Praxis Podium Flat Pedal

If you’ve been around the sport for a while, you might remember the Gamut Podium flat pedal. If you’ve been around forever, you’ll also remember the Point One Podium which was the OG of this pedal shape way back when. Gamut acquired Point One in 2014, and released their version of the Podium pedal in 2016. It was extremely thin, with a shape that still worked well for generating grip, although the small-ish platform and the large inboard bearing bulge were not to everyone’s liking. Gamut stopped making the Podium pedal after just a few years, but fast forward to 2024 and Praxis is releasing their take on the shape, with blessings from Gamut. Keep reading to see what they’ve done with it.

Praxis Podium Highlights

• Made from forged and CNC'd 6061-T6 aluminum
• Low profile, 3mm concave platform
• 3x High-grade sealed cartridge Enduro bearings and 1x IGUS bushing per pedal
• Forged and heat-treated 4140 chromoly spindle
• 12 stainless steel black pins per side with pre-applied Loctite
• Ships with 12 extra pins and 24 pin spacers for customizing pin height
• Axle and bushing refresh kits available ($15-$25 USD)
• Colors: Black, Silver, Orange, Aqua
• Weight: 395 grams per pair (verified)
• MSRP: $115 USD

Initial Impressions

The distinctive shape of the Podium pedal was originally designed to offer the lowest profile possible, and slide off obstacles easily thanks to the heavily chamfered edges. At just 10 mms thick (at the thickest point), the 2016 model was very thin indeed. To accommodate the bearings, Gamut had to place a rather large inboard bearing bulge on the pedal body, which would bother you if you like to place your feet close to the crank arms. They also had to make do with a very thin and short axle. When Praxis set out to modernize the shape for 2024, they allowed the Podium to become a little bit thicker in order to accommodate a more traditional spindle system, and they also made the new pedal platform quite a bit bigger. Not only is the bearing bulge smaller, but the spindle now also places the platform further away from the crank arms. This provides for more real estate for your feet, and also makes it easier to run protective crank boots.

We took a tape measure to the Praxis Podium, as we do with all the flat pedals we test, and here are the key measurements:

The key take away from the analysis of the dimensions of the Podium is that is has grown in all the right places. It offers a very generous “PTA” (“Pin-to-Axle”, the distance from the outermost pin to the crank arm), and a very thin pedal body. The pins are long however, so the effective total thickness is on par with other pedals, even some with thicker bodies. The concavity is pronounced, and the weight is competitive. The aggressive shape shaves a lot of material off the rear end of the platform, while leaving enough meat on the bones for the pins to be held in securely in key areas. On the topic of the pins, they bolt in from the rear to make it easier to remove them should they end up mangled or snapped.

The internals are quite different on this new generation of the Podium. Praxis has foregone the large bearing bulge in favor of something smaller, and they’ve resorted to the classic inboard bushing design to accommodate this. Towards the outside of the axle there are three small, sealed cartridge Enduro bearings per side.

The Podium is priced at a very competitive $115 USD, which is even more remarkable if you factor in the 12 spare pins and 24 pin-height washers included in the box. Rebuild kits are available for both spindle and bearings at equally competitive rates. You can also pair up your pedals with the new Turn stem to keep your build on point in terms of color matching.

On The Trail

On the trail, we got along well with the new Podium from the start. The pedal feels both roomy and compact under the foot, somehow. The actual dimensions of the platform itself are not that imposing, especially when you factor in the heavily chamfered section towards the rear of the pedal. The result is a pedal which offers enough room to move your feet around, but still demands some precision with regards to foot placement.

In action, the Podium delivers good grip in all but the most demanding of situations. To clarify, we found the pedal confidence-inspiring when charging rough terrain, and it was only when we got really sloppy with our footwork that we felt slightly let down from time to time. Scooping up the bike with our feet during a bunny hop could sometimes leave us feeling slightly disconnected, which we put down to the shape of the pedal towards the rear. Other than that, it has been dependable in all situations. When scoring the Podium against the other pedals in our big flat pedal shootout, we gave it an 8.5 in Grip, which together with the dimensional score left it in an honorable 9th place – a big jump up from the original Gamut version.

Things That Could Be Improved

We’ve been very impressed with most aspects of the Podium pedal, as it manages to combine a very slim profile with good concavity and a shape that glides off obstacles fairly easily. It seems like the other side of this coin is that it leaves a few less pins out back, which means it can feel slightly less connected than the very best pedals in certain situations. To be clear, we’re nitpicking.

Long Term Durability

We’ve had the new Podium pedal out on the trail for about four months now, on and off, and we’ve yet to note any kind of performance degradation whatsoever. The pedal body has plenty of aluminum in critical areas, and the spindle system seems robust (it’s built around quality components from IGUS and Enduro). The available of affordable refresh kits is also nice to see.

What’s The Bottom Line?

The Praxis Podium is a modern take on one of the more unusual shapes in flat pedal history. With dimensions that have grown comes another level of performance and reliability, and this new version fits right in among the ever-growing field of top flat pedal contenders. If you value a thin pedal body that is still robust in all the right places, this one could well be for you.

More information at: www.praxiscycles.com.

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 51 // Years Riding MTB: 19 // Weight: 190-pounds (87-kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord