Bike-Fitting-Guru,
John Howard
talks about the SMp
on
Title
of clip: John Howard Bike Fitting Part 5/5
(05:02 minutes)
—posted on YouTube:
May 05, 2007
"The
SMp is a very edgy product,
but in terms of power production,
it is way ahead of everything else...
once you get used to it,
it is an amazing product!"
John Howard
2007
See
who
rides with the SMp
Christian
Valenzuela Zamudio
Born:
October 20, 1978
Hometown: La Paz, Mexico
Residence: La Paz, Mexico / Pasadena, California
• International
Cycling Classic - Superweek - NE, USA, July 7-23, 2006
1st Stage: 1st Place
5th Stage: 8th Place
6th Stage: 4th Place
10th Stage: 13th Place
• Tri-Peaks
Challenge: 6th
Overall
• Schlitz
Park Endeavour Cycling Challenge, Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- July 14,
2006: 5th Place
• Tour
de Nez, 2006: 4th Stage, 2nd Place
• Beverly
Hills Cycling Classic, California, July
7, 2006: 1st Place
• Conquer
the Canyons Stage Race, April 22-23, 2006, Westlake Village, California
Overall: 1st Place
Stage 1, TimeTrial: 3rd Place
Stage 2, Circuit Race: 23rd Place
Stage 3, Road Race: 3rd Place
• Los
Angeles County Cycling Classic, April 14-16, 2006: 6th Place
• 1999
Pan American Games Silver Medalist
• 1998
Mexican National Time Trial Champion
• 1998
Commerce Criterium: 1st Place
Christian Valenzuela and
Steve Lubanski at Open Road Bicycle
Shop, Pasadena, CA, 2007.
John Howard
• 3
Time Cycling Olympian
• 10 Years on the US National Team
• 14 Time USCF and NORBA Elite and Masters National Champion
• National Titles in: Road, Time Trial, Cyclo-Cross and MTB
• 2 Time UCI World Championship Medallist
• Ironman Triathlon World Champion
• Cycling 24-Hour World Record Holder - 539 miles
• Cycling World Absolute Speed Record Holder - 152.2 mph
• American Canoe Association 24-hour Record Holder - 104.6 miles
• Competitive Cycling Magazine's Cyclist of the Decade - 1970's
• Author of: The Cyclists Companion, Multi-Fitness, Pushing the Limits
and Dirt
Jim
Donaldson
Born: Toledo, Ohio January 28, 1944
Home town: Sylvania, Ohio
• Been
competing in the sport of Triathlon for 26 years
• Competed
in over 350 triathlons
• Ten
time Member of Team USA at the triathlon World Championships
• Five
time Ironman Triathlon finisher
• Many
time USAT All American
• 2006
record (on Side Mount pedals) 5 first place and 3 second place finishes
• Current
member of USAT Board of Directors
• PowerMan
Ohio, 1st Place in the 60-64 age group, May 21, 2006, Malabar Farm State
Park, Ohio
• USA
Triathlon Duathlon National Championship, 12th
Place in the 60-64 age group, May
6, 2006, Mason, Ohio
|
Pasadena
Star News
Tuesday,
October 5, 2004
Invention
may
revolutionize cycling
by
Kevin Felt
PASADENA,
CA - Steve Lubanski is out
to change cycling.
Lubanski, president of newly formed Pasadena Bicycle Manufacturing
Co., invented and patented the SMp, a unique side-mount bicycle
pedal system that he will official launch Wednesday at the InterBike
expo in Las Vegas.
The longtime owner of Open Road Bicycle Shop in Pasadena claims
that pedal and cleat, designed with competitive amateur and professional
riders in mind, has the ability to impact the cycling world the
same way radial tires changed the auto industry.
"Radial tires changed the way cars were designed,' he said. "This could
change the way bikes are designed.'
Whereas competitive cyclists have used "clipless' pedal
systems for the last two decades, Lubanski said the new system
makes pedaling more efficient by putting the ball of the cyclist's
foot more than an inch closer to the pedal's center axis.
"Every single-pedal system in the world talks about getting as close as
you can to the ball of your foot,' said Lubanski. "I obliterate everything
they do. Other pedals are still under the foot, but mine is next to it.'
By making the path the foot travels closer to a circle than the
ellipse resulting from traditional pedals that work like "1-
inch stilts,' pedaling becomes three to four percent more efficient,
said Lubanski.
That may not sound like much, but when winners are often determined
by tenths and hundredths of seconds, it could have a significant
impact.
