Review: Odyssey JC/PC Pedals
Remember when Odyssey came out with the Twisted PC pedals? It’s weird to think that has been a few years ago now (1996 to be exact). It’s even weirder to think about how many people acted like it was the worst thing ever… Then before you knew it every company had a similar plastic pedal. The biggest problem with the Twisted PC’s was after a few pedal slides or just wearing down from use of the pedals, the pins wouldn’t grip as well. Sure, the pedals are cheap and pretty disposable, a lot of people wanted a plastic pedal with actual pins.
I’m not sure how long the new JC/PC’s have been in the works, but I do know it has been at least two years, and they finally got it right. Plastic pedals with metal pins… ah, the grip.
Alright, so let’s go into detail with these pedals. It’s a plastic version of the well known and loved Jim C pedal. The pedal itself is pretty interesting though. It features two pieces for the shell of the pedal, with no bearings, a tapered axle, and a bunch of pins holding it all together.
The first run of these pedals were a limited edition “Oreo” style with white, and black. When the next batch comes in they will come in black, white, or the “Oreo” if you prefer. The plastic itself was an issue with the pedals that pushed the release back. The first batch turned out that they warped when the climate changed, and left the spindle wobbly. That was what caused them to have to get some more samples done, and make sure everything was spot on, and clearly they are now.
Like I said above, the pedals don’t have bearings. I actually cracked these open for the first time to make the video, so I didn’t know what it was in place of the bearings. It’s basically just two rubber O rings and a dust cover/O Ring. The spindle itself is a tapered spindle that’s pretty beefy.
The pedal is all held together by 16 pins with nuts on the opposite side of the pedal. It’s safe to say they are held together really well by this. I talked with Ben Ward (one of Odyssey’s product designer) about how many could be taken out, and he said it’s safe to take 8 pins out without having the spindle wobble.
The JC/PC is a little bit heavier than a regular Twisted PC obviously. The savings in weight without the bearings is replaced by the pins and over sized spindle which equals out to being heavier. However, if you take half the pins out you are able to cut a few ounces off that.
The grip of the pedal is great. I’ve been running the regular PC’s since they came out so I was used to the pedal slip. So the change to these made a huge difference in grip. In fact, they were almost TOO grippy. I fell twice because my foot got stuck to the pedal. Pretty embarrassing.
Overall, the pedal is definitely living up to all my desires that I had when I heard about them. They are grippy, and solid with the feel from the metal Jim C’s. The pedals don’t flip around easy or wobble at all so there isn’t any noise or anything coming from them. They don’t wear down very quick because the pins stop you from rubbing on the shell too much. However, they will have replacement shells for these available for when you wear one side down too much.
My only complaint, and issues I see people having are these. The pins are pretty long, so taking a shiner does suck. I’d say grinding them down a bit will do the trick. Also, taking a few of the pins out won’t hurt and will save some weight. I asked Ben Ward if they planned on making some pins that came flush, and the idea is still being tossed around but could be a possibility. If anything you can always just grind them down flush for a “grind” side if you wanted. Otherwise, like most of Odyssey’s stuff it’s pretty flawless.
The pedals should be retailing for about $34.95 and will be available in about 1-2 weeks (around December 1st). If you are looking for some new pedals, these might just be the ones for you. Since the majority of the cost for the pedal is the spindle, they will have just the plastic shell available for purchase also for when you do grind the shit out of the pedal! So the replacement cost isn’t going to be too much!
nice, need to pick up a pair of these
Mine ALL MINE my precious!
wierd…i didnt know odyssey had been making pc’s that long…i think i like the look of the twisted ones more, but being a dirt guy myself like the added traction and currently ride the trail mix pedals, dont think these will change that
This pedals suck because you have to buy a file to actually use em because the pins are so GODDAMNED long. I just spent an hour filing all of em, and putting em back together and when the ends of the bolts get filed, when you need to remove it, it will strip the nuts. Fuuuuuuuuucckk…..
