With a name like
Python, we expected a much stronger connection between our feet and the pedals. The feel was anything but constricting, lacking the adhesion that promotes confidence in enduro racing and downhill use. The large platform paired nicely with the reduced grip, giving plenty of room to move around and adjust foot and body positions while controlling the bike. Freestylers and BMXers turned mountain bikers might be the most likely audience for this pedal.
Performance Comparison
The grip of these Pythons wasn't too constricting. We could move our feet around on the pedals, which made them great for freestyle and dirt jumping applications. Loose rocky terrain had us slithering around on the platform.
Grip/Traction
These pedals have 24 pins (12 per side) that came pre-installed from the factory. There is no fussing around with spacers. Interestingly, these pedals use a wrench to thread into place from the top rather than inserting from the bottom up through the pedal. Although all the pins survived our test period, we generally feel this makes pins difficult to remove in the event of a impact that ruins the head of the pins. For what it's worth, some of our least favorite pedals in the test, the Crankbrothers 5050, Bonmixc 9/16", and RockBros Platform all had top-loading pins.
There are no pins located along or axle or in line with it at the outer edge of the pedal. The pedal has a thicker profile in the middle than it does towards the end, and the lack of pins here coupled with the slight rise in height underfoot gave this pedal a floaty feel. Float is a term typically reserved for clipless pedals whereby there is an amount of rotational movement where the cleat engages to the pedal. While some pedals have a firm attachment with little "wiggle room," others allow more freedom of movement. Like most things, it's all personal preference, but these pedals often left us wanting more in this rating metric.
The Funns have a very high quality appearance and the extra time spent in the CNC machining process is apparent.
Platform
Our Sasquatch of a lead tester was happy with the large 101 x 108 platform of this pedal. The pedal shares the profile of the Deity Bladerunner, with the leading and trailing edges measuring at a rock avoiding 11 mm, and the axle area only slightly thicker at 14 mm.
The shape of the platform is pretty much square, but with enough bulge at the crank and distal ends to provide more surface area than the Deity Bladerunner. The pedal spends a reported 30 percent longer in the CNC machining process than the competition and the attention to detail is hard to overlook with silver undercuts and clean angles that catch even the most discerning eyes.
The platform design of the Funn was effective at reducing the Q-factor of the pedal by sweeping back towards the crank. This picture shows how this sweep provides support closer to the crankarm compared to other pedals such as the Deity Bladerunner.
Mobility
Initially, these pedals had a fairly firm feel to them in terms of "spinability" around the axle. Within a couple rides, they loosened up and were the most mobile pedals in the test. For freestyle and dirt jumping applications, we'd prefer a little less mobility, but we're not complaining very hard. The large platform aided in locating the pedals before landing and the thin profile underfoot prevented unwanted pedal roll.
In place of bearings, the Python uses a self-lubricating plastic bushing. The bushing covers the entire length of the axle and reportedly spreads the load over the whole spindle rather that simply at the bearing locations as with other pedals. We questioned whether the plastic bushing was responsible for the loosened-up feel the pedals developed in short time, but lab testing from Funn claimed these pedals withstood 1.5 million revolutions before failure.
Weight
This contender weighed less than its claimed weight of 375 grams. By comparison, our Top Pick Race Face Atlas weighed 340 grams. More similar in looks and performance was the Deity Bladerunner, which weighed 20 grams more at 380 grams. With an equally slim profile and slightly better grip, we'd accept the weight penalty. While the Python is a strong contender in this category, better all-around performance can be found in a lighter package, or with a nearly negligible weight penalty.
This contender was the third lightest pedal in our test, weighing 360 grams.
Service
Servicing the Funn was pretty straightforward. When you take the pedal apart, things are a lot neater than with some other pedals where the spindle is slathered in grease. The plastic, self-lubricating bushing keeps the internals nice and neat. We experienced a little seepage of grease that made its way out towards the O-ring on the crankarm end. We simply wiped it away, and it never reared its slimy head again. A service kit is available for $25.
Best Applications
Freeride. Our lead tester was psyched on these pedals when ripping up sandy hillsides in Wilson Canyon, NV. Better known by those that ride motorcross, the type of riding here was like a poor man's version of what you'd see in Red Bull movies. You get to carve downhill, brakes locked up, sand flying in waves with each slash of the back end. Natural drops lead to kickers at the bottom. This necessitates a very dynamic riding style that requires lots of movement and body shifting. The grip of the Funn was relatively moderate and allowed our lead tester the freedom to shift his position and weight onto different areas of the pedal platform in order to accommodate changes in terrain.
Kids these days!!
Value
These pedals landed in a very competitive portion of the price continuum. They were a well designed, high quality pedal that we felt was worth the asking price. Extensive CNC machining and silver accents after the anodizing process meant this pedal was far from a bunch of slapped together metal.
Conclusion
While we enjoyed the relative ease with which we could adjust our foot position for freeride applications, we'd have liked a little more grip for enduro or downhill use. Rough terrain had our feet clamoring for traction. The thin and tapered profile and light weight made us think we had stumbled upon a new enduro slayer, but the reduced foot retention left us hoping for more. For enduro use, we'd probably recommend the Spank Spike in this price range, or the Race Face Atlas for a little more money.
We took the pedal to the bike park thinking that what was bad for enduro would be good for throwing tricks. Although we liked these pedal a lot for this application, the large platform sometimes made us more conscious of making sure our feet cleared the pedal during one-footed tricks. Getting hung up midair is no fun. With similar grip characteristics, we'd prefer the Best Buy winning VP Components VP-Vice for its smaller platform.
The large square platform of the Funn Python (left) gave our feet plenty of support and was plenty light. Better grip, value, and versatility propelled the VP Vice into our Best Buy winner.
Other Versions
- Black Magic - fiberglass reinforced thermoplastic flat pedal.
- Big Foot Evo - a large 105 x 102 mm platform with continued attention to the CNC machining process shining through.
