Long time mbr favourite, the DMR Vault is one of the best selling flats around. Machined from an extruded piece of aluminium, the platform spins on a heat-treated steel axle.

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With a sealed bearing at the outside and a DU bushing closer to the crank arm. Over the years, the DMR Vault has proved very reliable. The platform is hard to break or crack, the 4140 chromoly axle is tough, and replacement parts and rebuild kits are easy to find and install.

Larger than most, the V2 alloy platform is slightly more concave than rivals with a really dished-out centre that cradles the arch of the foot. While the pedal body is wide, it still sits pretty close to the crank arm, which keeps your stance efficient for pedalling. At 17mm tall, there isn’t quite the effective BB height reduction and clearance of some thinner pedals, but DMR uses aggressively cutaway corners to help glance off trail obstacles if you do strike them accidentally.

In terms of grip, both the cradling shape and the bite from pins is near perfect, even with fractionally less of a ‘Velcro’ feel than Nukeproof’s Sam Hill pedal. To be fair, not all riders will crave ultimate security all the time though.

One other way to play with the Vault’s grip and feel is through pin position. We prefer to remove the two studs on the inner crank side and DMR’s neat flip-flop design that can be inserted either way for a longer or stubbier traction stud to tweak grip further. Another tuning trick is installing DMR’s aftermarket Moto pins – they’re standard on the Brendog signature Vaults. These sharp, tapered pins push deeper into shoe soles and make the pedal feel marginally lower and even more planted for a pronounced in-the-bike feel.

In terms of feel and surefootedness, the Vault’s totally sorted, but price and weight is slightly higher than some rivals, and with the extreme outer edges sticking out more than some, you may suffer more pedal strikes.