Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2 Review

Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2’s

$90 (purchase here)

Test Period: 7 months

Field Tester: Scatman

I’ve been using Crank Brothers Egg Beaters 2 pedals for over 5 years now and love them.  That being said I had a really hard time writing this review and apologize to the good people at Crank Brothers for the delay in doing so.  So why was it so hard to write?  Well the reason is I’m torn between the simplicity of the pedals and how great they work and the cost/maintenance involved in using them. Between the cleats being too soft and wearing out, cost of replacements, and having to buy shoe shields one has to spend almost the cost of a new set of pedals to keep them working.  Here is the hard part, despite all that I still love my Egg Beaters.  When I look at the pedals financially it pains me but on a pure usage level they work better than any other pedal out there in my mind.  So you can see my dilemma.

The bottom line is you can not beat the simplicity, ease of entry and exit, ease of maintenance and mud clearance of the Egg Beater design.  It works and works amazingly well.  I have never had an issue getting in or out of my pedals.  If you’re willing to do a little maintenance once in a while the pedals will last as long as any other brand.

When I got the Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2’s in the mail to test I was excited to see the improvement Crank Brothers had made.  Right away you could see the body of the new style was stronger and cleaner.  My Egg Beaters also came with their new Tread Contact Sleeves.  They’re designed to eliminate play between the shoe and pedal as not every sole is the same thickness.  Like their pedals they are simple and functional.

Compare to most pedals out there the Egg Beaters never clog with mud and entry and exit are a snap.  I do love that installation and remove is done with an eight millimeter allen wrench over the traditional 15mm pedal wrench.  It helps making your on bike tool kit a bit smaller by not having to carry an extra wrench.  Being that Egg Beaters are simple and don’t have a body like most pedals they don’t get banged up as bad as some brands, which keeps them looking nice.

My only beef with the Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2’s are they still have a bushing instead of a bearing on one side like the old style.  The Egg Beater 3 and 11’s have bearings on both sides.  I have ridden a minimum of 9 miles a day, M-F since early April on the Egg Beater 2’s and unfortunately the bushing is already wearing out.  I would like to see the bushing replaced with a bearing in the future despite the cost increase.

The Facts:

weight	272g per pair
spindle	forged scm435 chromoly steel
body	cast stainless steel
wings	stamped steel
spring	300 series stainless steel
inner bearing	bushing
outer bearing	cartridge
cleat	premium brass race cleat
shims	included
release angle	15′ to 20′
warranty	5 years

Pros and Cons:  The Pros of Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2 are their simplicity and ability to function in the worst of conditions.  Maintenance is easy but on the flip side is completely necessary.  The Cons are the lack of dual bearings, soft cleats, and having to replace cleats and shoe shields  so often.

Overall: I love my Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2 pedals and continue to use them almost daily but as I said before I struggle with having to buy two seats of cleats and shoe shields every year and possibly a rebuild kit as well.  Though when I consider I never have to worry about getting in or out of my pedals despite nasty conditions I accept the former.  I’ll take that peace of mind every time.  I would love to see the cleats made from a stronger material, bearings throughout, and possibly slightly strong shoe shields.