will sacrifice pins to be more lightweight, but that is not the case with the Race Face Atlas. The Atlas uses 10 screws per side, which screw in from the back using a 3mm allen key. These are located in tiny recesses that protect the keyholes from being smashed and becoming impossible to get your allen key into.

While hollowed out grub screws typically offer the best traction, the Race Face Atlas pedals use another effective approach. Rather than grub screws, the Race Face Atlas uses flat screws that are angled in to match the concave of the pedal. While some prefer a convexly shaped pedal, concave pedals tend to offer the most traction, and the angle of the Race Face Atlas’s pins works in perfect synergy with the shape.

On top of the fact that there are 10 of them, and that they are perfectly angled to produce maximum traction, the pins on the Race Face Atlas are some of the longest of any pedal that we reviewed. This not only helps them burrow into the treads of your shoes, but it also keeps them doing so when your shoes or the pedals have a layer of mud between them. This makes sure that they remain extremely grippy whether you are riding in perfect weather conditions, or slogging it out in the mud.

Platform

The Race Face Atlas is a big pedal. In fact, with a surface area of 101mmX114mm, it is the widest pedal in our review. Sometimes, rough terrain can cause us to bounce around on even the grippiest of flat mountain bike pedals, which the Race Face Atlas pedals are. When that happens, it is nice to know that you have a nice, large platform to land back on, and the Race Face Atlas has you covered here as well.

If you have a larger foot, anywhere from around a size 10.5 up, then you will appreciate the Atlas’s large surface area.

The downside of large pedals is that they are more likely to come into contact with foreign objects that can blow your foot right off of them. The Race Face Atlas guards against this with sloping edges, that increase clearance on the underside of the pedal and helps it to glance off of rocks and roots rather than getting hung up on them. Add to this the fact that the Atlas’s platform only measures 14.5mm on the edges and 12mm at the axle, and you have about as much clearance as you could possibly ask for in a pedal with such a large, confidence inspiring platform.

You will likely need to use a washer to accommodate these large platforms, particularly if your bike has any type of a crank boot. Otherwise, you might find the Race Face Atlas rubbing against your crank or crank boot.

Finally, the large platform of the Race Face Atlas does an exceptional job of shedding mud. While larger pedals often offer more places for mud to cake, the Race Face Atlas mountain bike pedal collects little mud, and it offers few places for mud to hide that it can not be easily removed with a hard pedal stomp or two. Add this to the longer than average pins, and the Race Face Atlas is a top choice for winter riding.

Weight

We could forgive you for expecting the Race Face Atlas to be a heavy pedal. Its extremely solid feel and oversized platform suggest a pedal that would have some real heft to it. However, the Race Face Atlas impresses in the weight category, as it does everywhere else, weighing in at only 340g. This makes it the lightest aluminum pedal in our test.

Durability and Servicing

No pedal with any real durability issues made our list. However, certain features, such as the ability to easily remove and replace bent pins, which is the case with the Race Face Atlas, is certainly a plus.

There is actually a spare pin stored on the end of the Race Face Atlas’s axle. Behind this is an easy to access grease port, which is handy since it allows you to grease the Atlas’s bearings without taking anything apart. The ability to carry an extra pin on the pedals is another well thought out feature on our favorite top of the line flat mountain bike pedal.

The Bottom Line

The Race Face Atlas is a pedal that does it all. It provides the largest platform of any pedal in our review, as well as the most grip. If you are someone used to riding with clipless pedals, then you will greatly appreciate the locked in feel of the Race Face Atlas. Furthermore, large footed riders and those who just want more surface area to land on after getting bounced around will love the sheer size of the grippy platform.

Pair this with the fact that it is the lightest aluminum pedal in our review and just shy of the thinnest, and the Race Face Atlas is an extremely hard pedal to beat.

The one downside to the Race Face Atlas is its price. With an MSRP of $179, they are the most expensive pedals in our review. However, at the time of writing this article, the Atlas can be found at multiple retailers for ~$150. This puts them right in line with other high-end flat pedals, like the Deity Bladerunner.

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