Trek Line Pro Pedals

Old School Looks with a New School Flavour

Flat pedals - let’s be honest, maybe not the easiest component to chock full of whiz-bang technology, and SRAM hasn’t even found a way to put a battery in them (yet). No, the lowly flat pedal doesn’t seem to get the same attention that the rest of the bike seems to get, but that’s not to say there hasn’t been innovation in the segment. It seems that most manufacturers are pushing the low-profile mantra these days, squeezing every last millimetre of cross-section out of their pedals in an effort to win us over with fewer pedal strikes. The slack/long/low bike trend has certainly not been kind to our pedals. That’s why when the Trek Line Pros arrived, a few eyebrows were raised.

In a sea of slim slices of aluminum, the Line Pros stick out figuratively and literally. At 30mm thick across the tallest pins, they are substantially thicker than my OneUp daily drivers. The Line Pros cut a pleasingly old-school shape, not unlike the pedals I ran many years ago when I decided to cut the clipless umbilical cord for good - these pedals wouldn’t look out of place on a BMX bike.

The Line Pros are available in two anodized colours: Black, and “Pennyflake”. Both colours feature a classy post-ano machined footbed, as well as laser etched graphics. These good looking pedals spin around a chromoly axle using a wise combination of sealed bearings and bushings. With weight coming in at 420g for the pair, Trek missed a big opportunity in not pricing the Line Pros at $69. Actual pricing is $135 CAD. / $100 U.S. If you’re looking to spend less on pedals, Trek also offers the Line Pedal in an “Elite” version that trades the alloy body for a resin one, and as far as I can tell, shares the same guts as the Pro version. The Elite pedals will lighten your wallet by $75 CAD / $55 U.S.

The Line Pros showed up as I was previewing the recently released Rocky Mountain Slayer, and it would have been a crime to not install the Pennyflake coloured pedals on the Slayer, with its copper coloured stays. The Line Pros are loaded with replaceable grip pins whose heights can be increased by removing a small washer, allowing you to customize the grip to your liking. By eye, the default pin height (with washers installed) looked lower than what I’m used to, so I decided to experiment - I removed all the washers from one pedal, and left them in place on the other pedal. Wanting to find out just how much grip difference the pin height made, I purposely didn’t keep track of which pedal was which, and installed them on the bike for a true blind pedal grip test.

Out on the trail, the Line Pros felt comfortable underfoot - I guess there’s a reason why this “old school” shape has been around for so long: It just works really well. While the Slayer is not a bike that begs to be climbed up technical trails, I found myself in just enough of these situations to realize that the thicker cross-section of the Lines may have resulted in more pedal strikes than my thinner pedals - or maybe not. While the Lines are certainly thicker in cross-section, they are slightly narrower in Q-factor, meaning the frequency of pedal strikes may have been a wash - I honestly couldn’t say with certainty if I was hitting more trail obstacles with the Lines. Contrary to what I may have expected, the reduced Q-factor of the Lines didn’t result in any weirdness or instability while pedalling or coasting down rowdy descents.

After installing the Lines on my own bike, whose performance I know inside and out, the extra height of these pedals was just barely noticeable. While the effect was subtle, I swear I could feel the difference - almost like I was wearing shoes with extra thick soles. While a bit unnerving at first, this feeling soon disappeared as I grew accustomed to the Lines.

The results of my blind pedal grip test came back inconclusive - I honestly couldn’t tell which pedal had the taller pins. After a full day of riding, trying my best to feel out the answer, I rolled the dice and just picked a pedal - and my guess was wrong. Regardless of the pin height, the Line Pros provided phenomenal grip when paired with my FiveTen soles. I suspect the uniquely barbed shape of the pins must be playing a part here, and short of bolting a cleat to the bottom of my shoes, I’m certain I’ve never felt as locked-in on a pedal. While the strong grip was welcome in most situations, it was a bit of a double-edged sword - I had to really focus on placing my foot down on the pedal in exactly the right spot, because it was nearly impossible to micro-adjust after the fact. If you’re the type who likes to shimmy around a bit on your pedals, the Line Pros might not be your cup of tea.

While thin pedals are all the rage for good reason, I appreciate how Trek has served up a worthy alternative in the Line Pros. With a classic BMX shape and above-average sealing from the elements, these pedals would be right at home on any park bike. If you’re a flat pedal rider seeking best-in-class grip, the Line Pros should definitely make your short list.

Trek Line Pro Pedals

135 CAD

100 USD