King Grip Pedals

[Rex Kerr]

I had some 5% back store credit burning a hole in my rivbike.com account, so I recently made a "purchase".  (Thanks guys!)  Part of my order was a pair of King Grip pedals.  Did my first ride with them today and thought I'd share my thoughts for those who are considering them.

The ride was my normal 10 mile commute, unseasonably cool with a slight breeze.  Rode in my size 14 Chaco sandals, with socks (fashion at its best!) due to the cooler temperatures.

Last night I installed the pedals.  They were surprisingly light.  They look very bulky and heavy, but when I held them I was pleasantly surprised.  Too lazy to find the grease, so I put a dab of wax based chain lube on the threads and figured the existing grease in the crank arms would be sufficient.  The spindles have both hex flats for a 14 mm pedal wrench and recessed holes for an allen wrench.  I used the flats since I already had the pedal wrench in hand from removing the MKS touring pedals.

The MKS touring pedals were bothering me in that I was constantly suffering from pedal strike.  I tried, seriously, to teach myself how close they were to the ground, but it seemed that even on the most subtle of turns they would touch the ground.  The King Grip pedals, on the other hand, had amazing clearance.  I pedaled through every turn, even some that I shouldn't have and couldn't get them to hit the ground.  I tried standing with one foot low and swerving back and forth on the bike trail trying to get them to touch, and they didn't.  They had GREAT clearance!  (Grant responded to my previous complaints about the MKS pedals, indicating that the King Grips had the best clearance of the pedals they sell)

On the MKS pedals I have been using powergrip straps.  I didn't miss the attachment at all with the King Grip pedals as the platform held the shoe in place well.

Overall they were good pedals.  My concern, though, is that they felt too narrow.  I felt like I had to keep my feet in just the right place to keep them centered over the pedal, and yet I was still pushing against the straps of my sandals as my foot wanted to migrate outwards.  It may be because I tend to pedal somewhat toe out, and on my old Speedplay Frog pedals I always special ordered them with extra long spindles, but I think that I'd also prefer a longer spindle with the King Grip pedal so that I could feel like my foot was actually on the pedal.  Maybe I should try them with a set of those "knee saver" spacer, but I don't have any available.  I also quickly understood why some here have been adding an extra support along the outer edge and am somewhat tempted to go back through the archives and see who was selling those and try to modify these accordingly.

Anyhow, hope that this quick review is helpful to anybody considering these pedals...

-Rex

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

I've got a pair waiting for me at the post office. :)
Should be able to add my impressions by the weekend.

[William]

Grip Kings are great.  I humbly remind the group that I have in the past sold a modification to Grip Kings to transform them into "Grip King Supremes".  I will be selling them again in the future.  What I've made and sold is aluminum cages that sandwich in and enhance the platform width while sacrificing zero turning clearance.  

My retired father is picking away at redoing the tooling, which will put me in charge of production.  I've got about ten names and email addresses for the folks that want to buy them when I have them again.  $25 shipped is the price.  

Here's the youtube I did when I first prototyped these.  You can make your own, DIY for under $5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo0YlOqqISs 

Here's some photos of our product version, that we have sold (to rave reviews) and will sell in the future

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/sets/72157629107195978/ 

To those that are still waiting, I have not forgotten.  To those that want to be on the list, let me know.  

Bill

[Rex Kerr]

Ah, you've saved me the time of going through the archives to find you. :-)

I'd like to be on your list.

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[Steve Wimberg]

I highly recommend the pedal spikes that Riv sells.  I found that the Grip Kings became much less grippy when they got wet.  After adding the spikes (which really aren't spikes, but more of a flat topped screw) my feet do not slip one bit when riding in rain, dry, whatever.  

FWIW, my riding shoes are the cycling version of the Keen Coronado, which are a bit like firmer, wider Chuck Taylors - flat rubber bottoms.

