Earlier this summer we previewed VP Components’ Aim pedals, and after three solid months of thrashing them on British Columbia’s challenging terrain we’re ready to present the full ride review. The VP Aim is a price-conscious pedal with a large, supportive concave body and simple design aesthetic. It’s a solid pedal that does what it needs with a well executed no-frills approach.
They may not be the largest, thinnest, flashiest or lightest option on the market, but you simply don’t get ‘the best’ for the price of the Aims. They’ve proven themselves to be a product I’d happily recommend for budget-conscious riders (or otherwise), mainly due to how well they held up under my feet. Click past the break for the details…
The Aim’s platforms have a noticeable dual concave and their squarish shape feels fairly large underfoot, particularly on the wide outer edges. They’re not the biggest option out there at 105x105mm, but unless you have giant feet I’d suspect most people will find them quite ample. Again, the Aims are not the thinnest pedal, but they hardly feel like blocks at 18mm thick.
The Aim’s minimalist design looks pretty clean and doesn’t lack any foot support. It’s an efficient use of material and there are no sharp shin-threatening edges anywhere on these pedals, which is always a bit comforting.
The eight domed pins on each side are not my favourite type for grip. On any pedal body I’ve always found I get more bite out of the thinner, externally threaded allen head pins. On rough sections of trail my feet shifted around on the Aims a bit more than I would have liked, so this is one thing that could be improved upon.
In spite of my initial skepticism the die-cast alloy bodies held up well, showing a couple good knicks in the paint from rock strikes but no further damage. The sealed and LSL bearings are still spinning smoothly, and there is no looseness or play in either pedal. I’m very impressed to report that I haven’t managed to bend either of the spindles. In our preview we noted that VP stuck with decent quality internals, using CNC’d and heat treated Chromoly for these crucial pieces, and it seems to have paid off.
Despite not being super grippy, the pins held up well and not one has been damaged in any way. I could easily remove any of them today if needed, and none have been sharpened or shortened throughout several nasty impacts.
VP claims the weight of the Aims at 425g, but my scale didn’t quite agree. As seen above, this pair came in just slightly heavier than quoted at 437g. The VP Aim pedals sell for $60 USD, and are available in Silver or Black through VP distributors.
