Redshift Sports Arclight PRO Pedals: Checkpoint

Redshift Sports Arclight PRO Pedals: Checkpoint – by Guitar Ted

In the introduction to the Redshift Sports Arclight Pedals I stated that these might be a great “all-in-one” pedal solution for the everyday cyclist. This is what I decided to explore with the Arclight pedals. If you want all the technical details of the Arclight pedals please hit that link above and check out the introductory post. Now, on to the ride performance and what I did to configure these pedals to my preferences.

Ride Performance: In the beginning of this test I ran the Arclight pedals as a dual clipless pedal with the platform “wings” attached as it came out of the box. However; in an effort to promote more cycling with the Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3, I decided that a more versatile set up would be helpful. This led me to remove one of the clipless mechanisms. This is easy to do and only requires the removal of four Torx bolts.

I then decided to add traction pins (provided with pedals at purchase) which can be installed with the included wrench. Conveniently, the same holes where the clipless mechanism was removed accepts the traction pins, as do threaded holes around the perimeter of the “wings” of the pedal.

Now I had one side as a flat pedal with traction pins and the other side as a clipless pedals with a platform surrounding it. At this point I was able to use my Singular Cycles Gryphon whether I had on cycling shoes or street shoes which made grabbing this bike a lot easier whenever I wanted to take a spin, or go for a more focused ride on gravel or in the woods. It is kind of freeing to be able to think of your bicycle as something you can just grab and go on whenever the chance, or the fit, arises.

Beyond this built-in versatility, I can say that clipping in with a one-sided flat pedal isn’t as difficult as you might, or that I did think, it would be. The pedal tended to hang vertically with this configuration, and so I was eventually able to clip in with a “no-look” motion and this became as natural as stepping intoa two-sided SPD pedal for me. Now, that said, you may not experience the same thing, but if you are a seasoned cyclist, I imagine you’ll end up like me and be able to “no-look” clip in as well.

The flat side with the traction pins was excellent and the pins are a bit more aggressive than my favorite Fyxation Mesa MP’s are, so the traction was really good, but not overly aggressive. Just right, I would say. In fact, I did a gravel ride wearing some old Vans and I was perfectly happy with my comfort level and performance. Bikepacking in sandals? If that’s your bag, I can see it being done with this pedal no problem. You won’t find me in sandals though! I’m not a fan.

And to top it all off, the bearing smoothness is tops, so spinning these pedals downtown or down a single track trail isn’t going to lose you any points on the wattage scale, if that’s even a concern. More importantly, good bearings last longer, generally speaking, and that bodes well for a longer life for the Arclight pedals.

Speaking of lights. They are the star of this show. And I mean “show”, because at night the blinking light modules really put out the light and grab the attention of drivers and anyone outside where you are riding. I had cars slowing down to observe what the heck it was they were seeing! And when you do not want those light modules in there, they are easily removed. I left them in though, because I wanted to see if they would possibly fall out, rattle, or be damaged through normal use. And? Well, it was as if they weren’t there. I maybe heard a plasticky rattle when clipping in, but other than that, you’d never know those modules were there. Those neodymium magnets really do there job well, and as I said, you can easily pull the modules from the Arclight pedals whenever you want, so this was a great feature to have in a set of pedals.

So Far… The versatility, build quality, and ride performance of the Redshift Sports Arclight Pro pedals is at a high level and as of this update, it is hard to pick apart this newest offering from Redshift. The ability to configure the pedal in several different ways is very attractive here, but if they do not work well as a pedal, that is meaningless. Fortunately, this pedal just works, and so I have had nothing but good experiences with it so far.

Going into the final phase of this review I want to try these as double-sided clipless with no “wings” and then go back to the configuration I have been using here to see if swapping out bits causes any issues. But I am not expecting to find anything negative with the Arclight Pros. Check out my final verdict coming up in about a month then.

For more details on the Arclight Pro Pedals see Redshift Sports here: https://redshiftsports.com/

NOTE: Redshift Sports sent over the Arclight PRO pedals at no charge for test and review. We are not being paid nor bribed for this review and we strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.