ppc

Hello everybody,

I usually commute with a beater bike but I want to give commuting with my touring recumbent a shot. The recumbent is equipped with SPD pedals and I can't imagine riding it without clips. The problem is, my commute is only 5km and I don't want to change shoes twice for a 15 minute ride, twice a day.

Some years ago, I was looking inside the parts bin at my LBS and I found a very special pedal : it was a sort of full-size platform, the size of a shoe sole, with a full plastic cage that went around the entire foot, and an enclosed toe cage that could open and close by tilting up and down about 45 degrees. To clip in, one just had to get the front of your foot in, give a good kick downward and the toe cage would tilt up and force the rest of your foot inside the pedal. It had all kinds of adjustments to lengthen or shorten it, widen the cages, move the platform forward or backward with regard to the pedal axle, and adjust the force at which the cage would open and release the foot in the event of a fall.

The pedal was freakin' heavy and ugly, but the system was brilliant : it made possible to ride exactly like with SPDs, but in street shoes. Unfortunately, there was only one pedal in the parts bin, not a complete pair, so I didn't buy it. I asked the LBS where he had gotten it but he couldn't remember. He figured it might have been some sort of prototype that never sold, but he couldn't tell for sure. It didn't look like a one-off though, it was all moulded plastic, so I figure it probably was manufactured in numbers at some point.

So I'm trying to find these pedals, in case they still are (were?) on the market. Would any of you know what I'm talking about? Have you seen this system? In retrospect, I should have bought that single pedal, if only to take pictures, but I didn't, silly me. Something like this would probably be a terrible solution on a regular bike, but I'm sure it would work well on a recumbent. So please if you have any information, let me know.

operator

Nevermind..

i_r_beej

Sounds like a crazy-ass death-trap.

Buy some decent platform pedals--ones made for free-riding or downhill are generally much wider than "standard" platforms. OR... get some "spinning" shoes. They're more of a slip-on design, with usually only one velcro strap. Fast and easy on and off.

Maybe you need to buy some new shoes? What kind do you have that are such a bother to change?

JTGraphics

This what I'm using Forté Campus Pedals
This set of pedals has a platform on one side so you can use your normal shoes, flip it over and it has lips that are compatible with Shimano SPD cleats so it can be used with or without toe clips, with or without cleats. I also wanted straps for my street shoes so I also use a set of Winwood Instep Pedal Inserts
which are clipped into the toe clips. If you are going to use biking shoes the Winwood Instep Pedal Inserts are removed and you clip straight into the pedal. Both Captain and stoker are equipped with the same setup.

ppc

Okay, I asked around on other forums, and I think I finally found the pedals. They are (or I should say "were", they're not made anymore) Ordas transition pedals used in biathlon and triathlon. They're similar to Thompson clip-on platforms, only they have a heel strap as well and come with an integrated pedal spindle. Here's a photo I found on Ebay :



If they're not the pedals I was looking for, they sure look very much like what I saw.

Brian Ratliff

I think triathlets used to use something like that to make their bike to run transition time faster by avoiding the shoe change.

ppc

I currently ride with Cannondale "hiking" shoes (with a recessed cleat) and SPD pedals. My shoes are fine, so are the pedals. Only I can't wear those shoes at work, so if I want to try commuting with the recumbent, I'd have to change shoes at home, then when I arrive at work, then again leaving work, and again arriving back home. I don't want to do that, that's why I was looking for these pedals. And I'm not too keen on Powergrip straps either, because while they work well, I think they're dangerous when falling because they have a 50/50 chance of not releasing the foot and twisting your leg quite badly, depending on how you fall.

Toe clips won't work on a recumbent. This said, I do have pedals that have a standard platform on one side, and a SPD side. I *can* ride with normal shoes, but on a recumbent it's not very nice, because you have to keep fighting gravity and concentrate on keeping your feet on the pedals. That's what I want to be clipped in.

Bill Kapaun

..."Ordas transition pedals used in biathlon".....

Do you attach them to your rifle or your skis?

ppc

Exactly. That's the same reason I want to use them too, only I'm not a triathlete, just a lazy bum

ppc

I think I meant "duathlon". You can tell how much I know about sports

I_bRAD

I tried them in a triathalon, and while the bike-run transition was indeed faster I found that the shoes really slowed me down in the swimming part.

Hambone

what about PowerGrips?

(this is the second time in one day I suggested PowerGrips...?)

DieselDan

Or some old fashioned toe clips and straps?