Bike Pedals

Bicycle pedals make it possible to turn the cranks which turn the chain that turns the wheels and that makes it all possible. Pedals used to be just a stick that you put your foot on to push your bike along, then riders found out that you could pedal more efficiently if there feet were attached to the bicycle pedal.

This was done by a toe clip and strap, the toe clip went from the front of the pedal over the toe and then the strap went round the foot and the pedal, you needed a shoe plate on the bottom of your shoe to stop your foot slipping out and to hold your foot in place, this was great until you had to stop at traffic lights and if you didn’t loosen the strap in time you fell over.

The French ski binding company Look, in conjunction with Tour de France winner, Bernard Hinault invented the first clipless pedal, with this your foot was held in with a special shoe plate which clicked into the pedal, much more secure and easy to get your foot in and out, but cycling shoes had to be stronger and more comfortable to take the strain of being connected straight to the pedal.

Now there are many clipless pedals on the market, Look is still probably the most popular, but Shimano and Campagnolo do there own systems, also there are Speedplay, Time, VP and some other strange systems.