The new Saint pedals from the Shimano’s Pure Gravity groupset perform exactly as we’d expect – comfortably and smoothly, with a steadfast feel underfoot.

We put these understated and industrial-looking beauties through hell, on dirt jumps and natural terrain, and paired them with various types of shoe to discover where they perform best.  [private]

To be frank, the Saints really stood out against other flat pedals we’ve been using lately, particularly with thicker-soled shoes and on rough terrain, where the Saints’ mildly concaved profile and long grippy pins held our feel in place like glue.

The only time we found the pedals a little too grippy was on the dirt jumps, where we like to be able to constantly ‘micro adjust’ our feet midair and between jumps.

In terms of durability, the Saint pedal ticks all the boxes: replaceable pins that screw in from the back, sealed bearings and a pedal body that is much beefier on the outside edge to resist impact damage.

While the Saint’s inherent burliness means it is a little on the heavy side, weighing in at 520g a pair, the upshot is you are much more likely to end up needing some post-crash maintenance than they are.

We’d highly recommend the new Saint pedals to flat-pedal users, for whom grip and durability take priority over whimsical fascinations with gram counting and anodised colour coordination. [/private]