New Flats: Deity Blade Runner vs. Chromag Scarab

[Swine]

Finally time for some new pedals. I have thrashed and abused my Canfield Crampons (first production run) for 5 years, and I have loved them mostly. The first run though used 3mm pins, so I can't get replacements, and buying M3's and cutting them off isn't ideal (I've already done it once). Plus, as much as I like them, I don't like the pass through pin design. And, I borrowed some true concaves the other day and it did feel like I was a bit more connected and solid. Although that could have been psychosomatic. Anyway, I've pretty much narrowed it down to the thread title. I know the Blade Runners were just released, does anyone have any time on them though? I do like the Scarab's for the pin design, plethora of pin placement options, I can get them cheaper, and I just think Chromag is a good company. The Blade Runners are thinner (something I'm slightly worried about missing coming from the Crampon) and lighter, and may have figured out a better bearing/bushing setup, although that's all marketing at this point.

Any real world input with either?

[chatton18]

Finally time for some new pedals. I have thrashed and abused my Canfield Crampons (first production run) for 5 years, and I have loved them mostly. The first run though used 3mm pins, so I can't get replacements, and buying M3's and cutting them off isn't ideal (I've already done it once). Plus, as much as I like them, I don't like the pass through pin design. And, I borrowed some true concaves the other day and it did feel like I was a bit more connected and solid. Although that could have been psychosomatic. Anyway, I've pretty much narrowed it down to the thread title. I know the Blade Runners were just released, does anyone have any time on them though? I do like the Scarab's for the pin design, plethora of pin placement options, I can get them cheaper, and I just think Chromag is a good company. The Blade Runners are thinner (something I'm slightly worried about missing coming from the Crampon) and lighter, and may have figured out a better bearing/bushing setup, although that's all marketing at this point.

Any real world input with either?

I feel like pedals are so personal. The only thing you can really get good feedback on is how well the bearings/bushings last. Some of these ultra thins just wear out super fast bc they're too small. Go with what's known...the old deitys work very well but not much info on the new design. I'd also add the dmr vaults to the list. they're light sexy and pretty burly

[Swine]

Fair enough - strongly leaning towards just guinea pigging the Scarabs. I've used mid-range Deity's before and didn't really care for them. Can't really compare that to new pedals though. Vaults have a lot of good chatter, that's for sure. What exactly are you saying wears out with super thin pedals? The bearings/bushings, spindle, the actual body?

[kevin267]

Scarabs on a ton of friends bikes, and they are all happy. My two bikes have Kona wah wah and spank spike,pretty happy with both, spanks sit close to the crank which takes some getting used to

[Swine]

Scarabs on a ton of friends bikes, and they are all happy. My two bikes have Kona wah wah and spank spike,pretty happy with both, spanks sit close to the crank which takes some getting used to

Thanks for the input. Pulled the trigger on Scarabs. I'll report back. I don't do trick things really so having my feet close to the cranks isn't a big deal. I actually find myself pushing to the outsides of my pedals, plus my natural stance is just a bit duck and I think being able to place pins exactly where I want could be advantageous.

[chatton18]

Fair enough - strongly leaning towards just guinea pigging the Scarabs. I've used mid-range Deity's before and didn't really care for them. Can't really compare that to new pedals though. Vaults have a lot of good chatter, that's for sure. What exactly are you saying wears out with super thin pedals? The bearings/bushings, spindle, the actual body?

the bearings or bushings will wear out quicker bc theyre smaller in the ultrathin pedals. Ive got a pair of ht ae01s and they're loose after a season of weekend riding. i cant notice them when im actually riding, but theyve got some play if you just feel them by hand.

[Swine]

Mid-term report. I've put a couple hundred miles on the Chromag's, quite a bit of x-country and two lift served days of teeth rattling DH and jumps. I also have bashed the shit out of them into rocks (yes, these are thicker than Crampons, I notice it).

They do not have as much grip as Crampons, but to be totally fair, I was cutting the heads off of M3 screws and using them as pins in the Crampons; I don't think anything will grip like that. The pin design on the Scarabs is pretty sweet and I'm sold on the dual sided aspect. I have mangled 3 or 4 pins at this point and they DO NOT just shear off. I had to take a very large screwdriver and a hammer to get them to shear after being bent, then I just backed them out and put in a new pin. The machining of the threads in the pedal body is of far higher quality vs. the Crampons. The bearings also seem to be beefier than the Crampons. I had an incredibly hard pedal hit and the bearing/axle was making a weird vibration, I had to ride it out and somehow the next day there was no more vibration, not sure what happened but I'm kind of sold on the quality of bearings. My buddy also picked up new Crampons last year and he's had to rebuild them without much use already.

Versus other pedals? I have no idea - although I would like to put some time in on the Deity Bladerunner still. However, I like the Scarab enough to run them into the ground. I do miss the thin-ness of the Crampons, and I'm back to a place where I don't think concavity is that big of a deal, I might even prefer the convex design of the Crampons. Still, I'll take higher quality workmanship and components over something that is more finicky and needs more maintenance, plus changing bent pins is far easier and less time consuming. I probably won't order replacement pins though, I'll be buying M4 and cutting them down to create a super sharp pin. I would guess most people don't like as much grip and potentially carnage inducing metal as I do though.