"Three-to-4 percent is huge,' said Lubanski. "The difference between
first and last place at the Tour de France is about three percent.'
A side benefit of the 370-gram system is that riders can use
a bicycle that is an inch or two shorter, which reduces weight
and drag.
The difference is apparent by looking at the device: the pedal
is a short titanium stub, which attaches to an interlocking titanium
cleat that attaches to a rider's shoe.
While
Lubanski, who has run the Open
Road since 1987, has given
a few of the pedals to serious
riders to test them, he said
he won't sell the product at
the store because he doesn't
want to undercut other retailers.
Instead, he will distribute
the product directly to independent
bicycle retailers.
Lubanski said he hopes to capture 10 percent to 15 percent of
the high-end pedal market, selling the pedal and cleat system
for about $250, which is comparable to many "clipless' systems.
By 2008, he projects the company's annual sales could top $11
million.
Eight-time Ironman Triathlon world champion Paula Newby-Fraser,
who has used a prototype of the pedal in competition called it "a
great invention in an area that has not evolved much in the past
decade.'
Tom Estabrook of El Monte, ride coordinator for the Foothill
Cycle Club said he tried the pedal during one of his visits to
Open Road.
"I'm really quite impressed,' he said. "It makes you more efficient
and enables you to ride a bike with a little bit smaller frame. It really sounds
promising, everybody I know who has tried it seems to like it.'
While he only saw an early prototype, cyclist Charlie McTaggart
of Alhambra also said he likes the idea.
"I don't know how popular it will be,' he said, "but prices are so
expensive these days, if he brings it in at a good price, he might be able to
do something with it.'
From the Pasadena Star News
www.pasadenastarnews.com
Kevin Felt can be reached
at (626) 962-8811 ext. 2703
or by e-mail at kevin.felt@sgvn.com
|
Steve
Lubanski, president of Pasadena
Bicycle Manufacturing Company,
holds his newly patented side-mount
bicycle pedal at his retail
store, Open Road Bike Shop
in Pasadena on Monday, October
4, 2004.
(Staff
Photo by Caleb
Vandenberg)
|
|
BikeBiz
(website
of the monthly UK trade magazine
BicycleBusiness)
Friday,
October 15, 2004, England
| US
bike shop owner designs
new pedal system
by
Carlton Reid
Steve
Lubanski of Open Road
Bicycle Shop in Pasadena
launched
his Side Mount Pedals at
Interbike. He said he hopes
to capture
10 to 15 percent of
the high-end
pedal market. The SMp
pedal is a tiny oreo-biscuit
shaped disc, the cleat
as clunky
as
most others on the
market. Lubanski says the
SMp system
gives a four percent
pedal-stoke efficiency advantage
and
allows cyclists to be fitted
to smaller —and
therefore lighter —bikes.
Radical
new pedal system designs
are launched frequently.
The Ramsey Swing pedal from
1898 was advertised as having
an "automatic ankle
action, no dead center .
. . money refunded if Ramsey
pedals do not enable you
to ascend hills with 25%
less energy."
The first 'clipless' pedal was invented in 1895.
It didn't catch on. Most pedal innovations fail because of low or no
take-up.
Even a brand as big as Cinelli couldn't make a success of the first
modern-day clipless pedal system, introduced in 1973.
Richard Bryne, the founder of Speedplay, spent years gaining market
acceptance for his minimalist pedals, the last 'system' to make it
into the mainstream. Bryne's online 'pedal museum' is a fascinatng
scroll through the history of pedals and the clipless designs that
failed to capture the cycling public's imagination, or dollars.
http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.history
Open Road's Lubanski hopes to be the next Speedplay. He has formed
the Pasadena Bicycle Manufacturing Company to make and market his 370-gm
titanium SMp float-or-no-float system.
Patented in June, the Side Mount Pedal system will cost about $250
for pedals and cleats.
"Other pedals are still under the foot," said Lubanski. "Mine
is next to it."
The SMp pedal is hardly there, a deterrent to thieves.
"There's nothing for them to pedal with," said Lubanski.
But it's the performance gains that Lubanski believes will be his system's
main selling point.
By making the path the foot travels closer to a circle than the ellipse
resulting from standard pedals, Lubanski claims SMp users are pedalling
three to four percent more efficiently. For across-town-to-the-post-office
use this is no great shakes but in road races won or lost in seconds,
such performance gains can make all the difference.
