Every rider is only connected with the bike by three parts: with the hands, the bottom and the feet, that's it! These three parts play an important role in the comfort but also the efficiency on the bike, they determine the endurance and speed. Previously I've covered the handlebar and the saddle, now I want to continue with the pedals.
The granddaddy of all bicycles was the 'dandy horse' or 'running
machine', a two wheeled human powered vehicle invented by the German Karl
Freiherr von Drais (1785-1851). It was made of a beam on a fixed back wheel
and a steerable wheel on the front. There were no pedals, the 'rider' was
sitting between the wheels on the beam and had to push the running machine with
his leg forward.
It is unclear who fixed the pedals directly on the hub of the front wheel but in the 1886 they were widely popular. An improvement in speed came with the high wheeler or penny farthing bicycle in the 1870s and 1880s. They used the same pedals mounted on the front hub and were not only dangerous to the riders but also to the public. The introduction of the Rover safety bicycle ended the era of the high wheeler. Safety bicycles or safeties have to wheels of identical sized moved by a pedal mounted on a crank moving the rear wheel with a chain; almost identical to today's bicycles.
Already in 1896, William Reilly of Salford, England, patented an internal 2-speed rear hub with went into production in 1898 and was a great success (wikipedia). Hub gears are still in production today. Derailleur gears are a variable-ratio transmission system outside of the hub containing a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another, the rear derailleur. They did not become common road racing equipment until 1938 when the French company Simplex introduced a cable-shifted rear derailleur. In 1949 Italian manufacturer Campagnolo sold the Gran sport, a more refined version of the already existing, yet less commercially successful, cable-operated parallelogram rear derailleurs (wikipedia).
It is unclear who fixed the pedals directly on the hub of the front wheel but in the 1886 they were widely popular. An improvement in speed came with the high wheeler or penny farthing bicycle in the 1870s and 1880s. They used the same pedals mounted on the front hub and were not only dangerous to the riders but also to the public. The introduction of the Rover safety bicycle ended the era of the high wheeler. Safety bicycles or safeties have to wheels of identical sized moved by a pedal mounted on a crank moving the rear wheel with a chain; almost identical to today's bicycles.
Already in 1896, William Reilly of Salford, England, patented an internal 2-speed rear hub with went into production in 1898 and was a great success (wikipedia). Hub gears are still in production today. Derailleur gears are a variable-ratio transmission system outside of the hub containing a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another, the rear derailleur. They did not become common road racing equipment until 1938 when the French company Simplex introduced a cable-shifted rear derailleur. In 1949 Italian manufacturer Campagnolo sold the Gran sport, a more refined version of the already existing, yet less commercially successful, cable-operated parallelogram rear derailleurs (wikipedia).
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It can be clearly seen that if the pedal would not have been moved from the front hub to the center of the bike on the chain wheel the development of the rear gears had not been possible and we would not ride the efficient bicycle we know today.
The first pedals have always been flat pedals, to be be more efficient races mounted cages (or clips) with leather straps on them. Unfortunately it was not easy of fiddle out of these clips. To address this problem clipless pedals were developed. They require special cleats fitted on the sole of the bike shoes. They lock into a mechanism in the pedal which holds the shoe firmly and can be unlocked by an outer twist of the heel.
The first pedals have always been flat pedals, to be be more efficient races mounted cages (or clips) with leather straps on them. Unfortunately it was not easy of fiddle out of these clips. To address this problem clipless pedals were developed. They require special cleats fitted on the sole of the bike shoes. They lock into a mechanism in the pedal which holds the shoe firmly and can be unlocked by an outer twist of the heel.
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Chain wheel (50-36 teeth) with Flat Mountain Pedal
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In the beginning I was not very fond of using clipless pedals at all. But one time I've discovered a pair of cycling shoes on sale. The were so cheap that I've decided to buy them without hesitation. I did not use them for a while and stored them somewhere.
There was a time when I tried to improve my speed by experimenting with narrow tires, higher air pressure, lower bike position etc. but nothing helped substantially. Suddenly I remembered the already dusty bike shoes and hunted down some cheap Taiwan clipless pedals online, patented from the French manufacturer Look. After mounting the pedals and using the shoes my speed improved around 10% right from the beginning!
I have to admit it took some learning curve and time to get confidence from using the clipless pedals. But I never looked back, especially on my racing bike. My feet are locked on the pedals, I can use all the power I have and will not have to worry to slip from the pedals. I can not only push the pedals upwards but also can pull the upwards which leads to a much smoother or rounder pedal stroke.
When coming to a standstill it became a natural to clip out. I do this only on with my weaker left foot. I seldom click out of my stronger right foot because I start with my stronger leg to get momentum and after some moments I click onto the left pedal. After a while I did not even look down to clip in, clipping became a smooth movement and even an extension of my body.
Even touring I don't leave home without clipless pedals. The shoes with the cleats are sometimes inconvenient walking due to their construction but this weights out the advantages of using them while riding. I've invested even in more comfortable neon yellow colored shoes, my carbon clipless pedals are already on the way.
Everyone should give clipless pedals at least a try. They make your pedal strokes smoother and therefore more efficient like the pros on TV. There is a learning curve but when a novice pays attention to some details the problems with clipless pedals are not difficult to conquer and become a natural extension of the body over time.
Take care when riding and obey the rules of the traffic and the wonderful sport of cycling.
There was a time when I tried to improve my speed by experimenting with narrow tires, higher air pressure, lower bike position etc. but nothing helped substantially. Suddenly I remembered the already dusty bike shoes and hunted down some cheap Taiwan clipless pedals online, patented from the French manufacturer Look. After mounting the pedals and using the shoes my speed improved around 10% right from the beginning!
I have to admit it took some learning curve and time to get confidence from using the clipless pedals. But I never looked back, especially on my racing bike. My feet are locked on the pedals, I can use all the power I have and will not have to worry to slip from the pedals. I can not only push the pedals upwards but also can pull the upwards which leads to a much smoother or rounder pedal stroke.
When coming to a standstill it became a natural to clip out. I do this only on with my weaker left foot. I seldom click out of my stronger right foot because I start with my stronger leg to get momentum and after some moments I click onto the left pedal. After a while I did not even look down to clip in, clipping became a smooth movement and even an extension of my body.
Even touring I don't leave home without clipless pedals. The shoes with the cleats are sometimes inconvenient walking due to their construction but this weights out the advantages of using them while riding. I've invested even in more comfortable neon yellow colored shoes, my carbon clipless pedals are already on the way.
Everyone should give clipless pedals at least a try. They make your pedal strokes smoother and therefore more efficient like the pros on TV. There is a learning curve but when a novice pays attention to some details the problems with clipless pedals are not difficult to conquer and become a natural extension of the body over time.
Take care when riding and obey the rules of the traffic and the wonderful sport of cycling.
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