First Ride: PNW Components Launches Loam Pedal 12

PNW Components has been steadily adding to their range for the past couple of years, so it comes as no real surprise to see them introduce a flat pedal today. What is more surprising is the slightly unorthodox shape, which takes a few concepts and turns them on their head. Read on to find out more and to get our very first impressions straight from the trail.

PNW Components Loam Pedal Highlights

• Forged and post-CNC'd 6061 aluminum
• Two sealed cartridge bearings and one roller bearing
• Platform size: 110mm wide x 110mm long (average across platform, verified)
• 22 custom replaceable pins per pedal, threaded in from underside
• Fully rebuildable and serviceable
• 450 grams (pair - verified)
• Colors: Black Out (Black) / Nickelback (Silver) / Fruit Snacks (Purple)
• MSRP: $99 USD

Initial Impressions

When we first opened the box (made out of recycled cardboard, BTW) to reveal the new pedal, we wondered if the axle had been mounted to the wrong side. We’re more accustomed to seeing pedals that are square in shape, or with a wide point towards the outside of the pedal body, but the Loam checks in with a tapered shape that is wider towards the crank arm than it is on the outside. Furthermore, the pedal body is also convex in shape, with the leading and trailing edges being thinner than the middle of the pedal. This is offset by the pins which provide a modest amount of effective concavity once mounted.

The pins are custom-made for these pedals, and bolt in from the rear to make sure they can be removed in case they get mangled or snapped off. The pins are round and feature a sharp, straight cut across the top to promote good grip. There are 22 pins per pedal, 10 around the perimeter on each side and one pin on one of the middle arms of the pedal body.

The axle system selected by PNW consists of a fairly classic spindle that runs on a set of one roller bearing and two sealed cartridge bearing per side. The pedal can be taken apart with just a pair of allen keys (5 and 8 millimeter).

Before we move onto our riding impressions, let’s take a look back at the latest iteration of our Flat Pedal Face Off, a big shootout covering 26 pedals that was most recently updated in May 2020. Some of the scoring criteria we’ve been using to rank pedals ever since the first version of this shootout (late 2016) are based on design aspects that this new Loam pedal won’t score well on – in particular concavity. The body of the Loam pedal is convex, and although the pins do in part make up for this, the measured effective concavity remains modest. This is however consistent with PNW’s stated design goal of providing a pedal that allows for rider foot placement adjustments to be made with relative ease. In other words: this pedal was not actually designed with the ultimate grip in mind. Here are the key metrics of this new pedal for you to see how it would stack up against its competitors in the Face Off.

On The Trail

We’ve had some fairly mediocre experiences with convex pedals in the past, so it came as a surprise to us when the Loam delivered good grip and a solid connection with our shoes. We’ve really only been able to squeeze in a couple of short rides with these pedals so far, because they barely made it to us ahead of today’s launch, but the results have been good. In the dry, the pins do a great job of making up for the lack of concavity in the pedal body, and the Loam produces a confidence-inspiring feel under the foot (tested with 2 different pairs of riding shoes so far, the Ride Concepts Hellion Elite and the Specialized 2FO Roost). There are 4 pins right along the outside corners of the pedal body, and we think this placement helps the shoe dig in and hang on.

The somewhat unusual, tapered shape of the Loam seems to work well enough in practice too. The pedal feels fairly roomy and the small inboard bearing bulge should stay out of your way, unless you really like to push your feet up against the crank arms. The slim edges of the pedal body will help it avoid getting hung up on rocks and similar, and as mentioned in the first section, the rear-loading pins can be easily replaced should you manage to grind your pedal into one of those pesky trailside objects anyway.

On wet rides, the large flat section in the center of the pedal body can become a bit slippery, so if the mud really starts to build up the pedal will deliver less grip than some competitors. Longer pins or more pronounced concavity works better in such conditions.

What’s The Bottom Line?

Everybody has their vision of what a flat pedal should look and behave like. PNW Components wanted to design “a pedal for the everyday trail rider,” and we feel like they have delivered on this goal. The new Loam pedal is comfortable under the foot and produces quite a bit of grip in the dry, while allowing for quick foot adjustments if needed. The modest amount of concavity makes it less dependable in really muddy conditions, but overall it will be a good companion for most kinds of riding.

More information at: www.pnwcomponents.com.

View key specs, compare products, and rate the Loam Pedal in the Vital MTB Product Guide.

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 48 // Years Riding MTB: 16 // Weight: 190-pounds (87-kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord