Before I jump into a quick [aside][/aside], no, you can’t have my Outlier Pendulum or Void pedals. For one, they’re long-term test products that are interesting to me and the few folks who read MEATengines. I plan to be writing about them years from now. But also, there’s the little fact that I love using them. And, yes, I have received a number of inquiries. A strange phenomenon that has not occurred with other products I have reviewed. Down to ready availability, I am certain.
In general, there are very few products I’ve written about that have garnered as much correspondence as the Outlier pedals, particularly the one-sided Pendulum, and I’m always happy to answer questions as long as they don’t have anything to do with jumping the order queue* {no, I don’t have an in} or giving you mine.
Oh, also, I don’t know if a smaller platform size is coming {for smaller footsies!}. But I also hope so!
*{Round 4 Pre-sales are for Summer 2025.}
[Aside] Yes, I’m aware that I owe you a piece about Claire’s single-speed experience. It’s a work in progress because she’s contributing a few paragraphs and between school and Uncle Tiny Steve’s birthday, and riding three of the last four days there’s been a time crunch.
For now, I’m just going to say that despite an open offer to switch back and forth {it’s a ten-minute swap thanks to using my spare rear wheel} she’s all in on #1FG at the moment. She’s even decided she wants to bring two wheels to Cumberlandworx this summer.
Other quick notes for the moment? She’s riding 24x26t and while she’s walking some sustained climbs she normally cleans, she’s also cleaned some technical uphill sections for the first time. I’m stoked she wanted to try it, we could make it happen, and that she’s owning the experience with a great attitude.
More by the end of the weekend! [/Aside]
Back to the pedals. The oil-filled bearings in the Pendulum pedals continue to spin smoothly despite being driven hard uphill out of the saddle on my single-speed. The difference in the pedaling experience with the self-righting effect fully in play, vs. my earliest experiences, is night vs. day and they’ve been living on my Walt(x)WZRD V2 single-speed.
Awesome traction up and down with the good things about the Void pedal being amplified by the pedal being dropped relative to the axle. My feet are more comfortable after long days with the open void than any other pedal I’ve used. Even the amazing and impossibly long-lived Wolf Tooth Waveform.
Also, a quick moment of Pendulum housekeeping, I’m running the same 175mm cranks I was before and thanks to the lack of pins extending below I don’t notice any increase in ground contact.
Smoothly Spinning?
I admit I was instantly suspicious of running oil-filled bearings in the Outlier pedals. I have flushed grease out of bearings for wheel and BB applications in the past, replacing it with oil, and the incredibly low drag has always been accompanied by a short life span.
The Outlier pedal bearings are fairly well shielded but the granular wetness of the North Shore always finds its way in and coupled with the high load application and when, after a few rides with fresh-fresh bearings, my production pedals started binding a bit I wasn’t surprised. Nor when it happened the second time. But wait, it turns out that many rides later the bearings still feel brand new!
I’ve often explained to folks in the context of DT Swiss and Industry Nine hubs that anything that is so pull-apart instant-clean-and-lube easy to service is in turn begging to be serviced {cleaned} more often. And that’s the story here, in a North Shore wet-weather context.
Similarly, cleaning Outlier pedal guts is nothing like servicing any other pedal on the market. It takes maybe one minute a pedal, maybe, to wind them out with an 8mm hex, slide the axle out, wipe the interfaces clean of North Shore grit, and then reinstall the pedals. It’s certainly not an every-ride occurrence but if I spin the pedals before I leave home and they don’t rapidly rotate around a bunch of times like a brand new pair, then I do this lightning-fast remove-clean-install.
I imagine this won’t be an issue in most places. They shed mud and snow like nothing else. But it’s specifically the bits of rocky mirco-detritus suspended in the moisture on our Shore-to-Sky trails that add just a bit of friction.
Notably, this isn’t an issue at all with the Void pedals. They spin beautifully despite using the same interface and being ridden on the same trails in the same weather. The difference is down to expectations. Both pedals are equally smooth, but with the one-sided Pendulum pedals I expect them to rotate so the pins are pointed up every time. Every time. And they do, with just the quickest, easiest, and really teeny-tiniest bit of routine maintenance.
Okay, certainly, it’s more frequent {super minor} maintenance. But it requires zero proprietary tools, just an 8mm Hex and whatever old t-shirt scrap that’s on hand and it’s basically done as soon as I’ve begun. Highly recommended for the wet & grainy weather Pendulum rider.
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