Feature: Twenty6 Rallye Ti Pedal

Posted: Jul 30, 2009

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Twenty6 by now. Tyler started Twenty6 back in February of 2006. Every single component etched with the Twenty6 logo has been CNC’ed with tender loving care out of his home shop in Bozeman Montana. Twenty6 definitely has a reputation for making “jewelry like” aftermarket bike components and the Rallye pedal is no exception.

I’m a big flat pedal user – how big? Well, that’s all I use and even my road bike is fitted with a nice set of flat pedals. At this point, some of you are probably thinking: “Flats on a road bike - now that’s dumb!!” I don’t want to get into a flats vs clips debate. If you’re not about competition and all about riding for fun – It doesn’t really matter what pedal you use. It’s all about what you prefer and what you like to ride.

Back in 2002 I shattered my right heel after a DJ accident. During rehab, I did all my riding on platform pedals and my first long trail ride was an eye opener for me. I had no problems climbing with them and had soooo much more fun on the descents. Been using them ever since. I did try clips a few times, but if I wear those tight ballerina slippers, my right foot tends to fall asleep due to all the metal hardware I still have in there. With that said, I decided to get a pair of Rallye Ti pedal when they became available earlier this year.

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Features:
Like every other component made by Twenty6, the Rallye are a machined piece of art. They are amazingly well built, look absolutely stunning and the craftsmanship is top notch.


There is not many ways to word it – so I just took most of the description right off Twenty6’s site:
• ultra-thin (5/8” thick) 6061-t6 billet CNC pedal bodies
• offset parallelogram platform for more positive foot placement
• oversized aircraft grade Ti-6Q2 titanium or 4140 cromoly axles
• dirt and contamination are locked out of the bushings through the use of dual quad o-ring seals
• zero maintenance, self lubricating oilite bushings and titanium nitride coated axles
• stainless steel replaceable traction pins in two lengths for customization (6mm and 8mm)
• 76 available traction pin locations
• available in 11 colors (Glacier White, Urban Camo, Dirt, Mellow Yellow, Pink, Jet Black, Royal Blue, Vibe Red, Grass, Burnt Orange and Wood Grain)
• Aftermarket anodized traction pin kits are available for even more customization
• 384 grams for the pair

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The Ride:
Just like saddles, grips, bars, chamois butter – flat pedal choice is a personal thing. What works for me might not necessarily work for you. So keep that in mind while reading my feedback.

First thing I did when I received my Rallye pedal is remove the shorter 6mm pins to replace them with the longer 8mm ones. I was a bit disappointed when I realized that there weren’t enough long pins to dress both pedals. I like to run 18 pins per pedal (36 total) but my Rallye only came with 32 x 8mm pins. So I had to go get some at my local hardware store. Maybe my box was short a few 8mm pins – but at the price tag of these pedals, I expected enough pins for both pedals.

I’ve been running the Rallye on several bikes while alternating back and forth with my other flat pedal of choice. Like mentioned above, I use flat pedals for all aspects of my riding. Trail riding around these parts include a ton of climbing (with equal amount of descending), which means a lot of “scrubbing” action, especially between the 4 o’clock and 7 o’clock part of the stroke.

I’ve been riding concave pedals for years so I’ve come to really like that feature in a flat pedal. The Rallye are completely flat, which I’m finding myself having to get use to. It’s not something that I noticed all that much while descending, but I mostly feel it on steep climbs, where the ball of my foot doesn’t feel as secure. After a few rides you adjusted to it, but once I slap a good set of concave pedals on there, I immediately feel the difference.


I guess you could overcome this by running longer pins on the edges and shorter ones in the middle, but I still do not feel as sure footed as when using a pedal with a concave surface. The wide platform feels super good and supportive under the foot. I use FiveTen shoes and with the longer 8mm pins the Rallye offer ample grip, but when compared to my other concave pedal, I could feel my foot move a bit more when climbing (i.e. sliding back).

When compared to my other flat pedals, which uses sealed cartridge bearings, the Rallye doesn’t spin as freely. I assume this is due, in part, by the combination of bushings and dual quad o-rings. This keeps the weight low, maintenance to a minimum and helps with durability. I personally prefer the smoother running feel of a pedal that uses sealed bearings, but I hate how quickly they develop slop

One day I noticed that they were spinning a bit more freely than before, so I checked the end nut and they had came loose. Nothing to worry about since I’m pretty anal about maintaining my bikes – but could see someone loosing the end fastener if if they didn’t do regular maintenance.

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Final thoughts:
The Rallye are solid flat pedals capable of taking the abuse of every day riding. If you are looking for unique pedals to complete that custom bike built, the Rallye is right down your alley. Other than tightening the end cap, I haven’t had to do any maintenance to them.

The Rallye are a beautiful, customizable, light, grippy pair of flat pedals that you can use to either race Downhill, Dirt Jump, ride urban, freeride or simply trail ride. My only grip with the Rallye is the shape of the platform – if they were concave, I would give them 10 out of 10.

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Retail Pricing:
Yeah they aren’t cheap – but if you’re looking to embellish that new bike that you’ve just traded a kidney for – these are worth a look.

Rallye Ti – $265.00 UDS
Rallye Chromo – $175.00 USD

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Special thanks:
Brian @ www.mtb-mania.com for hooking me up with the pedals!!
Brian is also the US Karpiel distributor - his e-mail is brian.g@karpiel.com if you ever need to contact him.


Bikes are cool - get out and ride! Go FLAT out....