MEMBER REVIEWS
HT COMPONENTS TALON PEDAL REVIEW
GOOD, NOT GROUNDBREAKING
Review & Photos by Dan Williams
June 26, 2026
Flat pedals live and die by two things: grip and feel underfoot. The HT Talon checks both boxes — but if you’ve spent any time around flat pedals, you’ll notice something familiar about them. At 105x105mm and 17mm thin, the HT Talon flat pedal shares more than a passing resemblance to the widely loved DMR Vault, right down to its dimensions.
What HT brings to the table is a $100 price point, which undercuts the Vault and many other premium flat pedal offerings by a healthy margin. While not setting any new benchmarks, they proved to do the job solidly enough for most riders on most trails. Good pedals? Yes. Groundbreaking? Not quite.
WE DIG
WE DON’T
ABOUT THE HT TALON PEDALS
HT Components has been making pedals out of Taiwan since 2003, building a reputation for well-engineered, reliable flat and clipless pedals across mountain, road, and BMX disciplines.
The Talon sits in the HT flat pedal lineup as a mid-range offering, built around a CNC-machined aluminum body with a 105x105mm platform and a slim 17mm profile. The chromoly spindle runs on two sealed bearings with DU bushings — a setup designed to keep the pedals spinning smoothly and stand up to the kind of mud, grit, and general trail abuse that kills cheaper pedals. 11 replaceable grip pins on each pedal mean you can freshen up the bite when things get worn down, and the polished anodized finish comes in a range of colors if you like your pedals to match the rest of your build.
At $100 MSRP, the HT Talon flat pedal is positioned as an accessible entry point into a performance flat pedal — and the spec sheet backs that up.
THE DIRT
I have spent a couple of months riding the HT Talons on the mixed trails around Napa, tackling everything from flowy singletrack to chunky tech along the way. Installation is a non-event. The pedals are clearly marked left and right, so there’s no head-scratching at the workstand. Grab an 8mm hex, add a little grease to the threads, and you’re done.
First impressions going from the box to the trail were good. The machining looks and feels excellent, giving a clean, well-finished look. The pins are arranged sensibly and clearly offer good bite. Shins beware! But of course, that’s the flat pedal deal we all signed up for. These pins proved to give the level of purchase on my shoe soles that I had expected, keeping my feet in place no matter how loose and steep the trail.
On the bike, the Talons sit noticeably closer to the crank arm than my previous Kona Wah Wah IIs. The design on the Kona pedals required two pedal washers to clear the crank boot, but there was no such issue with the HT pedals. The flip side of that was a stance that felt closer to the center, something I actually preferred once I got used to it. That said, I’m a size 13 boot, running Five Ten Freerider Pros, and I did find myself hunting for real estate on the 105x105mm platform more than I’m used to. Repositioning my feet mid-ride happened more often than normal. If you’re not part Sasquatch like me, this probably won’t be an issue — but it’s worth knowing going in.
One thing that took some adjustment was the feel underfoot. At 17mm thick, the Talon is thicker than what I’d been riding, and the platform is completely flat, lacking the slight concave shaping of the DMR Vault and many others. Once your shoe rubber compresses around the pins, it’s the flat aluminum body you’re feeling, rather than the pins themselves. The result is a sensation of sitting on top of the pedal rather than in it, which makes repositioning your foot easier at the expense of some of that locked-in security that riders coming from concave platforms will be used to.
One frustration that has nothing to do with the pedal itself — HT lists some great anodized color options on their website, but good luck finding anything other than black in stock. If color matching your build matters to you, be prepared to hunt. Otherwise, at $100, the HT Talon flat pedals deliver the CNC-machined aluminum construction that you’d expect to pay a lot more for.
The Wolf’s Last Word
The HT Talon is a competent, well-built flat pedal at a fair price — and if you’re newer to flat pedals or working with a tighter budget, there’s a lot to like here for $100. The grip holds up, the construction is solid, and the installation couldn’t be easier. But if you’ve been around the flat pedal block a few times, the DMR Vault comparison is impossible to shake. Same dimensions, same profile, but the Vault brings a slight concave platform that gives you a more locked-in feel that the Talon’s flat body just can’t match.
For my size 13 feet, the platform left me wanting more real estate, and that flat feel underfoot never quite won me over. Would I buy these with my own money? I’d stretch the extra coin for the Vault, personally. But if the budget is the boss, the Talon won’t let you down on the trail. 
Price: $100
Website: HT-components.com