Table Of Contents
Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3 Mountain Bike Pedal Review: Best Clipless Mountain Bike Pedal Review
Best Ultralight Pedal for Cross Country Racers and Gram Counters
- Platform feel 30%
- Ease/feel of entry 50%
- Ease/feel of exit 90%
- Mud shedding ability 100%
- Weight 100%
Weight per Pair: 280g
Clean Type: Crank Brothers Brass
Use: XC
Price: ~$85-$135
What We Like: Lightest pedals in test, best mud shedding in test
What We Don’t: Difficult to clip into, no hope of standing on these unclipped
Gram counters will love the Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3 pedal. At only 280g, it is the lightest pedal on our list, making it a perennial favorite for cross country racers looking for a minimal, lightweight clipless mountain bike pedal.
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Compare to Similar Products
Crank Brothers Candy 7
- Platform feel 60%
- Ease/feel of entry 80%
- Ease/feel of exit 80%
- Mud shedding ability 100%
- Weight 90%
Pros
Great performance for a reasonable price, excellent mud shedding, best weight to cost ratio available
Cons
Small platform compared to the similarly priced Crank Brothers Mallet E
Weight: 320g
Cleat Type: Crank Brothers Brass
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro XC
Shimano XT M8020
- Platform feel 70%
- Ease/feel of entry 80%
- Ease/feel of exit 80%
- Mud shedding ability 70%
- Weight 80%
Pros
A high-end pedal for a mid-tier price
Cons
Significantly heavier than the Crank Brothers alternative
Weight: 404g
Cleat Type: SPD Mountain
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro XC
Crank Brothers Mallet E
- Platform feel 100%
- Ease/feel of entry 90%
- Ease/feel of exit 70%
- Mud shedding ability 80%
- Weight 70%
Pros
Lightweight for the size of the platform
Great pedaling platform
The most adjustable Crank Brothers pedal
Easy to clip into
Cons
Vague sense of clipping in and out
Heavier than Candy 7
Pins can make clipping out more difficult
Weight: 420g
Cleat Type: Crank Brothers Brass
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro, Downhill
Shimano Saint M820
- Platform feel 90%
- Ease/feel of entry 90%
- Ease/feel of exit 70%
- Mud shedding ability 60%
- Weight 30%
Pros
The most adjustable pedals that we reviewed
Great pedal platform
Satisfying SPD feel
Cons
Heaviest pedals in our review
Not the best for extremely muddy conditions
Weight: 545g
Cleat Type: SPD Mountain
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro, Downhill
Crank Brothers Candy 1
- Platform feel 60%
- Ease/feel of entry 80%
- Ease/feel of exit 80%
- Mud shedding ability 100%
- Weight 90%
Pros
Extremely lightweight and well-rounded pedal for the price
Cons
Lack of traction pads found on higher end Candy pedals
Not the most solid platform
Weight: 294g
Cleat Type: Crank Brothers Brass
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro, XC
Shimano M530
- Platform feel 70%
- Ease/feel of entry 80%
- Ease/feel of exit 80%
- Mud shedding ability 80%
- Weight 70%
Pros
Virtually the same pedaling and clipping experience offered by the much more expensive Shimano XTR M9120 and XT M8020 at an entry-level price
Cons
Heaviest mini platform pedal in review, painted cage is slippery when wet
Weight: 453g
Cleat Type: SPD Mountain
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro, XC
Crank Brothers Eggbeater 3
- Platform feel 30%
- Ease/feel of entry 50%
- Ease/feel of exit 90%
- Mud shedding ability 100%
- Weight 100%
Pros
A high-end pedal for a mid-tier price
Cons
Significantly heavier than the Crank Brothers alternative
Weight: 404g
Cleat Type: SPD Mountain
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro XC
Shimano XTR M9100
- Platform feel 50%
- Ease/feel of entry 60%
- Ease/feel of exit 80%
- Mud shedding ability 90%
- Weight 90%
Pros
Lightest SPD pedal in test
Fairly large contact area for an SPD pedal
Cons
Pricey and heavy compared to Crank Brothers alternative
Weight: 310g
Cleat Type: SPD Mountain
Use: XC
Crank Brothers Eggbeater 1
- Platform feel 30%
- Ease/feel of entry 50%
- Ease/feel of exit 90%
- Mud shedding ability 100%
- Weight 100%
Pros
Unbeatable weight for budget XC pedals
Cons
Difficult to clip into