The SMp system allows a user's seatpost to be lowered by up to an inch
and a half, lowering the rider's centre of gravity, and lowering a
rider's height on the road, "an advantage when drafting," said
Lubanski.
The titanium cleat is said to allow near-normal walking, doing away
with precarious clip-clopping.
Lubanski has wanted to improve on current pedal systems for some time.
He relates how fifteen years ago, five times Tour de France winner
Bernard Hinault visited Open Road Bicycle Shop in his capacity as a
consultant for the LOOK pedal system. Lubanski said Hinault agreed
with his view that whilst good, the LOOK system could be bettered.
Three years ago Lubanski had his light-bulb moment: into his head popped
the oreo-biscuit pedal design. The current system is the eighth version.
Not short of chutzpah, Lubanski's press release promoting his presence
at Interbike in Las Vegas was headlined: "A better pedal: aims
to change industry, history."
Time will tell. 
From
the Bike Biz Website www.bikebiz.co.uk
(Bikebiz.co.uk is the website of monthly UK trade magazine BicycleBusiness.) |
|
Houston
Chronicle
October,
13, 2004
Cycling
club excels in junior achievement
Southern Elite puts emphasis on young
riders
by Steve Sievert
If a city's cycling community can
be measured by the number of its bike clubs
and teams, Houston is pedaling near the
front of the pack.
With dozens of clubs and teams, including such notables as Houston Bicycling
Club, Northwest Cycling Club and Gulf Coast Cycling Association, the Greater
Houston area boasts one of the most active club scenes in the country.
Without the countless hours turned in by club cyclists and volunteers, many
of the area's organized rides and related cycling events simply would not happen.
Clubs and teams are the lifeblood of cycling in a community. It's a fact that
one Houston-area club has taken to heart.
While perhaps better known for its cadre of racers and a lengthy list of championships
its riders have won, the Southern Elite Cycling Club also has been a vital
contributor to recreational and youth cycling in Houston.
"The club was founded by Bill about 20 years ago," said Southern Elite's
Richard Lamb, speaking of longtime cycling Houston coach Bill Edwards, whose
instruction and insight have left an indelible mark on the city's cycling scene. "We're
now a nonprofit organization helping to develop cyclists of all ages and abilities."
While the club is involved in virtually all aspects of the local cycling community,
including organizing and supporting recreational tours, its primary focus over
the past several years has been on turning budding young cyclists into formidable
racers.
Influx of young members
The youth movement is very evident in the club, with more than one-fourth of
the club's 90 or so members between the ages of 10 and 18.
"Supporting our junior program is the No. 1 commitment of all of our members," Lamb
said. "In fact, before anyone becomes part of the team, we have them sign
an agreement that states they will support our junior program and help these
younger riders excel in the sport."
The help comes in the form of serving as a partner during a workout or just
being there to lend an ear to a kid who wants to talk about the finer points
of pedaling a bike.
"Many of us have become proud second parents to our juniors," Lamb
said. "We spend a lot of time with them and have each junior complete a
goal statement every year, which provides direction for their season. They're
then paired up with a mentor."
The mentor-junior partnership ensures that the younger cyclists always have
someone to lean on for support and another rider by their side on the track,
road or trail.
This hands-on approach has produced several junior champions.
Garth Blackburn, Carlos Vargas, Ryan Nelman and Shelby Reynolds are among the
past and current junior racers who have an impact on the junior cycling scene.
And, interestingly, the juniors aren't the only ones who are reaping the benefits
of Southern Elite's game plan for success.
"In every case I've seen, the mentor has always improved his cycling right
along with the kid," Lamb said. "They develop each other. It's a very
good growing experience for both."
New
cycling toys
Tis
the season for companies of all
shapes and sizes that develop cycling
products to hype their latest offerings
in advance of the annual holiday
shopping season.
Hundreds of these products compete for the visibility at Interbike, the industry
trade show held earlier this month in Las Vegas.
True innovation can be hard to find at the show, but there are always a handful
of products that catch my eye. The GravityDropper Seatpost and the SMp made
the cut this year.
The GravityDropper is a device that allows a mountain-bike rider to raise and
lower the bike seat while riding.
It was invented by two cyclists who live in Polson, Mont. — Wayne
Sicz and Arlen Wisseman.
They set out to create a product that would allow mountain bikers to adjust
seat height according to the terrain they encountered to improve efficiency
and increase safety. They also believe the product gives a mountain biker better
control of the bike and improved balance.
