Straight out the box, the Ritchey Comp V4 caused us to feel a little concerned about its bearings, which felt pretty rough and that was before the pedal had even been fitted to a crank and used in anger. We hoped they might bed in over time, but they didn’t, and soon began to feel pretty dry.

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Five minutes with an Allen key and a grease gun, and we’d removed the outer cap and injected some fresh grease — problem solved. It’s something you can do yourself but why should you? All told, this is more than a little disappointing from such a high-quality brand.

Our test pedal also started to look a little scruffy after the first ride, with the white paint flaking off and scuffing up within an hour.

This is a superficial complaint, however, and on the trail it proved to be a reliable performer. Spring tension in the mechanism was initially far too light, but a few turns of the adjustment screws put an end to any unintentional releases, after which engagement and release were consistent and reliable.

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Given its low weight, we felt the V4 was a worthy option.There are cheaper and lighter pedals out there, but few have the release quality of the Ritchey Comp V4.

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