A long time coming for fans of Hope's flat pedals and existing range of components, the brand has unleashed the Union line-up of clipless pedals to the market. Hope brings years of CNC machining experience to balance strength, weight, and performance to the new range of pedals.

• When should I replace my mountain bike pedal cleats?
• Best trail and enduro clipess shoes you can buy

• The best clipless mountain bike pedals ridden and rated

The Union pedal range is made up of three pedals that are designed with a specific style of riding in mind. Each pedal gets Hope's unique mechanism that's designed to maximise the contact between the shoe/cleat and pedal body for increased power transfer and stability, says Hope. 

This contact area combines the cleat to stop plate contact and shoe to pedal contact which should hopefully offer a solid underfoot feel. Though it must be noted, the Union pedals use a specific cleat that isn't compatible with pedals from other brands.

First off, the cross country pedal, the Union RC, short for Race Clip. It's the lightest model, weighing in at a claimed 324g thanks to its small platform.

Filling the role of the trail pedal is the TC, or Trail Clip. This one is built with a larger platform for a larger contact area and four pins. The combination of the large platform and added pins is claimed to offer greater stability for more aggressive riding. This one is said to weigh in at 437g.

Finally, there's there Union GC (Gravity Clip). This pedal gets the largest platform of the three and is sorted with seven pins with the aim of providing the most stability and the largest contact patch out of the three offerings. It's claimed to weigh 498g.

Each of the pedals benefits from full CNC machined pedal bodies, stainless steel cleats and mechanisms, a 55mm Q-Factor, and they run on three cartridge bearings with a norglide bush. Then the axles are made from heat treated and plated Cr-Mo with titanium upgrades available.

As for the cleats, there are two options to offer either 4° or 5° of float and 12° or 13° of release angle respectively.

Both the Union RC and TC models are priced at £150 with the burlier Union GC set to cost £160.

• www.hopetech.com

You might also like:

• Bikepacking basics: bike repair and first-aid kit
• Your complete guide to the RockShox fork range
• The best enduro full face helmets you can buy - tried and tested 2020