Review-Magped Pedals

The Magped Enduros are a flat/clipless hybrid mountain bike pedal. The magnetic pedal technology is relatively new, and it fills a void between riding clipless and flats. The Enduro model is double-sided, which means there is a magnet on each side. You “stick” to the pedals via magnetic plates you mount to your shoes, similar to SPD cleats. Make sure to stick around (no pun intended) until the end of the review for a discount code if you want to give these a try!

The Enduro model is advertised as best for enduro or downhill riding, has a good number of pins with good spacing, and feels pretty indestructible overall. They are made from aluminum, and you get some adjustability in how strong the magnet feels through pin adjustments on the pedals and spacers on your shoes.

The Magped Enduros come with both right and left pedals, Allen keys, two sets of pins (32 9mm pins and 16 11mm pins), magnetic plate screws in two lengths, and a set of magnetic plates to install on your shoes. You also get a choice in the strength of the magnet on the pedal when ordering: 150 or 200 newtons. While it can loosely be based on rider weight, I prefer the 200s. Magped suggests 150s for riders up to 185lbs and 200s for riders over 185lbs or those who want maximum grip.

Without pins, the 150 strength pedals weigh 490 grams, and the 200 strength pedals weigh 530 grams. The pedals measure 107mm long, 97mm wide, and 16mm high.

Mounting your bike with this setup is no different than anything else. The magnets do emit a strangely satisfying “click” sound when your shoe makes contact with the pedal. Dismounting can have a learning curve, especially if you have muscle memory from traditional clipless shoes. It’s harder to“twist” and break the magnetic connection the way you would dismount from SPDs or similar clipless pedals. I have two main methods to detach myself from the pedals: If I’m coming to a planned stop, I simply roll my foot slightly from the inside to the outside of the bike and break the connection (nothing crazy – just apply pressure to the outside of your foot while barely lifting the inside). If I’m coming to an immediate or “less planned” stop, I just yank one foot up, or yank both feet up at the same time. I’ve done this several times, such as on berms where I ended up sliding a little and needed to put my inside foot down. I’ve also had some crashes where I detached without having to consciously “do” anything.

If you find yourself struggling to detach, I encourage you to use the longer pins, and you can further adjust how far you have them screwed into the pedal. I personally have the pins set up so that one side of the pedal is really “sticky” and the other side is less “sticky,” but either way, I don’t have an issue detaching when I need to now that I have the hang of it and have overcome some of my traditional clipless muscle memory.

My takeaway:
I rode clipless for about 7-8 years (SPDs and Crank Brothers). That was perfect when I raced XC, but once I started doing more downhill riding, I wanted to be able to bail easier while learning big features if needed. I swapped to flats for about a year and a half, but learned that I have very limited ankle mobility. Riding flats left me frustrated because I couldn’t “scoop” and constantly slipped off my pedals. The first few rides with Magpeds, I noticed I stood up a lot more because I was able to crank through gear changes and not slide off the pedals, and I didn’t have to worry about if my feet were in a good position or not – which was another issue I struggled with on flats.

Now for a little disclaimer: I purchased these originally from a friend who decided he wanted to stay traditionally clipped in for downhill racing purposes, and didn’t want to relearn anything in the middle of his race season. I attended Roam Fest Knoxville in May, and everyone I met asked about my pedals. Word got through to Magped on social media that I was out there singing their praises all weekend, and they actually made me an ambassador! However, I want to be transparent that I had been riding these and was a huge fan before that happened, and I personally don’t feel that my review is biased since my personal opinion was formed before that happened. I plan on riding these forever because they’re a quality product that fits my needs perfectly, and I’ll purchase a new pair when mine wear out (or if they make a pair to match my bike!).

The good thing for you is: you can use code BRITT10 at checkout for 10% off any Magped order. At $180, I cannot claim they’re the cheapest option out there, so every little bit helps!

Pros:

Being able to pull up more while climbing, more efficient pedaling

Feeling solidly attached to the bike when getting airborne on jumps

Confidence that your feet won’t slip off on rough landings

Feet solidly attached through chatter/rock gardens

Some adjustability to fine-tune the magnet strength

Cons:

Heavier than other options

Not all clipless shoes can accommodate the magnetic plates (they have a list on their website with suggested shoes)

Feet can still bounce off during pedal strikes

More expensive than other options

About me:

Size: 5’1, 109lbs, size 7.5 US women’s shoe

Bike: 2022 Juliana Roubion with mullet wheelset

Shoes: I’ve successfully ridden Magpeds with Five Ten Hellcat Pros and recently swapped to Etnies Camber Clipless shoes.

Riding style: downhill/enduro, parks