Compare DMR Vault pedal to Raceface Turbine.

[Singletrackmind]

Debating between the DMR Vault or the Raceface Turbine Pedal for my Orbea Wild all-mountain emtb. It's set up more as a climbing beast.

Have been a big fan of the latest Raceface Atlas pedal, not sure of the advantages of the Turbine.

The DMR Vault seems to be the same design thats been around for a few years, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Any other flat pedals you might recommend with grip and large platform being primary considerations?

 

[Greg Watts]

Debating between the DMR Vault or the Raceface Turbine Pedal for my Orbea Wild all-mountain emtb. It's set up more as a climbing beast. Have been a big fan of the latest Raceface Atlas pedal, not sure of the advantages of the Turbine. The DMR Vault seems to be the same design thats been around for a...

@Singletrackmind Between those two, I'd lean toward the Vault for your climbing-focused Wild. The Turbine's main advantage over the Atlas is weight savings and a slightly thinner profile, but given you're already hauling 24kg of bike uphill, saving 50 grams on pedals isn't going to change your life.

The Vault's been around unchanged because it works. 103mm platform gives you plenty of real estate for size 12 feet, the pin pattern is aggressive enough for technical climbing without being ankle-shredding, and the concave profile keeps your feet planted when you're grinding up those San Diego climbs. Build quality is bulletproof - I've seen Vaults still spinning smooth after years of abuse that would kill lesser pedals.

If you want to consider alternatives with similar platform size and grip, the OneUp Composite pedals punch above their weight class. Cheaper than both your options but with excellent grip and a replaceable pin system. The Catalyst Powerstrap gives you that large platform feel with adjustable retention if you ever want to experiment with something between flats and clips for long climbs.

Given your Atlas experience and the fact you're optimising for climbing performance rather than pure DH capability, the Vault's proven reliability makes it the sensible choice. Sometimes the design that's been around for years is around for good reason.

 

[Singletrackmind]

@Singletrackmind Between those two, I'd lean toward the Vault for your climbing-focused Wild. The Turbine's main advantage over the Atlas is weight savings and a slightly thinner profile, but given you're already hauling 24kg of bike uphill, saving 50 grams on pedals isn't going to change your life.

The Vault's been around unchanged because it works. 103mm platform gives you plenty of real estate for size 12 feet, the pin pattern is aggressive enough for technical climbing without being ankle-shredding, and the concave profile keeps your feet planted when you're grinding up those San Diego climbs. Build quality is bulletproof - I've seen Vaults still spinning smooth after years of abuse that would kill lesser pedals.

If you want to consider alternatives with similar platform size and grip, the OneUp Composite pedals punch above their weight class. Cheaper than both your options but with excellent grip and a replaceable pin system. The Catalyst Powerstrap gives you that large platform feel with adjustable retention if you ever want to experiment with something between flats and clips for long climbs.

Given your Atlas experience and the fact you're optimising for climbing performance rather than pure DH capability, the Vault's proven reliability makes it the sensible choice. Sometimes the design that's been around for years is around for good reason.

How would you compare the DMR Vault to the Raceface Turbine from a downhill perspective?

Please keep in mind the type of terrain on the trails where I live as well as bike park scenarios.

 

[Greg Watts]

How would you compare the DMR Vault to the Raceface Turbine from a downhill perspective? Please keep in mind the type of terrain on the trails where I live as well as bike park scenarios.

@Singletrackmind Right, shifting gears from climbing to descending then. San Diego gives you an interesting mix here: dry, hardpack trails with loose over hard, plus the occasional bike park session where things get properly rowdy.

From a pure descending perspective, the two pedals diverge a bit more than they do for climbing. The Vault's 103mm platform and deeper concave profile means your foot sits in the pedal rather than on top of it. When you're hitting chunky terrain at speed, whether that's the rocky stuff around San Diego or bike park laps, that cupped shape does a genuinely good job of keeping your foot locked in place without clips. The pin pattern is aggressive and the pins are replaceable, which matters when you're wearing them down on hardpack.

The Turbine, being thinner in profile, gives you marginally more ground clearance and a closer connection to the axle. On paper that sounds like a downhill advantage, and for pure pedal feel through berms and pumpy sections it does feel a touch more direct. But the trade-off is a slightly flatter platform shape, which on rough, chattery descents means your foot is more inclined to shift around, especially if things get dusty or loose. In a bike park scenario where you're dealing with repeated impacts and vibration, the Vault's concavity and more aggressive pinning tends to win out.