Weight: 280g
Cleat Type: Crank Brothers Brass
Use: XC
Shimano M520
- Platform feel 50%
- Ease/feel of entry 60%
- Ease/feel of exit 80%
- Mud shedding ability 90%
- Weight 70%
Pros
The same pedaling experience of the XTR M9120 for a third of the price
Cons
Heavier than the Egg Beater 1
Weight: 310g
Cleat Type: SPD Mountain
Use: XC
Shimano XTR M9120
- Platform feel 70%
- Ease/feel of entry 80%
- Ease/feel of exit 80%
- Mud shedding ability 70%
- Weight 80%
Pros
All of the great features of the XT M8020 in a lighter package
Cons
Heavier than Crank Brothers alternative and not enough difference to justify the price increase over the Shimano XT M8020
Weight: 398g
Cleat Type: SPD Mountain
Use: All-Mountain, Enduro, XC
Platform
There is not much to the platform of the Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3. In fact, there is no platform, aside from the classic Crank Brothers Egg Beater clipping mechanism. There is a bit of spindle that protrudes out wider than the clip itself, but nothing that might provide anything in the way of solid footing should you come unclipped. Needless to say, you will want to use a stiff pair of shoes to compensate for the lack of platform.
Ease of Entry
The Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3 pedals offer true four-sided entry. In theory, this should make them some of the easiest pedals to clip into. In practice, however, this is not the case. You need to hit the clip perfectly with your cleat. Otherwise, the pedal has a tendency to roll under foot. If you don’t mind the extra bit of weight, the minimal body on the Crank Brothers Candy 7s or Shimano mini platform pedals will allow you to keep mashing and sliding your shoe forward until the clip engages. Doing this with the Egg Beater 3 can result in the pedal rolling until your toe is in the dirt.
On the other hand, Crank Brothers pedals are renowned for their floaty feel. The lack of any cage on the Egg Beater 3 pedals means that there is nothing to interfere with this feeling while pedaling.
Like all Crank Brothers pedals, there is not much in the way of a clicking sound or feeling when clipping in.
Ease of Exit
While the lack of any platform surrounding the clipping mechanism might make clipping in much more difficult, it has the opposite effect on clipping out. Unlike pedals with a platform where there is any possibility of catching your heel on the platform hindering your ability to clip out, the Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3 is probably the easiest pedal in our test to clip out of. And if I had to choose between ease of entry and ease of exit, I would choose ease of exit every time.
As with entry, the Egg Beater 3 features the same, muted exit feeling often associated with Crank Brothers pedals, and there is no way to adjust how much force is required to unclip. However, the Egg Beater 3’s do allow you to choose between 15 and 20 degrees of float before disengaging.
Mud Shedding Ability
The four-sided egg beater shaped clipping mechanism of Crank Brothers pedals is widely regarded as the best mud shedding clipless mechanism on the market. Because the Egg Beater 3 features no platform around that mechanism, there is really no place for mud to collect, making the Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3 the best mud shedding clipless mountain bike pedal on the market.
The Bottom Line
The Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3 is a pedal made of extremes. Where most pedals on the list try to strike some sort of balance between weight, platform, ease of entry/exit, etc, the Egg Beater 3 does no such thing. Instead, it happily sacrifices any semblance of a platform, as well as an intuitive entry, in the name of shedding mud and grams.
If saving grams or shedding mud is at the top of your priority list, and you plan to stay clipped in, not needing to find a clip or get in a frantic unclipped pedal stroke or two in a desperate moment, then the Crank Brothers Egg Beater 3’s are a hard pedal to pass up.
Finally, with an MSRP of $135, and sale prices as low as ~$85, the Egg Beater 3s are a rare combination of value and weight savings.
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