DMR Bikes Vault Pedals  2012 Mountain Bike Review

DMR Bikes Vault Pedals 2012

Reviews / Pedals

DMR Bikes 31,744

At a Glance

DMR have long been associated with high performance bike parts and through various models (V8’s, V12’s) have established a strong reputation when it comes to the all-important point of contact that are your pedals. Since 1995 their range of products has been expanded from 1 to around 100. These now cover a wide range of riding styles but design and innovation has always had its roots in more demanding riding disciplines.

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The latest evolution of their deign experience in pedals is the Vault.

Available with a standard Cro Mo steel axel and an upgraded Titanium axel, Vault’s are a fully serviceable pedal benefitting from cartridge bearings and a solid construction.

Vaults provide a healthy contact patch with a 115mm x 115m platform. Broad but not deep these pedals are a low profile (17mm) design with a concave foot bed.

Weighing in at a sniff over 400 grams a pair (410 according to our scales) for the Cro Mo Steel axel, with a further weight saving of 70 grams a pair of should you opt for the Superlight Ti axel, the weight to platform size ratio of these pedals is more than acceptable.

11 sturdy pins provide the grip with a downhill ‘Terror Pin’ upgrade available for when the going its really tough.

For the bike tart within you there are currently 8 colours to choose from so you can coordinate with other finishing kit, spokes or even your favourite Lycra skinsuit.

On the Trail

Tech aside how to they perform? From the outset even before they leave the box you will start to appreciate the attention to detail that has inspired their design. In a word, performance is, awesome. Having ridden V12’s for many years and always happy with how they felt I had high expectations of the Vault’s and thought that any improvement over their predecessors might be minor. I was expecting them to feel good and was not left disappointed. Far from it in fact, I was and still am genuinely blown away with how improved the contact with the Vault’s is and how solid a platform they provide.

The combination of the pin pattern and concave footbed leave you with a feeling of total security and are truly confidence inspiring. It actually feels like riding a different bike, a feeling that remains after 3 months use.

High value and low cost are rarely common bedfellows, and although the RRP price tag of £89.99 might seem a little hefty it is an investment that will reap rich riding returns.

So far durability has matched performance and as they are fully serviceable keeping them tiptop in terms of performance should not be an issue.

Overall in designing and manufacturing the Vault, DMR have shown that they are committed to (and successful in achieving) continued performance improvement and innovation.

Treat your feet to these and you will not be disappointed.

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This review was in Issue 15 of IMB.

For more information visit DMR Bikes

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By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.

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