K'Tesh

I keep mentioning this to people, yet it somehow hasn't worked its way to Shimano, so I'll post it here...

Shimano, are you listening?

I love my A530 pedals... I love being able to ride clipped in, or in my street shoes without having to change bikes or pedals... Except when it's wet out.

The platform doesn't have enough grip to keep my street shoes from slipping off when it's wet out.

Why is this a safety problem? It typically manifests itself when I'm at a dead stop, and trying to get started again. Of course, I push down harder when there's a car or something behind me which makes slipping off a real problem. It hasn't led to a crash... yet. However my balls ache every time it happens.

I finally figured out how to make the pedals better (using zip ties as supplemental grips), but it'd be really a significant improvement if you could could make them so that they aren't so prone to slippage when wet.

My unborn children will thank you for it.

Earl Grey

Had to point out the unfortunate ambiguity in your phrasing here.

trailangel

A common complaint with that pedal. Use Forte Campus pedal instead.

howsteepisit

Personally, I'd take it up with Shimano's customer service rather than on a forum in a section few sane people dare to venture.

Milton Keynes

I bet if you search hard enough you can find a website with pictures.

mstateglfr 

Use m324 pedals instead. Platform one side, spd the other, and they have more pronounced teeth.

FBinNY 

Shoe traction on ANY metal pedal can easily be improved in a number of ways, probably requiring an effort level comparable to complaining.

1- buy commercial traction strips, as used on stair treads, and cut and glue them to the contact surfaces
2- mix up a small batch of "traction paint" using sand and and polish, and apply where it'll help.

As they say, it's better to light a single candle......

howsteepisit

What fun is fixing when one can be complaining. Especially complaints issued where the responsible party are not likely to even see the complaint.

AlexCyclistRoch

Were you expecting that Mr. Shimano himself reads this subforum?

coominya

Have you thought about getting a pair of shoes with better grip? Have you complained to your clothing manufacturer because your shirt is fine when riding in the dry but uncomfortable when it gets wet in the rain?
I don't see this as a safety issue at all.

FBinNY 

I don't thin k we need to chide the OP over this. Slippery pedals are a legitimate complaint and easily voided by the manufacturers. BITD makers too care to provide biting edges on metal pedals not intended for use with toe clips.

I can see from the photos that these pedals lack such bite, and because their dual function ensures that their users will tend to get used to a secure hold, and may be less prepared for slippage on the smooth side.

So, Shimano, could and should do better, but this isn't the place to tell them. In the meantime the OP or any other reader wanting more traction can use either of the methods I described earlier, or another method or consider using different pedals.

But, this is a forum, and IMO the OP's issue is legitimate fodder.

coominya

We all have a box full of stuff we bought that wasn't suitable, eventually we learn to research an item "before" we buy it. Here is a good thread warning of the issue of these pedals.
Best hybrid pedal (spd and flat base) - Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

FBinNY 

So, by your logic, the OP is doing others a favor by raising the issue here.

K'Tesh

I see "Slippery When Wet" warnings all over the place... In restaurants, and other places of business, as well as even on the streets. Our pedals shouldn't be one of those places where we need a warning.

coominya

Yes he is, but the format is one of blame rather than one of "hey be careful".

These pedals aren't the only ones people's feet slip off BTW, feet can slip off any platform pedal depending on the conditions and the power being applied. Most bicycles are sold with very cheap but very grippy pedals. As soon as you remove those and replace them with aftermarket ones you are assuming the role of engineer with the concordant responsibilities.

If you were ask me what's happening here I would suggest OP is unconsciously using some of the technique employed in clipless pedaling without realizing it. Pulling back with his feet as though they were clipped in or applying too much force as though they were clipped in.

I looked at these compromise pedals years ago and rejected them as a gimmick.

FBinNY 

I guess we're different here.

I generally cut "civilians"* slack on most stuff, since I don't expect them to be experts. OTOH - I hold professionals to a higher standard since they're supposed to have enough expertise to know better. It would have taken Shimano very little effort to improve on these, but they didn't assign it a high priority.