Steve

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[Thomas Lynn Skean]

I have Grip Kings on both my bikes. I have RBW's "spikes" on one face of each pedal on one bike, no spikes on my newer bike's pedals. It is on the list of things to do to put the spikes on one face of each pedal on my newer bike.

 

Unless it's really wet or snowy, I prefer the absence of the spikes; it lets me position my foot most freely, which I like very much.

 

When it is very wet or snowy, I flip to the spiked face for secure footing; those conditions do make the pedals somewhat slippery.

 

I find the Grip Kings nearly ideal for all the riding I do on trail and pavement.

 

Just for context (which matters a lot given the huge variety of riding done by the folks on this group): Most often my rides are 5-10 miles at a stretch, every week or so 30-40 miles, never more than 60 miles (yet). I ride in Keen leather or Keen canvas shoes or Keen sandals.

 

Sometimes I consider trying other pedals. But the Grip Kings provide no compelling reason for me to do so.

 

Same with the Keen footwear (both for riding and in general). The big Keen toe box will keep me a Keen customer until they do something to screw it up.

 

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

[Philip Williamson]

I've had good success with skateboard grip tape on pedals that seemed too small: 

http://www.biketinker.com/2011/projects/griptape-on-platform-pedals/

And ones that are gigantic:

http://problemsolversbike.com/blog/comments/how_to_make_skateboard_pedal_decks_for_clipless_pedals/

One day I will have some Grip Kings with the Supreme mod, spikes, and grip tape. 

Philip

www.biketinker.com

On Tuesday, July 17, 2012 10:57:14 AM UTC-7, Rex Kerr wrote:

[Ryan Ray]

Griptape on pedals is such a good idea. I was thinking about the Ergons on my current tank/bike off road touring bike.

How does it work when your shoes get muddy?

To bring it back OT: Grip Kings are too slippery for Seattle. You need the spikes.

- Ryan

[Ginz]

Let us know how you like the spikes.

I might do spikes on one side, Powergrips on the other

[Rocky B]

I use the Grip Kings with Power Grips (the fixie strap version) combination and I have yet to experience pedal strike on my fixie.  I have narrow feet and so they feel great for me.

My fixie is an old 1950s Claud Butler with a super-low 80mm bottom bracket drop.

[Rex Kerr]

Well documented clicking?  On my ride home yesterday (after writing the original post in this thread) I started hearing a clicking.  Wasn't sure if it was my seatpost/saddle interface (since I'd recently moved the saddle) or the pedal, but was fairly sure it was the pedal.  Ugh... < 20 miles to clicking.

Are they loose bearings?  How hard was it to remove the spindle?

On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 3:14 PM, Shifty <1upan...@gmail.com> wrote:

Also, I repacked mine after about 500 miles upon acquiring the well documented MKS clicking. On removal, sure enough there's a mere dab of factory lubrication so I drown the tiny little bearings in Rock 'n Roll Super Web grease. Now they spin like a pedal worth 5 times the price.

[Robert F. Harrison]

Yep, loose bearings. Repacking is really very simple. I do all my MKS pedals (GKs and Touring) before I even mount 'em these days.

Here's a couple of links with varying degrees of helpfulness:

http://fatboybiking.blogspot.com/2010/06/rebuilding-mks-grip-king-pedals.html 

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/576932-MKS-pedals-are-noisy-click?p=9535678&viewfull=1#post9535678 

Aloha,

Bob

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[Robert Barr]

I am surprised to read about the clicking. I conservatively have 3000 miles on one pair of GKs, and somewhere under 1000 miles on a second pair. Never a click and they spin effortlessly. Most comfortable and functional pedals I have used. 