And they wobbled! Goddamned $40 wobbly pedals!
NOT STOKED.
Also I got grease EVERYWHERE. I fucking hate it when you have to work on your bike and get grease everywhere because of the inherent design compared to other designs. In fact almost all new ody parts designed by george are like this. elementary stem, twombolts and cleaning ratchet hubs everweek.
FUCK!
This comment got deleted when I posted it in the daily word. So much for freedom of spech, eh?
A little bit update on my pedals is that after grounding them for quite a while the hex broach on the little allen bolts gets mushroomed because the pedal body has run out of material. Now I can’t tighten them anymore because they’ve gotten a little bit wobbly and I can’t remove them to slap on my “steel is real” pedals. Fuuuuck…
I had expected for this to happen but my expectations had been supposedly assured by George saying their pros have run them for over a year and “there was no problems whatsoever” because they can get their replacement condoms for free but goddamnit I hate bullshit like this.
Look, I don’t G-ive a SHIT if smooth as butter Odyssey sponsored pro riders who get their replacements pedals for free and seem to be miraculously having ‘no problems whatsoever’ after a year, this shit’s overrated like the the assploadeable plegs were.
Remember when they first came out? “Our pros have been riding plegs for months and blablabla no-problems-whatsoever” BOLLOCKS!
LOOK plastic pedals are the biggest joke started by the French since bottled water. Remember Simplex? …oye.
“and I can’t remove them to slap on my “steel is real” pedals. ”
Correction: I can’t remove them to slap on any replaceable bodies but now I slap on my “steel is real” pedals. “
Ah fuck it. Delete all my comments. Who gives a fuck.
That was the bitchiest complaint I’ve heard in a long while. You sound like a pussy. How about next time instead of being a bitch about it, you politely hit up some Odyssey or Gpsort dudes and get the problem taken care of instead of trying to make a huge deal out of it? I’m sure you can get yourself fixed up free of charge with a new pair, if they happen to wobble. You can get shorter hex pins for the pedals at your local hardware store as well.
On that note, these are the best pedals known to man. Seriously tits right out the box! Don’t bother listening to anonymous Spicy McBitchass and his steel pedals.
These suck JUST because they don’t have clear ones because clear pedals give me street cred and will guarantee me in getting CHICKS.
Why waren’t these pedals named Pledals?
Or even “Sandwich” pedals? It would also make a perfect name! Imagine the possibilities of doing advertisements with such a name! I thought BMX products should have quirky names just like the rest of BMX related stuff?
I refuse to call it by it’s fake made up name!
I don’t think Jim C spent more time on these pedals more than George? Huh?
I give it a 4 out of 5 just because it has a stupid and boring name! Woops another one off because of the black and white color combo! Whose stupid idea was this? Who the fuck wants a gecko dropping colored combo pedals? It throws the rest of my meticulously color scheme of my bike!
So that’s a 3 out of 5!
I dunno why,i just feel that they’l suck.No good reason.Il stick with my good ol’ stricker plastics..much better than the twisted pc’s!
people are dumb. really good pedals. “…because of the black and white color combo! Whose stupid idea was this?…” chill out. just wait for the plain black or plain white ones. i have these “Oreo” style, and they’re sweet as hell.
i dont know why people are making such a big deal about the color or the pins being to long i mean if your going to ride them they will aventualy get smaller and grow some balls about getting peddle slaps i mean f your that scared of them wear shin gaurds seriously
ok i feel also the need to saz something to the whiners!!!
Here is the thing – if you grind down the pins flat why buy the pedals in the first point. the idea is that if you want to do lots of pedal grinds leave one side of the pins off. no grinding needed…
second …
because of this very reason that you can leave the pins off is the main reason for the two colors!!!! side with no pins black and the side with pins white…
ie if you would want to run one side pins then while you are riding you can quickly find the side with grip…
and last but not least… steel pedals??? i would like to see those…
either aluminum or mag. but not steel buddy get it straight…
its fine that you dont like them but leave it at that
“and last but not least… steel pedals??? i would like to see those…”
Get your head out of your ass and study some basic elementary level engineering.
