Strip a clipless pedal down to only the parts that actually hold a cleat and you get the Eggbeater. Crank Brothers built the Eggbeater 1 around four spring wires and a stamped steel wing, with nothing resembling a platform or cage in between. That open architecture is the whole point: mud, snow, and trail grit pass straight through instead of packing into a body and blocking engagement. The open design allows entry from four sides and stays highly resistant to dirt and mud. The pedal clips in the same way on the first lap of a wet cyclocross race as it does on the last. At 290 grams per pair , it's also light enough that most riders notice the change coming off a platform pedal.

Entry works from all four sides, so there's no flipping the pedal with a toe to find the right face. You put your foot down, feel the wing, and step through. For cyclocross remounts, technical XC sections where you've dabbed a foot, or gravel starts on loose surfaces, that removes a step from the process. The brass cleat is small and tucks up between the tread of the shoe, which eliminates the duck walk, and while brass wears faster than steel it lasts far longer than soft plastic. Crank Brothers chose brass so the cleats wear out before the pedal contact points do — and cleats are the cheaper part to replace.

Compatibility is where riders get tripped up. These cleats are not compatible with Shimano SPD despite the similar 2-bolt pattern, because the engagement geometry differs between the systems. Plan on the included cleats and Crank Brothers replacements from here on. Any MTB or gravel shoe with a recessed two-hole cleat box works with the system, though third-party footwear sometimes needs shims or traction pads to fine-tune the shoe-to-pedal interface. A three-hole road shoe can also be adapted with Crank Brothers' adapter kit. ... Read More