Specialized’s Bennies pedals were developed in conjunction with US pro rider Brad Benedict and, as you might expect, they manage to tick all the right flat pedal boxes.
The Bennies offer up 12 grub screw type pins on each side, and the axles run on sealed cartridge bearings that are yet to develop any play at all after four hard months of almost everyday use.
If you take a closer look you’ll see the platform is only very slightly concave, and isn’t as wide as some downhill specific offerings, but the amount of grip they offered really did surprise us. The balance struck by the Bennies is just about right, with enough grip when it’s needed, but not so much that you can’t move your foot should you need to adjust its position after hanging it out for a corner.
The grub screws on the pedals are surprisingly resilient, and they haven’t budged even after we put them through some hefty rock smashes. Both pedals are still spinning nice and straight too, which is always a good sign.
This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.