Best Bang for Your Buck Aluminum Pedal

Perhaps not as well known as some of the bigger brands on our list, VP Components probably makes a few of the components on your bike that you haven’t even noticed! But not easily missed are the VP Vice flat mountain bike pedals. At ~$95, they occupy something of a middle ground between the OneUp Composite’s $50 Price range and the ~$150 price range of the Race Face Atlas.

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See Our Best Flat Mountain Bike Pedal Review!

Grip

The VP Vice comes loaded with a whopping 24 pins per pedal (12 per side). It is not only the number of pins that helps make the VP Vice unique, but also the type. The VP Vice features eight M4 bolts per side, as well as four grub screws, typically considered to be the grippiest.

Surprisingly for a pedal with so many pins, the VP Vice is actually one of the more balanced pedals in our review. While it offers more grip than the skatey Race Face Chester and Deity Bladerunner, it still doesn’t give the locked in control of the Race Face Atlas or OneUp Composite. Like its price, this helps to put the VP Vice in a middle ground where it can shine without being overshadowed in a more crowded category.

Platform

Measuring 105mm X 96mm, the surface area of the VP Vice is about average, if trending toward the small side. The profile measures 17mm at the axle and 16mm on the leading and trailing edges. This makes it a fair thin pedal, but not much thinner than our top budget pick, the OneUp Composite, which measured 18.5mm at the axle and 13.3mm at the edges.

Similar to the Deity Bladerunner, the larger center profile can be felt underfoot, but the wide assortment of screws helps to minimize this feeling, and it has less of an edge to axle difference to make up than the Bladerunner. This all works together to give it the unique blend of traction and ease of adjustability that will draw some riders to the VP Vice pedal.

If we had to choose one thing as a true negative about the VP Vice, it would be that its platform design is among the least open of the pedals that we reviewed. This means that it is not going to give you the performance in the mud that can be found in more open pedals.

Weight

The VP Vice comes in at a weight of 415g. As with most things about the VP Vice, its weight has it occupying a spot somewhere in the middle of the pedals that we reviewed. VP does offer a titanium axle upgrade that claims to shed 70g off of the pair. This would put the VP Vice just behind the Race Face Atlas as the lightest pedal on our list. However, after spending $100 to shave 70g off of a $95 pair of pedals, you are no longer in the realm of mid-priced pedals, and we would recommend spending that $100 elsewhere.

Durability and Servicing

The dual cartridge bearing internals of the VP Vice can be easily accessed with a 6mm allen key, and a self-lubricating bearing on the crank side of the pedal can be removed using a 1/2” tap.

As for the pins, they all screw in from the back side and are tucked away via a stepped design like most of the aluminum pedals that we reviewed. While we preferred each pin to get its own burrow, this is much better than pedals that left the heads of grub screws exposed for damage.

The Bottom Line

The VP Vice is a middle of the road pedal in almost every way, and don’t be fooled into thinking that is a bad thing. We still love the value and performance of the synthetic pedals on our list, but if a value-packed aluminum pedal is more your speed, then the VP Vice occupies a sweet spot between cheaper synthetic pedals and the highest end aluminum pedals.

As with its price, the grip of the VP Vice will satisfy those who want a middle ground between the pedals with the most grip and those on which you can most easily readjust your feet. If versatility is what you desire, and you want an aluminum pedal at a solid price point, then the ~$95 VP Vice is a very good buy as a mid-priced aluminum mountain bike pedal.

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