ARE ALL EXERCISE BIKE PEDALS THE SAME?

Most indoor upright bikes and recumbent bikes use platform pedals that have a fairly large flat surface on the top side of the pedal. There are many variations of this style of pedal and many stationary bike manufacturers use custom pedals that vary from one another mostly in color, shape, aesthetics and sometimes in surface area. Some exercise bike pedals have permanently mounted pedal straps to keep the user’s feet from slipping off the pedals, while others have detachable, adjustable pedal straps. The pedal straps themselves come in many styles and are not always interchangeable because of how they attach to the pedals for which they were designed.

The most critical difference between the platform exerciser pedals is the size of the spindle. The spindles (the threaded portion of the pedal that screws into the crank arm ) come in two sizes, a ½ inch diameter and a 9/16inch diameter. That measurement is specific to the crank arm. Most exercise bike pedals with ½ inch spindles are interchangeable with each other and the same is true with the platform pedals that have 9/16 inch spindles.

Spinner bikes take a different kind of pedal. Because spinner bikes are often used at very high RPM and with the user standing with his full weight on the pedals, the spinner bike pedals have toe clips, cages or locking clips for cycling shoes to lock into in order to guarantee a firm connection between the rider’s feet and the pedals Some spin bike pedals are dual sided pedals, often called over and under pedals, with one side made for regular athletic shoes and the other side of the pedal made for locking cycling foot gear. Again, the spinner pedals are also available in both spindles sizes.