Chuck M 

The quote I posted above and here again, from was the first site I googled out of bored curiosity. While in theory any foot retention device can come unintentionally disconnected, it would likely be due to malfunction or user error, not because it is the nature of the beast.

I suppose these have a use to somebody as there are several people making them apparently. But unintentionally disconnecting at any time isn't what I look for in foot retention.

Leisesturm

Don't argue with me. Argue with the people (smarter than me) making the damn things. Thankfully, I've never crashed with SPD pedals because on the two or three occasions that I was about to, I've been able to get free of both Eggbeater AND Shimano clipless pedals while fully clipped in! Doesn't NASA use magnets to hold priceless astronauts securely in place on spacewalks?

Chuck M 

I doubt these are on par with anything NASA uses.

Eds0123

Staple duct tape sticky side up, would work bettter than your magnet

Eds0123

make it an electrical magnet with nice thin wound coils carrying a lot of current, that way a kill switch cut the current and bam no magnet,

All you need is just to haul a big battery or a generator behind your bike, your problem solved very smart way

CroMo Mike 

The magnets would pick up FOD off the road. They also might confuse your magnetic speed and/or cadence sensors.

Koyote

You mean like this?

shelbyfv

We should have a pool, poll or contest as to how this one plays out. "Disappeared" w/o explanation or apology, excused and protected until he tires of it, or an honest "yep, he slipped in but we did the job and whacked him." Precedent for all options so it will be interesting to watch.

indyfabz

IKR. I often get roadkill stuck to me thanks to my animal magnetism. *rim shot*

I’ll be here all week, ladies and germs. Make sure you try the veal.

spelger

if you're thinking what i think you are thinking then i don't think so.

hmmm...might need to re-think that.

Koyote

I think you need to re-think that thing you were thinking.

CroMo Mike 

"FOD" in aircraft lingo is Foreign Object Damage .... objects left on the runway. In this case, ferrous metal road debris capable of being picked up by a magnet. Even small bits of debris sticking to the surface of the magnet would reduce its mating effectiveness and require stopping to find the offending FOD and wipe it off.

WhyFi

I thought you'd left?

Eds0123

Yep, exactly, 😃

3alarmer 

Fahrenheit531 

Reynolds 

Warning: May be NSFW

Polaris OBark

There are at least two companies making these. I spent a little bit of time trying them out at Sea Otter a couple of years ago. They actually worked far better than I expected. For me, the deal killer was the stack height. But it isn't as crazy as one might at first guess.

rsbob 

Finally the voice of experience breaks through the nonsense. Bravo.

koala logs

I had to OD on vitamin B12 to give you an answer concerning "unclipping" with magnets so pay attention to this:

Get two bar magnets. Make one stand on the south pole and another on the north pole. Get them close together and they attract and stick together.

If you're using Neodymium magnets, it will be very hard to pull them apart.

NOW. Hold one of the magnets while you twist the other 90 degrees and voila, magnetic pull is completely gone!! You finally pulled apart your neo magnet stuck for years!

I would guess using the same principle for magnetic foot retention, you simply have to twist your foot outward to unstuck.

"Clipping in" is a lot easier though. You simply place the ball of your foot on the pedal and the magnets will grab each without the need to twist your foot. The one BIG problem with this tech is with powerful magnets, the two magnets will smash towards each other with incredible impact force sending shockwaves throughout the bike. I doubt it would last very long and may even cause your pedals, crankset and BB to get loose at the bolts and start falling apart.

chaadster

You could have saved yourself the hassle by looking at existing mag pedals.

chaadster

The weight of mag pedals makes them a non-starter for me, regardless of everything else.

koala logs

I probably didn't take enough vitamin B12

Polaris OBark

Thanks.

These are the ones I tested out at Sea Otter: https://www.j-pedals.com



What I found the most interesting and compelling was the case of the rider with a prosthetic leg, which is described on their website.

Polaris OBark

J-pedal: Weights are 200g per pedal, and 40g per metal cleat, and 16g per plastic adapter. So, 256g per side, or 512g per pair.

My favorite flat pedals are 430 g/pair, so this isn't a hugely different.

My favorite clip-ins are XTR trail pedals are 400 g without cleats.