Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

review

Hope F20 Pedals

8
£130.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Fantastic flat pedals that provide high-end grip, durability, build quality and direct power transfer – pricey, though
Beautifully made
Superb grip
Rock solid construction
Not cheap
Fiddly to get set up
Weight: 
400g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

Hope's F20 pedals offer a wide, solid and superbly grippy pedalling platform with excellent build quality and impressive weight. They're pricey, though – and don't plan to fit them in a rush.

Lancashire firm Hope Technology makes some of the most exquisite bike parts of any manufacturer in these isles, and straight out of the box, it's clear the F20 pedals are something special.

> Find your nearest dealer here

Beautifully machined from CNC'ed 2014 T6 aluminium and finished in one of six anodised colours, these wide flat pedals come festooned with 10-a-side holes for the included screw-in pins. The F20 axle is made from high-strength chromoly and, Hope says, 'Each pedal uses a Norglide bush and three cartridge bearings in a fully sealed chamber to give a long smooth life.'

Even if the full meaning of all that detail is a little lost on you, be assured that you won't fail to be impressed by how silky-smooth they feel when spinning on their axle. Meanwhile, the sealed bearings should also guarantee the F20s will be durable.

2020 Hope F20 pedals side.jpg

Get them set up and on the bike – which we'll come to in a minute – and the F20s perform nigh-on faultlessly. Those 20 pins really come into their own when used with flat shoes or even trainers and, for riders who might otherwise pooh-pooh the notion of non-clip-in pedals, they provide a fantastically secure connection between sole and bike. Even in the wet, they grip on well.

2020 Hope F20 pedals pin detail.jpg

There's a slightly concave shape to the platform surface to further aid pedalling performance, and the sharp wave-like pedal surface helps dig into shoe tread well, even without the pins. With so much of the T6 aluminium drilled and machined away, at 200g a pedal, the F20s are surprisingly light, too.

2020 Hope F20 pedals front.jpg

If I had to name one grievance, it's getting the F20s set up to ride. Don't be too impatient to start spinning your legs – with 20 pins needing to be fitted to each pedal, you'll want to set aside a good 30 minutes or more of preparation. If you've got a longer 2mm hex key than the one provided, that'll help too. And don't try this straight after a fresh manicure – these bad boys have enough bite even without the pins in place to scratch your nails.

2020 Hope F20 pedals boxed.jpg

Finally, I should make the disclaimer that while ardent off-roaders and gravity-gobbling downhillers have more exacting requirements from their pedals, I have been testing the F20s in purely an urban, commuting and leisure cycling state of mind. If these don't do it for you on the red run at Morzine, don't blame me – but they're more than strong and durable enough to work a treat on a wet Monday morning in town.

Value and conclusion

It's not often that any of us can afford to buy a top of the range product, but in the case of the Hope F20 pedals, that's within reach of anybody with £130 in their wallet, and they do feel like a genuinely premium product. However, that £130 pits them against fairly stiff competition.

For the same cost, you could have Race Face's awesome Atlas pedals, which Jim at our sister site off-road.cc said are 'great for all kinds of trail riding'. And for £130 you could also buy Deity's equally superb TMAC pedals.

> The best cycle commuting upgrades for you and your bike

So they are excellent, but are the F20s and their rivals a little overkill for 'normal' cycling? Very probably. But when you can have such an exquisitely manufactured bit of kit – and especially one that does its job so well – few people should begrudge this little bit of contact point luxury. With fantastic grip, build quality, durability – and probably a suitable colour to match your bike – Hope's F20s flat pedals should appeal to more than just mud-pluggers.

Verdict

Fantastic flat pedals that provide high-end grip, durability, build quality and direct power transfer – pricey, though

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Hope F20 Pedals

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

These are high-end flat pedals, mainly designed for serious mountain bike action but we're testing them for urban, commuter and leisure cycling. Hope doesn't have much to say about them other than: "Our F20 Pedal is a high quality platform pedal available in all our colours." Fair enough.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Hope lists:

Pedals feature a fully CNC-machined platform out of 2014 T6 aluminium with anodised finish

The axle is made of high strength chromoly, heat treated and plated

The platform is slightly concave in shape to give maximum support

Each pedal uses a Norglide bush and three cartridge bearings in a fully sealed chamber to give a long smooth life

Replaceable hollow pins for traction and grip (titanium pin option also available)

Available in black, silver, red, blue, purple and orange

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

Really beautifully made with fab anodised colour options.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Superb grip with wide, stable and secure pedalling platform.

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

With sealed bearing and rock solid construction, they look set to last a very long time.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10

Considering their size and strength, the weight of 200g per pedal is commendable.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

With Race Face's awesome Atlas pedals and Deity's equally superb TMACs both £130, the F20s are in exactly the right ballpark for high-end flat pedals. Whether most commuters or urban riders want to spend £130 on a set of flatties is another question, though.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Really fantastic. For moderate cycling duties around town the F20s offer faultless performance. They might not offer the 'pull-up-ability' of clip-in pedals, but they're easier to live with and basic grip is superb.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Construction and grip.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Having to screw in all 40 pins.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

For the same price, you could have Race Face's Atlas pedals , which Jim at our sister site off-road.cc said are 'great for all kinds of trail riding'. And for £130, you could buy Deity's equally superb TMAC pedals.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's probably fair to say that for day-to-day cycling, the F20s offer more performance potential than most riders will ever need. In that respect, the £130 price brings the overall score down a little. But in terms of all-out grip, secure pedalling, reliability and effective power transfer, this is a fantastic pedal.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 39  Height: 6'0  Weight: 16 stone

I usually ride: Islabikes Beinn 29  My best bike is: 25-year-old Dawes Galaxy

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb, Leisure

Add new comment

4 comments

Avatar
Miller | 3 years ago
0 likes

What do pedals like this do to the soles of shoes? Those pins are fierce.

Avatar
ktache replied to Miller | 3 years ago
0 likes

They gradualy destroy them.

But it is nothing on what they will do to your shins...

Avatar
NPlus1Bikelights | 3 years ago
0 likes

They are nice but no reflectors, so illegal?

Avatar
Hirsute replied to NPlus1Bikelights | 3 years ago
1 like

Only at night.

Latest Comments