[erik jensen]

every bike i own and repacking saves the day. 10k miles on one pair, 8k on another, 5k on the third. Did a round of rebuilds 2 years ago.

getting ready to replace the 8k pair. they're on my touring bike and I thoroughly trash them and haven't had the time to rebuild of late so i've been solving clicking by squirting t9 through the seal while on the road. such is life. when i get frustrated i remember just how crappy the maintenance intervals were on my eggbeaters, what a difference.

e

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[Jay LePree]

Hi Rex:

I had trouble removing the gray plastic dust cap on my pedals.  I just drilled a tiny hole in the dust cap and use it as a port to squirt in grease with a grease gun.  I squirt until I see clean grease coming out on the crank side.  I do this about once a year or so.  It works well.

Jay,

Demarest, NJ

[Rex Kerr]

Interesting idea.  While riding home listening to the clicking I was thinking about how convenient the needle injector ports on my Sppedplay Frog pedals were.  If dust caps aren't too expensive, I might experiment with the idea and a small screw to re-seal them.

[Robert F. Harrison]

The dust caps are inexpensive, $3.00 a set at Riv.  http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/pe91.htm 

The plastic ones are for the Grip Kings.

Bob

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[Mike]

Didn't Grant mention in a Blug post a while back something about a
Grip King deluxe pedal? I know I've wanted one with sealed bearings
and predrilled for spikes.

I had some problems with clicking MKS Sneaker pedals but I don't think
with the Grip Kings. I've really grown to love the Grip Kings but have
to admit, they aren't too grippy if the bottom of your shoe is wet.

--mike

[Jay LePree]

The hole is really small and I drilled it into on of the indentations in the dust cap.  The first time I did this, I did not reseal the hole.  The grease acts as its own seal.  The second time, I placed some bees wax in the indentation, though I do not think it is really necessary.

Jay

On Thursday, July 19, 2012 8:54:14 AM UTC-4, Shifty wrote:

That's great idea Jay but how do you seal up the hole after you're done? I used some old ski p-tex (sp?) to seal up the holes in mine but wonder if our hot summer is melting it away.

[Rex Kerr]

Well, I just finished overhauling my King Grips.  Not excited to have to do it when they're brand new, but it seems to have gotten rid of the clicking! I'll try a longer test ride in a few days, too busy right now and have to ride a different bike on Friday.  They were surprisingly dry, almost no grease at all from the factory!!

Unfortunately I did manage to crack one of the dust covers, but it went back in OK and seems to be secure.  I'll have to order a new set next time I'm ordering stuff, don't want to pay shipping for such a small order.

I also ordered and installed a set of Specialized BG pedal extenders, which really helped with the feeling of being off centered.  My long, size 14, feet which point out have always preferred extra long pedal spindles, so I'm glad I finally broke down and bought those.  Got another set for my MKS touring pedals too.  Didn't seem to make pedal strike much worse, and hopefully I'll not be hitting the ground even more!!

[Robert F. Harrison]

Yep, "surprisingly dry" pretty much sums it up. On the good side, once lubed the pedals are great (both my GK and Touring pedals). The plastic covers are kind of pain. 

Aloha, 

Bob

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[Ginz]

I drilled a small hole in the dust cap, then drove a wood screw into
the hole and pulled out the dust cap. When I was finished repacking,
I filled the hole with Hogar's glue or something similar. Not idead,
but it worked.

[Way Rebb]

I've had my Grip Kings few years now. Early on the pedals started
clicking. I began prying the plastic dust cap off to pack in some
grease but then I though of something. Instead of taking them apart
took an old credit card and squeegee'd some grease in from the othere
side. I squeegee'd and spun the pedal, squeegee'd and spun. The
grease was sucked up like a sponge. Never had a clicking problem
since.

Regards,
Ray

[Peter Pesce]

I just installed a new pair of MKS Sneaker pedals and when i went to grease them I found there's a little notch in the pedal body that greatly facilitates dust cap removal. Not sure why the GKs don't have this, but it would be easy to add once you get the caps off the first time.

Pete in CT

[Andy Smitty Schmidt]

My Grip Kings (purchased about 2 years ago) do have the little notch. Perhaps MKS wised up over time. --A