The HT X2 is a lightweight downhill orientated clipless pedal with a strong clip mechanism and a range of colour options. It’s a gravity fed pedal which is just as at home attached to a trail or enduro bike if that’s more your style.
The X2’s are aimed at those riders who want a large platform with their clipless pedal. There are 10 pins per pedal and the platform measures 85 x 94 x 14mm which is wider than a Crank Brothers Mallet DH for example but only by a few millimetres.
For such a large platform the X2’s are pretty light at 448g, for comparison the Mallet DH’s I tested recently weighed 482g (using the same scales) and I think is pretty light for a larger pedal.
The cleat mechanism looks and feels rather agricultural, with a spring attached to a metal loop to hook the cleat under and then a Shimano style hood at the rear. Even in the loosest setting the HT’s are hard to clip into, it takes a lot of pressure to get in and out of these, great if you like a tight cleat mechanism but not so much if you prefer getting in and out quickly or easily. Straight out of the box I had to spray with copious amounts of GT85 and repeatedly clip in an out to get the mechanism loosened off enough to be usable. In summary, these adjust from tight to super tight!
Getting into the pedals should be possible by either going toe in or straight down on the pedals say HT, I found the only way to get into the cleat was toe down and turned slightly inwards. Once into the pedals, the cleat mechanism feels a lot like a Shimano one. There is little tension acting on the cleat so the float available is easy to use (either 4 or 8 degrees depending on the cleats you choose). This in contrast with Crank Brothers where the spring tension means the float comes up against some restriction and sometimes its hard to notice float compared to clip out! Not the case with the X2’s you come up against a hard stop before having to put in that extra effort to unclip.
The X2’s promote a concave platform but during my testing period and whilst using a number of different shoes I did not find that the front of the soles of my shoe rarely came into contact with the pins on either the front. I also seemed to hover on top of the pedal and didn’t feel well supported, especially in stiffer shoes. These pedals will suit a chunky soled gravity shoe able to contact the platform of the pedal, rather than a slim trail shoe. Get wild though and if you are unable to clip back in and these wide pedals will have your back, just stamp your foot on them and carry on riding.
The pins are replaceable but not adjustable in height, they also might benefit from some Locktite to make sure you don’t lose them here and there. After three months of testing the HT X2 feels as good as new, but if they don’t there is an 8mm socket in the box with them so you can service if you wish. At £120 these aren’t too pricey for a lightweight option if you like your mechanism tough!
