Straitline Pedals - Custom Pinkbike platforms.

Posted: Jul 3, 2009

The Pinkbike downhill team is something we take pretty seriously, so when a select company contacts you with the offer of a completely custom component you don't want to turn it down. Gamut provided us with custom Gamut guides, but the newest item on the team bikes, along with a few of our own bikes, are Custom Straitline Components' Pinkbike.com Pedals, in Chrome!

Check inside for more info on the Straitline Pinkbike pedal...

As some of you may, but as all of you should know, Straitline Components is a Vancouver Island based component company, that has a unique perspective to every project, and a unique touch to every component. Straitline has fathered such great ideas as the Double Redundant Retention System, the shortest reach direct mount stem around, and creating us our own custom Pinkbike pedals! Straitline took their already successful Platform Pedals, and customized them with a totally unique color scheme, and some custom laser etching.


After a couple years of research, and development with Jeff Lenosky, Straitline's Platform pedal features 14 HEX pins per face, a Nitrided Cromoly Axle, and the Igus IGLIDE Polymer Bearing system. 56 pins per pair ensure you as the rider as much adjustment as you could possibly need. Most people won't know what a Nitrided Cromoly Axle will help with, but here's a quick sum up. Nitriding is a surface-hardening heat treatment that introduces nitrogen into the surface of the material. Essentially, this process will aid your pedal body in not getting butchered by rocks, and other solid items.


The Igus IGLIDE Polymer bearing system is an extremely simple, but effective bearing system. This system uses a polymer (plastic) bearing system, that essentially acts as a glide ring for the axle. These Igus IGLIDE bearings have an extremely low coefficient to friction, meaning they provide a small amount of restriction, but not very much. This system is very smart as it's simple to change these bearings out, and they are still lube'able.

Straitline also fathered the Double Redundant Retention System. This system is the most secure axle retention system on the market. This design features 2 E clips to secure the end cap onto the pedal, and hold the whole assembly together. If you have ever had a pedal fall off the spindle on you, their system has failed you. The Double Redundant Retention System is a sealed deal, and has been adapted by other companies.


Greg over at Straitline has proven multiple times that these pedals can be rebuilt extremely easily, using only a screwdriver. He has rebuilt them using such simple items as rocks, paper, and scissors, so that should be enough proof that these pedals are designed, and constructed to be user friendly, but still extremely strong, and technologically simple. Weighing in at 519 grams per pair the Platform pedals are a respectable weight as well, meaning you won't be over weighted, or under supported.

Dave M Photo
The Pinkbike team has nothing to complain about with the Platform pedal. The multiple options for pin location allows you as the rider to define where you foot sits on the pedal, while the IGLIDE bearings keep things rolling smooth, and effortlessly. The Platform pedal should run you about $160 and come in red, bronze, blue, black, pink, white, x-ray, and Ti grey. Their are a number of pros running the Platform pedal, so incase you run into Casey Groves, Jeff Lenosky, or Ryan Berrecloth, ask them some questions about their Straitline Pedals. They should tell you the same things I just did, simple, strong, and safe.