Do pedals come in widths?

Question

Do pedals come in widths? Can I get a wider pedal to fit my wide feet?

I wear a size 13 EEEE, a wide shoe. I'm biking in regular shoes, not cleated. My pedals are plain platform style (not cleated, no strap, no toe clips, just flat). I'm having trouble fitting my feet on the pedals. I'm either off the outsides by an inch or two, stepping on the crank arm, or both.

I'm getting overuse on the outsides of my lower legs, and I think it's from trying to keep my feet flat on the pedals.

The bike's an MTB, but I'm just using it to get around, nothing intense.

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Follow-up a few months later (2017/06/12):

I went with pedal extenders (Sunlite Pedal Extenders, $16.50 on Amazon) and it's about one million percent better. They offered 21mm and 27.5mm variants, and I went with the wider one which turned out to be the right choice. My shoe fills all the space between the crank and the outside of the pedal. (When did my feet get so big?) It doesn't seem to matter that there's no pedal under the inside part of my feet.

The extenders take an 18mm wrench (field repairs) although I think tightening a pedal with the usual wrench would also tighten the extender.

Answer 1

You can get spacers to move the pedal further from the crank. Combine these with some larger pedals and you should be OK. Probable worth seeing a bike fit specialist in your situation though.

Answer 2

The only one I know of that do are Crankbros Stamps. The large size is in fact really large (114mm x 111mm, whereas the Odyssey Twisted PCs I have in front of me measure about 95x90 and are already on the larger end of BMX pedals). Within BMX and MTB pedals in general there is some variance, but typically not tons. All that said, pedal extenders are the answer that will give you a ton of extra room. Most people don't like the massive increase in Q-factor they cause, but they can have their place for very large riders. A couple companies (Crankbros, Speedplay) have longer spindle options for their pedals that do the same thing in a more measured way.

Answer 3

There aren't standardized ways of measuring pedal and they aren't all the same width (even in the same type of pedals).

You can read reviews for particular models (search "wide feet" or "wide pedals" or something), or go to a bike shop and measure the pedals they have available. As far as I know, nobody marks the width of the platform when selling a pedal -- the only size typically marked is the diameter of the pedal so you know to get a 9/16" or 1/2" pedal depending on your crankset.

I'd also do some reading on Q-factors (outside distance on pedal holes of cranksets) and bike fit (this and this too). Also, if you have the option of rigid shoes vs soft shoes, opting for the more rigid may help too.

Answer 4

Japanese MKS platform pedals are old-fashioned and extremely high quality. I use them with Power Grip straps so that I can wear my wider sneakers. This combination is extremely comfortable. Note that Power Grip Straps are attached with steel plates which come in two lengths, the longer one gives more width to the strap, so you may have to ask for them or you may end up with the shorter one by default. My pedals do come apart at the axle so that the bearings can be repacked -- yes, they are that good. I've used mine on all of my bikes for over 20 years with no problems at all.

Answer 5

I saw this question in my sidebar, and I believe I can offer some substantive information.

@Kibbee's answer above is correct: if you need a wider stance than a stock pedal, you can get spacers or extenders that fit between the pedal and where it threads into the crank. The OP implemented this answer.

For future readers looking at clipless pedals, those solutions may also apply. However, a) some pedals come stock with longer or shorter axles and b) pedal extenders may only offer relatively large, e.g. 10mm adjustments. For example, Shimano's Ultegra R8000 and Dura Ace R9100 SPD-SL pedals have versions with a 4mm longer axle. Shimano's XTR M9100 SPD pedals have a regular version and a -3mm axle (i.e. 3mm shorter). Speedplay's Zero stainless steel pedals come stock with 53mm axles, but you can order them with -3mm, +3mm, +6mm, and +12mm (!!) versions. Their titanium axle versions come stock with 50mm axles, and you can order them with similar custom axles. I haven't done this, but I don't believe there's an additional cost over MSRP.

I'm not aware of axle options for other performance road or MTB pedals, but they may exist. I merely haven't looked.