Commuting - Introducing the "pedal stand"

Hi All,

As an avid cycling commuter, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve the experience. Lately I've been working on a means of balancing while stationary. Of course one can always track stand, but we all know how hard it can be. So, here's my latest solution: the pedal stand. Have a peek at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ2pVyUYzsY&NR=1 to see it in action.

The pedal stand deploys a small stand when you pedal in reverse that allows you to balance comfortably while stationary, without leaving your pedals. The stand retracts when you pedal forwards.

Cheers,

Pedalstandman

hey, that's pretty cool.

Neat!

I like it.

Spam. BURN HIM!!!!

That is pretty cool though.

Whoa. That's pretty cool. How much?

Whoa. That's pretty cool. How much?

Unfortunately it's not for sale yet. That's the latest prototype, which probably cost around $1500 to make, but with economies of scale I'd expect to bring it way down in price, like an order of magnitude. There's still some way to go to make it a product. I'd want to lessen the weight, add room for an SPD cleat, simplify the internal mechanism, etc. I'm just trying to gauge interest.

Spiffy, except that I like to pedal backwards on long downhills to stretch my legs, and it will partially engage when flipping the pedal from the "cages down" position to put your foot into it. Some things for the OP to think about.

I like the inventiveness, but to be honest I like having one foot down because I push off with my left as I begin my pedal stroke with the right leg. The coolness factor will sell this though.

That's really cool!

Spiffy, except that I like to pedal backwards on long downhills to stretch my legs, and it will partially engage when flipping the pedal from the "cages down" position to put your foot into it. Some things for the OP to think about.

First off, thanks for addressing potential issues.

re downhill reverse pedaling. I guess there are a couple things to consider here. The mechanism requires very little torque to deploy, so you won't notice much of a difference while pedaling in reverse. Now, its hard to see in the video, but to actually contact the ground with the stand you have to slightly heel over and rotate your heel downwards. So as long as you aren't cornering while you are reverse pedaling, you're okay. One feature I was considering adding is a subtle cam that protrudes underneath your foot when the stand is deployed. This would act as a simple physical reminder of the stands deployment.

re cages down. You're right, in one direction you will partially engage the stand while trying to flip the pedal over. The beauty of the system is, you may only have to do that once on your ride;) And you can still do it in the other direction. This brings up another point. The stand has an override clutch built in, so for example you can use the pedal upside down, and pedal in reverse without deploying the stand (ie the stand won't deploy and try and push your foot off).

That's the coolest thing I've seen all day.

cool idea.. if you can work it out so it never engages while reverse pedaling except when you actually want it to, then i think you could have something

Super cool idea. But...(there is always a butt)

Left pedal is at the bottom, right pedal at the apex, the hardest position to start. If rider starts with the same leg all the time, (s)he will soon have mighty sore knee. As I am on the downhill part of the middle age and have to ponder impending decrepitude, this is of concern to me.

YMMV

SF

that's pretty cool. not sure how it works, though. Is it the entire pedal you'd be making?

I will buy this from you

This is the first home-brewed invention I've seen on here that really impresses me!:thumb:
Now if only we could get this in a clipless pedal...

BTW get a patent on this.

i likes it!

Brilliant! You should really start working toward a patent on this tho ^. First time I've seen something like it.

Super cool idea. But...(there is always a butt)

Left pedal is at the bottom, right pedal at the apex, the hardest position to start. If rider starts with the same leg all the time, (s)he will soon have mighty sore knee. As I am on the downhill part of the middle age and have to ponder impending decrepitude, this is of concern to me.

YMMV

SF

It's not quite top dead center, it's actually 10-20 degrees off, so it's actually quite easy to get going again.

Brilliant! You should really start working toward a patent on this tho ^. First time I've seen something like it.

Thanks. I do have a provisional patent. Phew!

This is the first home-brewed invention I've seen on here that really impresses me!:thumb:
Now if only we could get this in a clipless pedal...

BTW get a patent on this.

re clipless. Yes, I agree. I don't think it'll be too difficult to integrate a clipless system into it. It's one of my next goals...

