Nukeproof Horizon Pro Sam Hill Enduro pedals review

Since the first Nukeproof Horizon pedals launched back in 2015, they’ve long been a firm favourite of mine. And while you can’t read too much into these things, their winning record under the feet of chief test pilot and three-time Enduro World Series champ, Sam Hill, is seriously impressive.

The latest Horizons have been refined and modified to ensure they’re the best they can be for trail and enduro riding. Most of the credit there needs to go to Hill’s long-term mechanic, Jacy Shumilak, who spent hours crafting the new platform shape.

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Nukeproof Horizon Pro Sam Hill Enduro construction

The forged 6061-T6 aluminium body is CNC machined to produce the final finish you see here.

Compared to the original Horizons, which had a squarer platform shape, the new Enduro model has had a good chunk of material removed in a bid to increase ground clearance and save a claimed 23g per pedal. What’s key here, though, is that the pin position is identical to that of the original pedal – no bad thing considering how much I liked those.

Inside the Horizon Pros sits a DU bush and two sealed cartridge bearings (at the end of the axle). Accessing the internals is a quick and easy affair and only takes a few tools. Nukeproof sells all the spares you’ll need to rebuild your pedals when the time comes, too.

Just like the originals, there are 10 ferocious threaded pins per side to dig into the soles of your shoes. While the four grub-screw style pins (per side) that sit either side of the axle on the inner and outer side of the platform fix into the platform from above, the remaining six pins screw in from the underside.

As standard, Nukeproof supplies these pins with a washer between them and the platform, which means, should you want to increase traction, you can remove these washers and increase pin height to a shin-ripping 6mm.

Nukeproof Horizon Pro Sam Hill Enduro performance

The Horizon Pro pedals might not be the biggest, lightest or cheapest pedals available, but slap your feet on them and they just feel right from the get-go.

To boost stability there’s a healthy amount of concavity, ensuring your feet are securely cupped and, alongside that reasonably broad platform, feel incredibly stable, even when you and your bike are being bounced around all over the trail.

I decided not to remove the pin washers and extend the pin height simply because the Horizon Pros offer ludicrous amounts of traction as standard. In fact, when paired with tacky Five Ten Impact shoes, it takes a little while to get accustomed to just how much grip is on offer, and how well the pins will hold the shoes in place.

This means making small adjustments to foot placement isn’t the easiest after hanging a foot off through a turn, but as I became accustomed to the levels of traction I quickly adapted when I needed to. Still, the over-riding takeaway here is just how secure and stable the Horizon Pros feel.

Despite not being the widest top-rated pedal bodies on the market, when tackling rough, undulating terrain, the platforms feel spacious enough to prevent your feet from feeling like they might roll off of the edge of the pedal.

That means, alongside impressive amounts of foot stability, the Horizon Pros offer a decent amount of ground clearance, especially when tackling deep rutted sections of trails (particularly when compared to the likes of the Deity TMACs, for example).

If you do manage to stove the Horizon Pros into the ground/stump/immovable rock, the chamfered leading edge and angled outside edge do a good job of glancing off of whatever they hit. I’ve now clouted my test sample pedals numerous times when riding rocky, awkward trails and they’ve held up incredibly well so far, with nothing but cosmetic damage.

Nukeproof Horizon Pro Sam Hill Enduro overall

For many of us on the test team, the Horizons have long been our go-to pedals, and for good reason. This latest version may be a little more expensive, but the traction on offer is hard to beat and we know from experience they’ll hold up through some seriously hard riding.