Two versions of the seat post that can be adjusted on-the-fly were developed.
One allows seat height to be altered three inches with the use of a pin on
the seat post. The other enables the seat to be adjusted from a switch on the
handlebars. Both products replace the existing seat post on a mountain bike.
I have not personally tested either seat post, but the premise of the invention
seems valid if a mountain biker is doing some hard-core off-road riding.
The aforementioned SMp has possible benefits for the roadies among us. The
acronym stands for side-mounted pedal, which was developed by California cyclist
Steve Lubanski.
He has been tinkering with this invention for the past three years and received
a patent on the technology in June. The concept behind the SMp is to position
the foot closer to the center axis of the pedal. This supposedly increases
speed and power and virtually makes the foot an extension of the pedal spindle.
"This way, one would be truly pedaling a perfect circle," Lubanski
said.
As with the GravityDropper, there appears to be some scientific rationale behind
the creation of this cycling accoutrement. It is up to the cycling market tetermine
if that equals commercial success.
Steve
Sievert covers cycling for the
Chronicle.
He can be reached
at 713-876-4424 or cycling.notebook@earthlink.net |
Bike.com
Thursday,
October 7, 2004
Viva
Las Vegas
Interbike
opens to an eager cycling audience
From: Mark Yujimama Shimahara
SMP
introduces the first and only side
mounted pedal.
SMP
(Side Mount Pedal)
SMP
debuts the first and only side mounting
pedal. The pedal consists of a nut
with a completely round, disc-shaped
head which screws into the crank.
The cleat attaches to the pedal via
a mount located on the inside of
the foot, which lies atop the round-shaped
nut. The pedal allows for the bottom
of the foot to be practically parallel
to the axle. It's the first of it's
kind that I have seen, but the Q-factor
(distance between your feet) is increased
by the side mounting cleat.
From
the bike.com Website www.bike.com |
|
Adventure
Cyclist Magazine
November/December
2004
CYCLESENSE
INTERBIKE 2004
What happens in
Vegas
doesn't stay in Vegas.
A look at the bicycle industry's
annual North American trade show.
by
John Schubert
First,
the annual disclaimer. With
fifteen acres of floor space,
the Interbike trade show
has too much stuff to see
in three days. Mere mortals
will see a lot, but miss
a lot too. Second, the two
most interesting things I
saw at the show were not
products. Third, as always,
I can report that touring
bikes and accessories are
alive and well, although
still occupy a small niche
in the marketplace. The most
interesting thin I saw was
a new program launched by
the Institute of Transportation
and Development Policy (ITDP).
ITDP is a sometimes-lonely
voice urging less developed
countries to create transportation
policies that make sense,
particularly given their
lack of economic power, instead
of rushing to motorcars and
repeating all the mistakes
that more developed countries
have made. ITDP launched
a project they call California
Bike, to sell good quality
mountain bikes to Africa.
They started small, because
the idea was to learn how
to make the process work.
They got some good partners
in the process and they have
indeed learned. ITDP got
Trek to design a simple six-speed
mountain bike that would
be both a good utility bike
and fun to ride. They got
Giant to build two thousand
of them in China. And they
instituted programs to sell
them in Ghana, Senegal, and
South Africa. After tariffs,
the bikes sell for roughly
$100.
The
results have been encouraging
and educating. Only in Senegal
can they successfully sell
the bikes in bike shops.
In the other countries, they
need a variety of sales strategies,
such as employee purchase
programs and school programs.
Bikes are sold mostly in
the harvest season, when
people have more money. The
bikes are highly prized and
, you already knew this,
very useful.
While
two thousand bikes won't
transform a continent, the
project can be expanded and
copied by the private sector.
The private sector needs
guidance in this direction:
a bicycle sometimes seen
in Africa is a $20 full-suspension
mountain bike made in India— That
falls apart after a week.
The
other interesting thing I
saw? The dominance of trek
in the American marketplace
has reached a new level.
You may have noticed that
most bike shops either look
like Trek factory outlets
with happy owners, or stores
full of other brands, with
not-so-happy owners. The
non-Trek store owners will
sulk a little more now, because
the well-known SuperSale
program, which delivers an
enticing catalog full of
goodies on sale to your door,
is now open only to Trek
dealers. The dominance of
trek in the marketplace is
similar to that which Schwinn
enjoyed forty years ago.
Of
course, Trek has earned that
dominance with good products.
