TENET OCCULT FLAT PEDAL REVIEW

Review by Ryan Ackerman

Launched as a creative outlet, TENET is a rider owned brand out of Bellingham, WA who strive to make products they are stoked to ride themselves. Attention to detail certainly shows in TENET’s products as well. The Occult Pedal was derived from testing many other great flat pedals on the market and taking away the dislikes and frustrations while redesigning features that worked best to work even better. Since the launch of the Occult Pedal TENET has had a hell of a time keeping up with the demand. We were lucky enough to be able to grab a pair and see what all the hype was about.

THE LAB
The Occult is a platform pedal made of custom extruded 6061-T6 aluminum then post CNC’ed for function, form and to keep your clipped in friends drooling over the beauty of these pedals. Each pedal has 3 high quality sealed bearings with an IGUS bushing over a heat-treated chromoly steel spindle with a 6mm broach. We really liked that these pedals come with your choice of thread thru pins or grub screw pins included in the packaging. Occult pedals are 110mmx 105mm and a 2mm dual concavity with an ultra low profile design keeping these puppies on your feet rather than pedal striking random objects that pop up on the trail. With all those stats, the Occult pedal comes in at only 406g/set. TENET is also offering a lifetime crash replacement along with 1 pedal refresh with each pair purchased. Lastly the Occult comes in three different options for color, Onyx, Gun Metal and Umber.

THE DIRT
After about a dozen rides it was pretty hard to find anything to disagree with on these pedals. Pedals can be a very personal thing on a bike for many people, so we really liked that it came with a choice of thread thru pins allowing the rider to set the pin height or grub screw pins for that sure and planted grip. The first few rides I left all of them in and felt that the grip with the grub screw pins were overwhelming especially while cornering. I like to float my foot in certain situations on the bike so I took a few out and found it to be nearly perfect, although it would be nice to have a few more placement options in the body of the pedal.

Since I’m here in the high desert I was able to ride the Occult Pedals in various terrain from wet and snowy conditions to rock and sand.I have yet to come across any issues after getting the pins adjusted where I wanted. The Occult’s kept my foot in full contact with out wondering yet easy to pull off or float if needed even in the wet and wintery conditions as well as the downhill teeth chattering sections. The feel of the concave is almost unnoticeable but very effective in allowing comfort and keeping a slim profile. I did experience a few pedal strikes in rockier terrain and do like a pedal that is not as sheer on the edges for that reason. Our pedals even came with an 8mm pedal socket for maintenance but if you don’t feel like doing the work yourself Tenet offers a pedal refresh program you can read more about here.

The Wolf’s Last Word

The Occult pedal hype holds up, they truly are a sleek and seductive platform that checks nearly every box. At the $99 price point it would be hard-pressed to find another platform of the Occult’s quality and functionality. We really like that they offer two sets of pins and the pedal socket for easy maintenance and if thats not enough they stand behind the product with a lifetime crash replacement and free pedal refresh in the first year. It took some deep thought but I could only come up with three boxes of little importance that might not get checked. It would be nice to have a few more pin placement options, less sheer outer edges of the body and a composite option. Otherwise, this is the most well balanced pedal I have ever ridden. We love rider owned companies like TENET who know what those who are passionate about riding really want.

PRICE: $99
WEBSITE: Ridetenet.com