Most of the inventions I see on here seem rather silly, but that really is brilliant.

You might look in to crowd funding a first run. Check out the likes of kickstarter.

http://ipwatchdog.com/2011/06/01/funding-your-invention-get-started-with-crowdfunding/id=17527/

FWIW, I'd probably buy this if the price turned out to be right. Regardless, really neat idea. One of the cooler bike gadgets I've seen, for sure. Providing it's reliable (tipping over would suck), this could be a really useful tool for a commuter.

I saw a pedal stand in the Taiwan Bicycle Source Catalog 2011. It was tag as the smallest bicycle stand.

First, it seems like an interesting concept.

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Second, YouTube "related videos" lead me into an apparent fetish world of women pumping the gas pedal of old cars. I could have gone a lifetime without knowing about this.

Second, YouTube "related videos" lead me into an apparent fetish world of women pumping the gas pedal of old cars. I could have gone a lifetime without knowing about this.

Whoa!!!:eek:
Really???
I need to go check that out!:thumb:
:lol:

First, it seems like an interesting concept.

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Second, YouTube "related videos" lead me into an apparent fetish world of women pumping the gas pedal of old cars. I could have gone a lifetime without knowing about this.


That is actually a quite common phillia for what its worth...

It seems like a cool idea indeed. Although, I wonder how one would avoid accidental deployments. I also often pedal backwards to stretch my legs. And the price would have to be way below $50 to make this attractive IMHO. It's trying to address something that is not really a huge problem for most people. I never considered stopping and getting off the saddle a huge deal. I can't believe anyone does. It's just one of those things you do when riding a bike. So this will not be a "must have" gadget so it can't be very expensive.

Neat though. I wish you good luck with it.

Patent it. Now.

You might look in to crowd funding a first run. Check out the likes of kickstarter.

http://ipwatchdog.com/2011/06/01/funding-your-invention-get-started-with-crowdfunding/id=17527/

Wow! I've never heard of "crowdfunding" before. Very cool. I will check it out.

That's the latest prototype, which probably cost around $1500 to make,
If it wasn't so "fredly", $1500 would be an easy sell in the "Road" forum as long as you made it out of crabon fibre! ;)


And the price would have to be way below $50 to make this attractive IMHO.
Now we know why you never post in the Road forum (too cheap)!

I don't know about other commuters, but the roads I ride on are not at all level and smooth surfaced. I can easily see the device deploying into a crack and causing the bike to fall over. At least make sure you design it for the right side pedal for US riders, so hopefully you fall away from the traffic when it fails to deploy as intended. Hate to rain on your parade, but it's a solution looking for a problem.

This is a very cool invention. Good luck on all future improvements!

I like it.

If it wasn't so "fredly", $1500 would be an easy sell in the "Road" forum as long as you made it out of crabon fibre! ;)

Roadies never stop, so they have no need of a carbon fiber kickstand. :D

Now we know why you never post in the Road forum (too cheap)!

Oh yeah. I totally don't fall for gimmicks :D And I don't care if my bike is heavy either.

I think it's a pretty interesting idea, however, I have never found putting my foot down to be that difficult or annoying. I personally just don't see a need for it.

Definitely put this on Kickstarter. You should be able to get funding to productize this. Also, I agree with posters above that you should have your patent application filed before posting any more in public forums.

Let us know when you go up on KS!

I saw a pedal stand in the Taiwan Bicycle Source Catalog 2011. It was tag as the smallest bicycle stand.

I haven't been able to find it. If you can link to it, that would be great.

I don't know about other commuters, but the roads I ride on are not at all level and smooth surfaced. I can easily see the device deploying into a crack and causing the bike to fall over. At least make sure you design it for the right side pedal for US riders, so hopefully you fall away from the traffic when it fails to deploy as intended. Hate to rain on your parade, but it's a solution looking for a problem.

re road surface. That's a good point. The final design would have a small extension to the stand to minimize the risk of falling through a grate, or imperfection.

Patent it. Now.

That's pretty neat.

Also note that you can file a provisional patent to snag an early filing date without spending much money now and get your non-provisional patent in within the year when you've started getting cash flow.