I don't claim that I would have done different in their shoes, so I'm not claiming they were especially sloppy or negligent, but they could have done better, though whether they should of done better is an open question.

So, I took this as a bit of a rant, but also took it at face value, and opted to offer help rather than blame.

* during my 40+ years in the bike industry, I took to referring to those outside the industry as "civilians" to distinguish non pros from pros.

coominya

Yes, just a slight difference of opinion. I took it as a rant because I have always thought the pedals were a stupid design and anyone who used them opened themselves up to just the sort of injury OP described. It's the swapping to and fro that's the real issue I believe. Sort of like driving an manual car for days then jumping in an automatic. you forget, you make mistakes because you have reached the point where you change gears unconsciously. It's worse going from an auto to a manual too. Or when you see those people in thongs (flip flops?) running and suddenly the thongs fly off their feet. They simply forgot you can't run in thongs.

K'Tesh

A call to Shimano gave me an answer... which went something like this...

"Never heard of anybody complaining about this before, and I've been here for years."

In a very dismissive tone.

My call into the CPSC went a little better.

And to those who don't think it's a safety issue... How about a nice top tube hit to the crotch? Do you think that might be a safety issue? Now park a car on top of yourself.

Get my point?

BTW... for the last 2 years, I've only used street shoes (typically Nike cross training shoes) with the bike. So, it's not a I forgot that I'm not wearing the bike shoes. I just live in a kinda dry part of China.

howsteepisit

If you live in China, why are you calling the CPSC (if that is the US Consumer Products Safety Commission)? It's clear that few share your concern. I do remember having a foot slip off the pedals when I was but a youth, and damn right it hurt like hell.

I'd like to offer my opinion that multi-use tools (or pedals) very rarely do either of the jobs they purport to do. One purpose one tool.

Staypuft1652

As mentioned the m324 would probably be a massive improvement. I didn't care for them, but if the dual purpose pedal is your thing, they are probably better.

Staypuft1652

^^^This. With recessed shoes, with both m520 and cb candy, never had problems pedaling when unclipped even in slippery conditions.

K'Tesh

I'm a native Jeffersonian... You know, that state of mind that exists above San Francisco, California, and below Eugene, Oregon? I work overseas. I haven't renounced my citizenship. I bought the pedals in the US. They are sold in the US, and my Mandarin isn't good enough to explain my concerns to any agency here in the PRC.

Now, as to the issue of "few share your concern". How many children needed to choke to death before the Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper toy was recalled? Answer: one, a 4 year old named Robert Jeffery Warren. Had someone noticed that it was a choking hazard, and reported it before it was swallowed, perhaps his parents wouldn't have had to bury their child.

How many people saw a crack in a fuselage of an Aloha Airlines jet (Aloha flight 243)... Actually, at least one... Gayle Yamamoto told investigators that she noticed a crack in the fuselage upon boarding the aircraft prior to the ill-fated flight, but did not notify anyone. What happened? The top blew off the aircraft, and the flight attendant, Clarabelle Lansing, was killed. Imagine what would have happened if Gayle had said something? The flight would have been grounded, an investigation would have taken place, and Clarabelle might have lived to old age.

Seeing a problem, and saying something about it might be the difference between life and death, or in this case, protect someone's reproductive health.

As to the other pedals, I'll look into getting a set, if I can find them here... There is still a language barrier I've got to overcome.

howsteepisit

Guess we all have to have some windmill to tilt.

FBinNY 

FWIW there's a difference between tilting windmills and tilting at them. In the latter, the windmills stay upright.

K'Tesh

Tilting windmills?

25 pages of Safety and Advocacy from one thread alone.

I'd say I have a pretty good track record in inspiring change.

Ever look me up on BikePortland.org. I made their top 10 back in 2015.

https://bikeportland.org/2015/08/05/...ndalism-154842

https://bikeportland.org/2015/08/07/...-barbur-154967

https://bikeportland.org/2012/01/04/...under-20-64616

https://bikeportland.org/2012/01/12/...all-blvd-65087
.