Product Review: MKS Lambda/Grip King Pedals

Since January, I have been commuting on MKS Lambda pedals.  They are, of course, the pedals that Rivendell sells as its "Grip King" model.


Well, these pedals certainly live up to the moniker Rivendell gave them.  Nearly every comment I've read or heard mentioned their grippiness.  And, while nearly all of the comments were positive, a couple of cycling acquaintances warned me that they could become slippery in wet weather.  Apparently, the "cups" on the pedal collected water and made the pedal slick.


I am happy to report that I didn't experience anything of the sort--even when I got caught in a torrential downpour moments after pedaling away from the Kingsborough campus. It was the heaviest rain in which I've ridden in some time, so I feel confident that a cyclist's feet remain on the Grip King/Lambda pedal even in the worst of conditions. 


My confidence in the grip of these pedals is enhanced by the fact that I have ridden on them in Keen sandals, slingbacks with three-inch heels, LL Bean rain boots, cross-trainers and a few other kinds of shoes. In fact, I feel even more confident about the grip of these pedals than I do about the grip of rubber-block variety found on three-speeds.




About rubber-block pedals:  MKS makes what is probably the only high-quality, rebuildable version of such pedals available today.  They are also one of the last makers of good-quality traditional toe-clippable road pedals.  But, in my experience, MKS doesn't seem to regard people who want such pedals as a "captive" audience.  The company--which still makes all of its pedals in Japan--builds sturdy, well-finished pedals that are reasonably priced and lighter than some cyclists might expect. 


Lambda/Grip King shares the qualities I've just mentioned.  Mine have survived, with hardly a scratch, a couple of close encounters with curbs and a fall I took.  And, even though they are the widest pedals I've ridden in a long time, I am surprised at the amount of cornering clearance they offer.  On the other hand, they don't offer the kind of ground clearance you can get from the company's GR-9 platform pedal, or its White Industries or Lyotard counterparts.  


The Grip King/Lambda pedals also share another characteristic of MKS pedals--at least the loose-bearing models, at any rate.  Chances are, when you turn the axle on your brand-new set, it will feel a bit tight.  You might even feel a slight amount of roughness.  If you're a perfectionist, you can repack the grease or even change the bearings.  But I found that after a few rides, the bearings started to feel smoother.  Now, while not as smooth as sealed-bearing pedals, they are probably as smooth as the best ball-bearing pedals I've ridden.  


As for the bearings:  They are not cartridge bearings, which are what most people think of when they hear "sealed bearings".  However, the steel balls in the Lambda/Grip Kings seem well-protected against the elements.  So, even though I've ridden through some bad weather, and anticipate riding through some more, I anticipate riding these pedals for quite a while before I'll need to overhaul them.


I will admit that, when I start pumping or spinning at the end of a stressful day, I do miss having foot retention on these pedals.  Even though these pedals will hold your feet, you can't "pull" on the upstroke as you can with toe clips and straps or "clip-in" (what the Brits sometimes call "snap-in") pedals.  I tried installing velcro grip straps but they were too wide, and spaced too close together, to fit on the Lambda/Grip Kings.  I ruined the straps when I tried trimming them to  fit.  Maybe I'll try another pair.

Like many of you, I thought the pedals were pretty strange-looking when I first saw them.  However, when you're riding, you don't see your pedals much. Also, because they have a flat profile, they don't stand out as much on many bikes as you might expect.  They blended in surprisingly well on Vera, the bike on which I've been commuting.  That may have something to do with the Velo Orange "hammered" fenders I installed on the bike.


On the whole, I highly recommend the MKS Lambda/Grip King pedals for commuting, errands and shopping, or any other kind of cycling for which you wear ordinary shoes and don't care about speed.  The MSRP seems to be around $55; however, you can get them for around $40, or even less, from Tree Fort Bikes (which have become one of my favorite online bike retailers) and a few other places.

Another New Addition (!)

No, I didn't buy another Mercian.  (Having four is almost an embarrassment of riches, really!)  Rather, my "new addition" was installed on Vera.

She, like many other bikes built at the same time (early 1994) she was, has low-rider rack mounts on the front fork.  Vera is, if I remember correctly, the third bike I've owned with those mounts.  However, I've never before used a low-rider, or a front rack of any other kind.

Had I kept Marianela, she would have gotten a front rack.  I've had handlebar-mounted baskets on other bikes but felt they mounted too high, which worsened the bikes' road-handling.  Given that most of the bikes I've used as commuters had more relaxed head angles and, hence, less responsive steering, than my road bikes, that was no small consideration.


So, I decided that I was going to mount some sort of fork-mounted rack on Vera.  I really wanted to use the lowrider mounts.  However, I was willing to consider other ways of mounting the rack.


I first considered the Velo Orange front racks because the materials and construction looked good, and their prices were relatively reasonable.  However, the VO Randonneur front rack wouldn't have worked, because the legs are too short to reach the low-rider and are not adjustable.  (Constructeur rack legs like the ones on the VO Randonneur mount higher on the fork than lowrider bars.)  


I also looked at the VO Pass Hunter.  Its struts bolt onto cantilever/V-brake bosses, which Vera has.  It's a somewhat larger and beefier version of the old Mafac racks that bolted onto the centerpull brake pivots.  Although I would have preferred to use the lowrider mount, I wasn't opposed to using a brake-mounted rack.  However, I wasn't willing to do something else the Pass Hunter would have necessitated:  drilling out my front fork crown.  

That crown is drilled and tapped for 5mm bolts, like the ones used on most water bottle cage and rear rack braze-ons.  The Pass Hunter has an integral mounting bolt that's meant to fit in a hole large enough for a brake pivot bolt.  I simply didn't have the heart to drill out that nice classy fork crown.


So, that left me with two other options, apart from getting a custom rack.  One would have been to buy one of the front racks made for mountain bikes:  They mount on the cantilever braze-ons but have an adjustable strap (like the kind found on Blackburn-style rear racks) through which the brake bolt passes.  The rack is cheap, and looked sturdy enough, but wouldn't have looked good on Vera.

So, with a sigh, I resigned myself to spending the money on a Nitto M-18.  I know, from using other Nitto parts, that their quality is second to none.  And, often, their prices aren't, either.  However, I was lucky enough to find a really good deal on one from Tree Fort Bikes in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which also matched another retailer's price on another item I bought at the same time.  


Still, the Nitto had the same problem as the VO Randonneur:  the struts weren't long enough to reach the lowrider mount. Luckily, the struts are replacable with longer ones that Nitto makes.  It seems that Rivendell is the only retailer that carries those struts (Even the Japanese retailers didn't have them!), so I placed my very first order with Riv.


The struts are really made to attach to a front dropout. 

So I cut them, and within fifteen minutes, I had the kind of rack I wanted on Vera.

It, like the Pass Hunter and Randonneur, is really intended as a handlebar bag support.  But I plan to use a basked on it or simply to strap my purse or shoulder bag on it when I ride to work.