Crankbrothers Stamp Pedals Review: Long-term Platform

compose Logan Watts
time Feb 13, 2017
comment 12

As discussed in our comprehensive platform pedal roundup, flats have seen a bit of a design renaissance over the last few years. Brands have honed their designs to make them wider, thinner and lighter via various bushing/bearing combinations, spindle construction, and platform design. Crankbrothers’ new Stamp pedal wasn’t around for that shakedown, but it recently drew our attention for its thin profile, multiple size options, and more notably, its durability.

Under the hood, the Stamp’s internals consist of a forged 435 chromoly steel axle and two igus LL-glide bushings — one internal and one external. Crankbrothers has such faith in these mechanicals that they include a 5-year warranty, a timespan almost unheard of for bike parts these days… especially components that take a beating, get the brunt of mud and debris, and rotate constantly. But the warranty wasn’t what made us take note of the Stamp’s long-term pedigree. It was in fact an Instagram acquaintance — Dave Nice, AKA fixiedave — who posted about them a few months back. Why should I trust Dave, a man who describes himself as “Just a guy who loves bicycles, food and booze”? Not sure. But, Dave did report getting over 3,000 miles while touring/bikepacking Route 66 on his Stamps, and they’re still going strong… without a rebuild. I followed up with Dave about this, just to confirm.

One of my past criterion for flats was that they have pins accessible from the non-contact side in the recesses of the platform body. Reason being is that when a pedal is designed with allen pins that extract from the contact side, if you bash the pedal hard enough it can render these pins inaccessible, or only removable with pliers. However, even after plenty of pedal abuse and strikes on our trans-Cuba route — which surprisingly featured a lot of insanely rugged and rocky terrain — neither of us had an issue and all 40 pins are intact.

Crankbrothers also made the Stamp simple to dissect and service, additional factors that plays an role in the pedal’s long-haul moxie. The Stamp boasts one of the easiest access designs that I’ve seen. There’s a phillips-head port on the outboard spindle housing which makes regreasing a snap; and should a rebuild be necessary, the two allen bolts at the inboard side make getting under the hood quite simple.

Guts and grit aside, deciding on the right size platform can be a hangup when choosing flat pedals. Typically folks weigh out comfort and stickiness with bulk and weight. To answer this conundrum, Crankbrothers made two sizes. The large has a 6061-T6 aluminum 111x114mm mega-platform which CB specs for shoe sizes 10-15. The small 100x100mm platform is designed for shoe sizes 5-10. Both have the same internals and 10 adjustable pins per side.

For our trip to Cuba we tried both the large and small Crankbrothers Stamp pedals. To preface, both Gin and I rode Salsa Cutthroats and our route dished out everything from unspeakably steep and rocky horse tracks, to long flat and bumpy sugarcane dirt roads. I tend to like a bigger platform for all-day riding, so I chose the large – although, with a size 10 shoe I technically I could ride either. And the large Crankbrothers Stamp is a sight to behold. Out of all the flats I’ve tried, these have the largest platform footprint. That said, they aren’t too big, by any means. The thin profile and chamfered corners make it feel fairly svelte. And they’re not too heavy either. At about 187g per pedal for the large, they weight less than most of the pedals in our round up even though they are larger than all of them, save the VP Harrier.

Prior to trying the Stamps, my personal favorite pedal of the original roundup was the Specialized Boomslang. Measuring in at 110x108mm, their unbelievable grip mixed with a fairly low profile and well proportioned platform made for a nice ride. However, the large Stamps upped the ante. Aside from the Stamp’s durability, the these pedals stand out for both comfort and control. The larger platform was immediately noticeable. My feet showed no sign of fatigue during long and rugged all day rides. The extra real-estate lended itself to better control in technical sections and finding the pedals after foot dabbing. While the CB pins at their stock height aren’t nearly as aggressive as those on the Boomslang or Race Face’s Atlas, the larger platform seemed to make up for it. I took non-cycling specific Five Ten Guide Tennies on this trip and although they have sticky rubber soles, they aren’t as soft as others’, such as the Freeriders which Gin was riding. Even so, I felt completely at home and never once felt the grip of these pedals to be inadequate.

As mentioned, these pins are adjustable, according to Crankbrothers. However it’s worth noting that when I tried this upon return, they seemed a little loose when turned a few rotations counter-clockwise. This could probably be remedied with a little Loc-tite and I’ll make sure to update this post once I try it.

• Pins 10 adjustable pins per side
• Size(s) 111x114mm (large) / 100x100mm (small)
• Bearings Two Igus LL-glide bushings
• Weight 375 grams (large), 345 (small)
• Price $150
• Contact www.crankbrothers.com

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