One example of that, which
caught my eye, is a new rear
suspension system on their
road bikes. The suspension
involved a telescoping monostay
seatstay, with appropriate
elastomers inside. Visually,
it's terrific: you wouldn't
know it's there unless you
knew what you were looking
for. You get about a half
nice of suspension travel,
enough to smooth out bumps
and vibration. It comes on
high-performance skinny-tire
road bikes from $1,700 to
$3,000. A version with more
race-like geometry is sold
under Trek's Klein brand
name. I'd love to see Trek
try it out on their 520 touring
bike.
The
coolest product at the show
was a tent from Topeak. Aimed
at mountain bike tourists,
it uses your bike and removed
front wheel in lieu of tent
poles. The front wheel holds
up one end of the tent; the
bike's handlebars hold up
the other end. A dummy ale
that you put into your front
dropouts has a stake you
drive into the ground, so
the bike stays upright.
The
touring bike count at a glance:
There are some new entries
in the lineup. Canada's DaVinci
(not to be confused with
Colorado's DaVinci) has a
touring frame called the
Caribou Optimum 61 Cyclo
Cross Touring and Hybrid
frame. They displayed it
in its touring configuration
and in its cyclo cross configuration.
Barely entered in the touring
bike business this year with
two welded steel frame models,
the Vagabond and the Hudson.
The Hudson is the fancier
of the two, with a gorgeous
green metalflake paint job.
Giant has discontinued its
touring bike the one with
the hub-mounted disk brakes,
due to poor sales. Koga-Miyata
displayed an exceptionally
stout European-style "trekking" touring
bike, with upright handlebars,
no suspension and everything
very heavy duty. Fuji's America
touring bike, the one with
carbon fiber front forks,
no longer has threaded bosses
for low-mount pannier racks
on those forks.
I
was charmed by Ortleib's
new luggage-style rack trunk.
When it's off the bike, its
telescoping handle and smallwheels
allow you to tow it, not
carry it.
Some
other items of interest:
Want
to say "heck no" to
punctures? From Steamboat
Springs, Colorado, 3T
manufacturing offers the
Thorn Terminator, an aluminum
belt tire liner. Their testing
machine showed it warding
off test punctures that penetrated
mere Kevlar belts.
Good
news for folding bike lovers:
the excellent but hard-to-find
Birdy folder has a new United
States distributor, who believes
it's thoroughly silly that
a bike that sells fifteen
thousand pieces per year
worldwide would only sell
three hundred in the United
States. Look for more aggressive
marketing from birdy. This
full-suspension folder has
much to recommend it. There
are three models between
$800 and $1,500, plus the
over-the-top version with
its Rohloff hub at $3,000.
DaHon,
the folder king, has among
its many models a motorized
electric folder, the Rue
EL. It's $1,600, weighs 37.4
pounds, offers five speeds,
all with a claimed range
of up to fifty kilometers.
Inventors
never quit, and Canada's
Go Bike folder was on display
to challenge the established
brands. The Go Bike was displayed
nesting comfortably inside
a medium size cubby hole.
Go bikes range from $1,250
to $1,800.
Did
you ever wonder how much
force it takes to disengage
your shoe from an SPD pedal?
A hands-on demonstration
at the Fit Kit boot gave
the answer. They had a Shimano
pedal mounted on a test stand,
and a torque wrench attached
to an SPD cleat. The answer:
about 50 inch pounds (which
is roughly the same as four
foot pounds).
Speaking
of pedals, the invention
of the year was a work
in progress called the Side
Mount Pedal (SMP).
Inventor Steve Lubanski
envisions doing away with
pedals as we know them.
At the end of the crank
arm, there would simply
be a donut-shaped steel
fitting, which spins freely
on its ball bearings. Your
shoe would have a slot
on the side, to slip over
this fitting, plus an appropriate
internal structure to carry
the pedaling force from
the ball of your foot to
this fitting. It's a work
in progress because not
all the parts exist yet.
But the abbreviated pedal
exists, as do drawings
of the imagined shoe. As
an interim step, Lubanski
has a titanium piece that
attaches to his abbreviated
pedal and bolts onto the
fittings on the bottom
of your shoe.
