Crankbrothers Mallet E review

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Product Full Name | Crankbrothers Mallet E clipless pedal

Retail Price | £129.99 (available end of December)

Available From | Extra UK

A near perfect trail pedal

This is the brand new Crankbrothers Mallet E pedal – which is aimed at the enduro and trail market.

Although at a glance it shares looks with the Mallet DH pedal, it’s actually nearer to pedals like the Shimano XT trail in terms of security and feel – but still manages to have that Crank Brothers relaxed engagement and free movement. Check out our Crankbrothers Mallet E review to see how it compares to the popular Mallet DH, and the Shimano trail pedals…

Crankbrothers Mallet E review

At a glance you could mistake the new Mallet E for the popular Mallet DH pedal – but it is smaller in size and is designed to be more efficient for trail riding. Photo | Simon Nieborak

The Detail

With a body made from 6061 T6 Aluminium the Mallet E looks like a compact version of the Mallet DH at a glance, but it has a lot more features aimed at trail riding – like the chamfered leading edges to help them glance off rocks whilst pedalling.

As well as the body size being slightly smaller than the Mallet DH, it sits 5mm closer to the crank than the DH too, which helps with clearance and puts the pedal in a position better suited for longer saddle time.

Crankbrothers Mallet E review

The Mallet DH on the left weigh 244grams each, whilst the Mallet E weigh 211grams a piece. Although the overall cage size is smaller, it’s not noticeable on the trail. There is however, a slightly smaller surface to rest on, should you not manage to clip in.

One of the neatest features on the Mallet E is the interchangeable traction pads. There are different thicknesses included, and they tailor the feel of your shoe on the pedal – something that was a gripe with the Mallet DH if not using with flat-soled clipless shoes.

Crankbrothers Mallet E review

The Traction Pads slide in to grooves on the pedal body, and are removable by tyre lever. Once we found the thickness we liked, we kept them in place.

We tried the Mallet E with a Shimano M200, Giro Terraduro and a few flat-soled shoes to get a feel for the system. The result is a far more positive engagement and stable feel on the pedal cage – almost comparable to the classic Shimano feel, but with that free movement you get with Crankbrothers.

The extra support is particularly noticeable with modern trail shoes like the Giro and Shimano mentioned, but we settled on using the Specialized 2FO shoe – which felt amazing on the pedal. It’s definitely our favourite on this pedal.

Crankbrothers Mallet E review

The Mallet E pedal, with Traction Pad removed.

Internally, there is the new IGUS bearing that replaces the old needle roller bearings used in the DH pedal – and a double lipped seal.

Out of the box, our sample pedals had a minute amount of play that could be felt by hand, but not through your foot. This has remained the same through our 13 weeks on the pedals. Whipping the axles out for inspection, there is no sign of wearing – and they operate very smoothly.

Crankbrothers Mallet E review

Note the double lipped seal on the axle. Our pedals were like new inside, even after weeks of filthy rides.

Out on the trail

We use Shimano SPD pedals, and Crank Brothers pedals – for different reasons. Typically we’ll run Shimano with performance shoes for putting the miles in, and use Crankbrothers Mallet DH with a flat soled shoe for more aggressive riding – like uplift days. Mainly because of the huge 15-20degree free movement before clipping out – which enables you to ride in a similar way to flat pedals.

Crankbrothers Mallet E review

We settled on the Specialized 2FO with the Mallet E pedal – a perfect match. The shoe gripped the pedal well, offered a decent amount of support and still had that free movement that’s loved by Crankbrothers users.

The Mallet E has a far more defined feel than the Mallet DH, and feels like a much better solution for aggressive trail riding than using the wider spaced DH pedal. With your feet closer to the crank, pedalling feels better too – and much more like the popular SPD system.

Although the cage is smaller, we never missed the size of the DH pedal. Interestingly, we never noticed hitting the pedals on the ground or on rocks – but changing back to the Mallet DH made us feel a lot more conscious of their relative lack of clearance.

Despite initial reservations about the tiny amount of play we could feel, our pedals still spin as freely as they did on day one and still feel exactly the same.

By all accounts, Crankbrothers have looked at why people love the Mallet DH so much and have made a version that suits every day riding far better.

We Say

As Mallet DH fans, we were excited to see the new Mallet E – and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s a better pedal for all round riding, and with adjustable support you can get the ideal feel, whatever shoe set up you prefer.

We settled on the Specialized 2FO – which simply felt amazing on this pedal, and has been our go-to set up since they arrived for testing.

As with the bigger DH pedal, the Mallet E is excellent in muddy conditions and never gave us grief during the test period. We’ll be running these pedals indefinitely so will keep you posted as and when we need to service the new bearing system. 

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