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Updated Ritchey WCS Trail & XC mountain pedals available

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Ritchey_WCS-XC-Trail_mountain-bike-pedals

We first had a look at the design overhaul of the cross-country and completely new all-mountain pedals from Ritchey Logic last fall at Eurobike, but now it looks like they are ready and making their way out and under the feet of trail riders. Both pedals build on years of smooth running of their previous Paradigm pedal platform. We wrote up a long-term review of those pedals two springs ago, and Ritchey looks to have solved the only minor concerns we had from that time. The new pedals do add a bit of weight to deliver improved performance for both the racer and trail rider, but still come in lighter than industry benchmark XTR offerings…

Ritchey_WCS-XC-Trail_mountain-bike-clipless-pedal_side

The pedals are the result of 2 years of prototype development and testing with the Scott Odlo team, including Nino Schurter who won worlds on them last fall in Vallnord. Two major updates come with the pedal redesign. The first is the addition of a wide machined-in platform to support the rider’s shoe. The previous version rested on two steel bolts that were relatively narrow, so these should offer a big boost in stability. The other update is the use of a fixed front engagement claw, vs. the Paradigms which rotated both front and rear. This update is aimed at providing a more consistent engagement of the cleat, something we never really had a problem with.

The new Trail version platform is of course also a welcome addition, too. With the revised engagement system also comes a new tension adjuster that gives a visual tension scale indicator, which is always nice for initial setup. Other than that, they use the same rebuildable/serviceable internals that should mean years of happy pedaling.

Ritchey_WCS-XC_mountain-bike-clipless-pedal Ritchey_WCS-Trail_mountain-bike-clipless-pedal

Weight-wise, the new XC pedals add about 40-50g over the real weight of the WCS Paradigm pedals, but still come in at just 298g claimed, staying under XTR 990s at 310g. The Trail pedals add just a bit for their increased platform cage to come in at a claimed 347g, which again is lighter than the 379g of the comparable XTR 995 pedals. Both of which use forged alloy bodies, stainless engagement, and standard steel spindles.

Pricing remains what we saw last fall at $150/162€ for the XC pedals and $170/184€ for the Trail version. They are available now through regular Ritchey retailers.

RitcheyLogic.com

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Peter
Peter
7 years ago

So, they’ve copied Shimano. Great job. I don’t see the point in these, if you want a lightweight, good performing SPD-type pedal, buy Xpedo. If not, buy Shimano.

TroofMan
TroofMan
7 years ago

Peter – so is this the first time you’ve actually seen a Ritchey pedal?

Tim
Tim
7 years ago
Reply to  TroofMan

I second you, Troofman. Ritchey pedals (and Wellgo ones, and Xpedo, and others) have been copying Shimano since the mid-1990’s. And why are Xpedos better than Ritcheys?

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
7 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I’d say improving rather than copying.

Peter
Peter
7 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

In what way are these an improvement over the Shimanos? By using bushings and thereby saving a few grams? No thanks, I’d rather have proper bearings. And the price point isn’t very compelling either when compared to that of the proven Shimanos.

Peter
Peter
7 years ago
Reply to  Tim

@Tim: Xpedos are lighter, feature a more open design for better mud shedding and use 3 sealed cartridge bearings per pedal. That’s simply a better design than the Ritcheys.

Mo
Mo
7 years ago
Reply to  Peter

@Peter: How is a 3 (tiny) sealed cartridge bearing system better than needle bearing + cartridge? Needle bearings support a significantly higher load and are stronger.

Peter
Peter
7 years ago
Reply to  TroofMan

@TroofMan: Certainly not, but the way they are following Shimano’s lead (now with the bigger contact surface that looks exactly like Shimano’s M980/M985) instead of coming up with something on their own makes me pretty disappointed in the Ritchey brand.

Durian Rider
Durian Rider
7 years ago

What cleats can you run with these? Shimano?

Durian Rider
Durian Rider
7 years ago

What about Xpedo? Can you run shimano cleat with them?

anonymous
anonymous
7 years ago

Not buying an expensive pedal with bushings The better XPEDOs have full cartridge bearings at least.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
7 years ago
Reply to  anonymous

For a road bike where friction is everything, I’d agree. These have a lower stack than Shimano which is probably far more important. Also, Shimano bearings are durable but famously high in friction. Who knows about XPedo?

anonymous
anonymous
7 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

Bushings wear horribly if they get any contamination, can trash the spindle, and unlike bearings, they’re considerably harder to source replacements for.

XPEDO, which as been mentioned several times in other comments, are just the high-end line of Wellgo.

Maris
Maris
7 years ago
Reply to  anonymous

The Ritchey pedals use outboard sealed cartridge bearings and a main needle bearings, which supports the main load.

Christophe B.
Christophe B.
7 years ago

Unfortunately, they don’t stand the time. The bearing system is very weak. I bought these because of the weight and material (Ti), but they didn’t last a very long time. I went back to my old XTR. Easy maintenance and long lasting bearings, especially in muddy conditions.

Dolan Halbrook
Dolan Halbrook
7 years ago

Had a pair of the previous generation WCS pedals. They were great for MTB and cross for one season until I hit one of the rockers and it cracked. Sadly, Ritchey doesn’t seem to be able to have replacement parts, and now that the design is changed and any real weight advantage is gone. That’s the last pair of Ritchey pedals I buy.

Jason
Jason
7 years ago
Reply to  Dolan Halbrook

Similar thing happened to me, contacted Ritchey to see if they offered replacement parts and they just sent me a new pair of pedals.

Matthew Vangelisti
Matthew Vangelisti
7 years ago

Never had an issue with Shimano mtb pedals except for mud. Switched to Egg Beaters years ago and never went back. I have a set of 3Ti on my race bike that are 8 years old. Never an issue, never serviced. Good to go.

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