‘Aluminum’ and ‘mag’ are steel alloys. Go read an engineering book and look under non-ferrous alloy STEEL, buddy, get it straight.
Oh forgot to mention,
Last but not least, engineering a new part around a ‘trick’ that is literally putting your foot down or a trick that was originally done accidentally is stupid.
These are overhyped, much like the plegs was.
1/2 pounds? mr J, we are not in the Stone Age )))))
FUCK the big-big-big marketing
as far as that mcballs guy goes, a poor craftsmen always blames his tools sounds like you aren’t very good at using a “file” pick up a angle grinder and a sanding wheel an get with it.
these pedals rule! odyssey takes it home again
After all, they will not be able to disassemble after sliding. So?
if you listen to the odyssey review they say that if you use them to grind then take half of the pins out and use one side to grind and one to spot the grinds.. and if the pins mushroom then go to a hardware store and get grade 8 hardware for the pedales before you use them and you wont to have to worry about mushrooming bolts
i don’t right on these things normally. but tubes your a tool! steel is an iron/carbon based alloy. last time i checked no iron in any of the standard grade ALUMINIUM alloys, the clue is in the name!
“and if the pins mushroom then go to a hardware store and get grade 8 hardware for the pedales before you use them and you wont to have to worry about mushrooming bolts”
Then Odyssey should rethink about the specs of the bolts.
Why would I need to buy extra bolts when Odyssey should use harder bolts in the first place? They don’t cost that much either so any “to keep the cost down” excuse should be considered stupid beforehand.
Also George’s excuse for not selling the halves separately and not putting the ‘R’ and ‘L’ is LAME. Get a better excuse, or better yet spend a few extra seconds in Solidworks to put them on.
EXACLY YOU FAGGOTS ODYSSEY THINKS THIS SHIT THROUGH AND TO BE HONEST IVE NEVER HAD A PROB WITH ANY ODYSSEY PARTS IT DEPENDS HOW YOU USE THEM AND IF YOU LOOK AFTER THEM AND ANYWAY IF THE BOLTS DO GRIND DOWN AND YOU CANT UNDO THEM JUST DRILL THEM OUT AND FIT SOME NEW ONES FROM YOUR LOCAL HARWARE STORE AND ANYWAY THERE 10 DOLLARS A HALF WHICH ONE OF YOU SAD PEOPLE CANT OFFORD 10 or 20 DOLLARS EVERY FEW MONTHS TO MAKE YOUR PEDAL SET NEW AGAIN ONCE YOU WEAR THEM DOWN THERE A GREAT CHEAP IDEA TO FIX A LARGE COSTLY PROBLEM ITS ALOT BETTER TO BUY A HALF OR TOO THAN A NEW SET OF PLASTIC PEDALS EVERY FEW MONTHS AT 20-30 DOLLARS DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU RIDE ON.
Had these pedals for a week. They ended up cross threading the crank arms which has ended up in me buying a new set of cranks. No i didnt over tighten them, they were fitted correctly in the shop. How i know this isnt a one off because 3 days after a friend purchased and set these up on his bike, the same thing has happened. Yeah they are lovely pedals and they grip really well but to see this happen to two bikes within a week is not a good sign. It could be a faulty batch but its one of those things i would never know. Would i recommend these? No, not unless i find a set that hasnt destroyed any cranks.
i like those premium pedals that you can change the casings of sometimes the pins break off but the casings are easily replacable
these pedals are SICK seriously dont waste ur money buyin any other pedals cos these will blow u away. theyre grippy durable and look amazin. my favorite feature is the fact that they dont spin that easily, which makes life easier when cathching ur pedals.