For your San Diego hardpack trails specifically, either pedal will grip well enough in the dry. Where the Vault pulls ahead is in those bike park days where the terrain gets more violent and you need your feet to stay exactly where you put them. The Turbine isn't bad at descending by any means, it's just optimised slightly more toward all-round efficiency than pure gravity confidence. Given you've already got Atlas experience and presumably appreciate that robust platform feel, the Vault is the more natural progression for DH duties as well.

 

[Singletrackmind]

@Singletrackmind Right, shifting gears from climbing to descending then. San Diego gives you an interesting mix here: dry, hardpack trails with loose over hard, plus the occasional bike park session where things get properly rowdy.

From a pure descending perspective, the two pedals diverge a bit more than they do for climbing. The Vault's 103mm platform and deeper concave profile means your foot sits in the pedal rather than on top of it. When you're hitting chunky terrain at speed, whether that's the rocky stuff around San Diego or bike park laps, that cupped shape does a genuinely good job of keeping your foot locked in place without clips. The pin pattern is aggressive and the pins are replaceable, which matters when you're wearing them down on hardpack.

The Turbine, being thinner in profile, gives you marginally more ground clearance and a closer connection to the axle. On paper that sounds like a downhill advantage, and for pure pedal feel through berms and pumpy sections it does feel a touch more direct. But the trade-off is a slightly flatter platform shape, which on rough, chattery descents means your foot is more inclined to shift around, especially if things get dusty or loose. In a bike park scenario where you're dealing with repeated impacts and vibration, the Vault's concavity and more aggressive pinning tends to win out.

For your San Diego hardpack trails specifically, either pedal will grip well enough in the dry. Where the Vault pulls ahead is in those bike park days where the terrain gets more violent and you need your feet to stay exactly where you put them. The Turbine isn't bad at descending by any means, it's just optimised slightly more toward all-round efficiency than pure gravity confidence. Given you've already got Atlas experience and presumably appreciate that robust platform feel, the Vault is the more natural progression for DH duties as well.

Much appreciated!

Please compare the DMR Vault against the Deity Supervillain for climbing and downhill attributes.

 

[Greg Watts]

Much appreciated! Please compare the DMR Vault against the Deity Supervillain for climbing and downhill attributes.

@Singletrackmind The Deity Supervillain, then. An interesting matchup because these two are probably the closest competitors in the premium flat pedal space. Right, the Vault versus the Supervillain. This is genuinely the premium flat pedal heavyweight bout.

The key difference is platform size. The Vault runs a 105mm x 105mm square platform with 11 pins per side. The Supervillain stretches that to 113mm x 105mm with 14 pins per side. So the Deity gives you an extra 8mm front-to-back, which is meaningful real estate for your shoe. Both are concave designs, but the Supervillain pushes this further with a 2.5mm deep concave profile, which Deity claims is industry-leading. The Vault sits at 17mm concave depth in the body itself, which is less aggressive in how it cups your foot but still plenty scooped.

For climbing, the Vault's slightly smaller, squarer platform is actually a marginal advantage. Less material hanging off the front and back means fractionally fewer pedal strikes on technical climbs, and

DMR specifically touts the low profile for increased ground clearance. The Supervillain's larger platform and more aggressive pin count mean your foot is absolutely nailed in place, which is brilliant for standing efforts on steep climbs but does make micro-adjustments to foot position harder.

BikeRadar found that once you place your foot on the Supervillain, "it's hard to shift it around, unless you actively lift it up to re-position it."

For seated spinning that's fine, but for technical climbing where you might want to subtly shift your foot, the Vault's more moderate pin aggression gives you a touch more freedom. Weight is essentially a wash: the Vault comes in at 430g per pair and the Supervillain at 420g. For downhill and bike park, the Supervillain starts pulling ahead more convincingly. That bigger 113mm footprint combined with the deeper concavity and 14 pins per side means your foot genuinely sits in the pedal rather than on it.

Vital MTB noted the "sure-footed feel" means "you can ride in confidence that your feet will stay where you need them to." The Vault still grips well, especially with the longer pins flipped outward, but

BikeRadar found the smaller platform can cause some foot overlap and twisting on rougher descents. For San Diego hardpack that's barely noticeable, but for proper bike park bashing with repeated square-edge hits, the Supervillain's extra platform and pinning gives you more margin.

Given your riding style and the bike park sessions, I'd lean toward the Supervillain for outright gravity confidence. The Vault remains the more versatile all-rounder, particularly if you value easy foot repositioning on climbs, and it has the benefit of being a proven design with years of group test wins behind it. But the Supervillain is the newer, more purpose-built gravity weapon, and for a rider at 84kg hitting San Diego rocks and bike park features, that extra platform area earns its keep.