Carder TwoTwelve Pedal Review

Words & Photos by Robert Johnston

It’s only a matter of time until a mountain biker with easy access to a CNC machine will make themselves a bike part or two. So after over 20 years of running a precision engineering company, it was almost inevitable that the Carder brothers – Matt and Chris – would begin their own components brand, which is exactly what they’ve done with Carder Tech.

THE LAB
Their first component to market is the TwoTwelve flat pedal. Each pedal is machined from a solid billet of 6082 T6 aluminum, bringing the weight of each pedal to 212g, hence the name. The pedal bodies measure in at 96mm wide by 100mm long, with a 16mm thickness featuring a 1.2mm concavity. Each side of the pedal has 12 tuneable pins, with 8mm and 10mm options included in the box to fine tune the grip and feel. Axles are high strength Cr-Mo steel, heat treated and coated to provide strength and corrosion resistance; and they spin on a double Igus bush and ball bearing combo. Two years of testing by UK based shredders Toby Down; Isaac Anderson and Tyler Pollington mean they’re built to take some real abuse. Particular attention was paid to the sealing of the pedals, to ensure they spin smooth for as long as possible in the typical UK slop. The pedals are offered in a choice of 6 anodised colours, so you will likely find a colour to match them to your rig. There’s nothing groundbreaking in terms of the spec of the pedals, but certainly all of the elements you would expect from a high end pedal are there to justify the £94.99 (Roughly $120 at the time of writing) price tag.

THE DIRT

I opted for the blue color for my set of test pedals, which looks great in the flesh. Threading them into the first set of cranks, there’s a satisfying amount of resistance, indicating tight tolerances which give the sense of a high quality product. They were used heavily over a two month testing period in a particularly wet period in the UK, and as such were subjected to many submersions in puddles and bogs, hosings down, and caught on numerous rocks and roots. Two months on, and the anodizing still looks remarkably fresh with only a few small scrapes from catching rocks, representing the toughest coating I’ve seen on a pedal. The pins have survived without flinching; and pulling the bodies off revealed a perfectly clean interior that’s not let in a drop of water – they still spin as if fresh out the box. Quite remarkable considering the disgusting conditions the UK has presented over the testing period.

Pedal feel is very good, with just a touch less platform real estate than the likes of the Deity T-mac or DMR Vault. The grip on offer is excellent – the concavity helps your foot to sit “in” the pedal slightly, and to further accentuate this I ran the pedal without the middle pins. The ribbing on the body probably doesn’t improve grip a significant amount, but does provide a distinct look and certainly didn’t present any issues. The slightly shorter distance from the crank to the outer edge of the pedal compared to the aforementioned creates a noticeable improvement in clearance from trail obstacles, such as the edge of ruts. While the 5mm or so on each side sounds like nothing on paper, it’s effect is there to be felt. Thankfully, where other pedals of a similar width have presented issues with foot pain on prolonged rides for my size 12 (US) feet in the past, this didn’t ever manifest with the TwoTwelves.

The Wolf’s Last Word

All in all, it’s hard to fault the Carder TwoTwelve pedals. Of course, they could always be lighter or cheaper, but they perform every bit worth their money. The anodized finish is durable as anything I’ve ridden and comes in all the colors of a Skittles rainbow. If you’re looking for another great option in the flat pedal market, the Carder Tech TwoTwelve pedals are impressive from fit to form to function.

Price: £94.99 / $120
Weight: 212 grams
Website: Cardertech.co.uk