From
Adventure Cyclist magazine
www.adventurecycling.org
John Schubert, Technical Editor can be reached
by e-mail at schub ley@aol.com
|
|
VeloAllegro.org
10/06
- 10/08/2004, Long
Beach, California
|
Interbike
2004 Trade Show
Sands
Convention Center -
Las Vegas, NV
10/06 - 10/08/2004
|
|
Stock Photo
Courtesy of
SMp |
Pasadena
Bicycle Manufacturing
is also looking to
revolutionize your
cycling experience
with their SMp pedal
system. The inventor
is Steve Lubanski
of Open Road Bicycle
Shop in Pasadena,
CA. He says the SMp
system gives a four
percent pedal-stoke
efficiency advantage
and allows cyclists
to be fitted to smaller
- and therefore lighter
- bikes. The pedal
is simply a disk
(about the size of
a quarter) at the
end of the crank
arm. The rider's
foot is always in
line with the pedal
spindle - up to 1-1/2
inches improvement
over other pedal
systems.
While we're always resistant to change, we think
Steve is onto something big here. We're never early
adopters but will be watching carefully to see if
any big
names pick this product up and ride it to success.
|
|
|
| www.shutupandride.ca
14
October 2004, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 
SMp
Pedals
by
Suar-Lowrider
"SMp" Pedals
Clipless pedals have stayed
pretty much the same since
Look introduced the original
model in the mid-1980s. You
step down to engage the cleat
and twist your heel sideways
to release. But the SMp is
something new in clipless
pedal design and operation.
The pedal is a knob barely
bigger than you'd find on
a kitchen cabinet. A flat
titanium cleat attaches to
the shoe sole, but pedal
engagement doesn't happen
underneath. Instead, there
is a cup-like bracket on
the inner edge of the shoe.
This puts the pedal axle
on the same plane as the
sole of the foot, thus allowing
the saddle to be as much
as 4 cm lower and the frame
to be 2-3 cm smaller. In
addition, the manufacturer
claims as much as a 4% increase
in power output due to the
elimination of "rocking
torque." The pedals'
7 degrees of float pivots
off the alignment of the
big toe rather than the ball
of the foot. It can be set
to 0. The Ti cleat should
never wear out from walking
and has an anti-slip material.
Sounds super, but there could
be a significant downside.
To exit the pedal, you must
move your foot inward and
then pull up rather than
twist it to the side, which
is what we've all become
conditioned to do. Release
is said to work best at the
12 o’clock position.
This technique promises to
be a complication if you
switch between SMp and conventional
clipless pedals. And in crashes,
it appears that SMp won't
release as spontaneously
as other clipless models.
We agree with inventor Steve
Lubanski who says his pedals
are "for serious riders,
not beginners." Practice
on a trainer is highly recommended.
The SMp system is expected
to be available in March.
A pair with cleats weighs
370 grams and will cost $290.
Pedals sans cleats go for
$110 per pair. (www.sidemountpedal.com)
From www.shutupandride.ca
Suar-Lowrider can be reached
by e-mail through Fraser
rofras2@attglobal.net |
|
Velo
Vision magazine
16
December 2004, York,
England
INTERBIKE 2004
[reviews] PRODUCTS: PEDALS
by
Peter Eland
SIDE
MOUNT PEDAL |
| To
be launched in March next year, the
Side Mount Pedal is the invention
of Pasadena bike shop owner Steve
Lubanski. He's chosen a radical approach
to clipless pedals putting the attachment
on the side, rather than below the
rider's foot. The system consists
of a miniature stub axle and 1.5" disk
which fits into the usual threaded
hole in the crank. The rider's shoe
has a plate screwed underneath it,
reaching up on the inside to hook
over the crank-mounted disk. A sub-plate
between shoe and 'cleat' can pivot
for 'float', or be locked out.
|
There
are plenty of claimed advantages
to this layout. First, the pedal
axle lines up better with the ball
of the foot (rather than being
well below it) which, it's claimed,
has biomechanical advantages. It
also allows the rider to assume
a lower position on the bike. This
won't help aerodynamics all that
much in itself, but could be noticeable
help when drafting behind other
riders.
|
One
big plus is that when you walk
on the pedals, there's plenty of
metal to spread the load and -
even better - you're not wearing
away any of the mating parts for
the attachment system, as you are
with most other deigns. Finally,
any thieves looking to ride away
on your bike without the matching
cleats will find almost nothing
for their feet to stand on!
Possible
disadvantages might be that the
bearings in the 'cookie' will be
quite highly stressed and the protruding
cleats on the inside of the foot
might be easy to bash when walking.
No details yet on weight or cost,
either.
Side
Mount Pedals:
Tel +1 888 374
4443 or see www.sidemountpedal.com
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