Earlier this week, I published my long-term review of PINND’s £195 CS2 flat pedals for mountain biking. While I massively appreciated the pedal’s considerable concavity and the tremendous grip it and its 5mm tall pins provided, my UK Size 5 feet weren’t quite able to make full use of the 105mm x 110mm platform.
Now, the Scottish component manufacturer is catering to smaller feet with the new CS2s pedals. A 92mm x 90mm platform is optimized for UK Shoe Sizes 6 (EU39/US7) and under, with six 5mm Aggro pins on each side to bite into your rubber of choice.
PINND CS2s Flat Pedals for Smaller Feet
The PINND CS2s pedals run the very same oil-sealed internals as the original CS2 pedal; that’s a titanium axle with two cartridge bearings and a needle bearing in place of the regular plastic bush you’ll find in most competitors’ pedals. The idea behind that was to build something that would last much longer, staving off the development of axial play even in the most horrid, sloppy conditions offered up by a Scottish winter. Find out how our set held up over the last 4-5 months here.
The regular CS2 pedals can accomodate 13 pins per side, with four in the center surrounded by another nine pins set out around the front, rear and outboard edges. With my more flexi-sole mountain bike shoes, I was able to take best advantage of the pedal’s concavity by removing the central pins and replacing them with blanks. Meanwhile, the smaller CS2s pedals launching this weekend have just six pins on each side; three along the front edge and three along the rear, in a stock setup that will accentuate the pedal’s concavity.
The CS2s comes with their 5mm tall Aggro pins, but these can be switched out for their 4mm tall “Friendly” pins for those overly concerned for the skin attached to their shins. With the Aggro pins, the concavity is 6.75mm, dropping to 5.75mm with the Friendly pins.
In addition to its smaller footprint, the CS2s is also 2.5mm thinner than the regular CS2. At the front and rear edges (the thickest parts), the CS2s is 19.5mm thick, still pretty chunky for a modern flat pedal. Ground clearance is the major consideration here, and those running long crank arms on a full suspension bike with a very low bottom bracket would need to take extra special care with the timing of their pedal strokes. That said, I was fortunate enough to have the CS2 pedal glance off anything I hit on the trail, largely thanks to the pedals’ angled, chamfered edges.
Pricing & Availability
The PINND CS2s pedals retail at £155. Of course, you are paying a premium to have a made-in-Scotland product, but the Ti axle and high-end needle bearing internals go some way to justifying the spend too. While the regular PINND CS2 pedal is available in black and silver, the new CS2s for smaller feet is available only in red or blue.
