No pedals
 

I see bicycles for sale with no pedals, I can't figure out why?......Please help......

Higher end bikes are typically sold to someone that has their own pedals and shoes. The shoes clip into the pedals like a ski binding. Getting the shoe position when clipped into pedals needs a little experimenting to get it right. Those riders would have to take off the flat pedals anyway.

And when you are selling in the second hand market you tend to keep your pedals with you as to put them on the new ride.

As noted, higher end bikes are usually sold to riders who have an existing pedal and shoe system and will transfer them to the new bike or buy a duplicate of what they already ride. There are several competing and incompatible pedal systems so the bike maker can't know what the customer uses and, therefore, sells the bike with no pedals at all.

I believe there are also US federal regulations that say "entire bikes" must have things like reflectors, etc, that aren't generally on road bikes. If a bike comes without pedals, it is not considered an "entire bike."

Cheers,
Charles

Safety versus Efficacy
 

It's ususally best if the Gov't concerns itself with the safety of a product and leave the marketplace to judge the effectiveness of the product for its intended use. A bike with no pedals can't really be ridden, so it's not really unsafe per se.

Most pedals that come with bikes are throw aways, anyway...

Most customers seeking high-end bikes already have a substantial investment in shoes and cleats. With multiple incompatible cleat systems available, it's better to simply allow the customer to pick what he or she is already using.

Though the bike may not have any pedals on them when shipped to dealers,
the Mechanic will install some simple ones on them to test ride it,
after finishing their assembly job.
Often some will be included for the purpose, just for customer test rides.
very un fancy ones..

if buying a top tier road bike:
so from a best of everything perspective, functional, in the interim, is that.

Those people will, likely, bring their shoes and pedals with them.

I think you're close -- pedals sold on bikes need to have reflectors, and a lot of the popular ones don't.

I'm not sure that this would get around the CPSC regs if push came to shove, but it certainly gets around the pedal reflector requirements.

With the advent of clipless (clip-in) pedals in so many incompatible versions, pedals became too much of a complication on mid-level and higher end bikes. Going back a few years, most companies included pedals with their bikes, usually the most basic version of a popular system, ie. SPD or Look. That resulted in dealers having large jars of "take off" pedals on sale for very small dollars.

Getting rid of the pedals got rid of the "take off" pedal blowouts, letting pedal makers maintain their price structure, and also reduced the bike companies cost for something that nobody wanted anyway.

I don't think that's entirely correct. Even the most expensive high end bikes will come from the factory with a complete set of reflectors---front, rear, and on both wheels. Most serious roadies will remove them.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think that even the dork disk is required on bikes sold in the US.

At least a few of these are for people with no feet..................

So, you admit to being de-feeted?:)

no , when you Buy the bike and ask to have them remove it they will .
(at least anywhere I've worked )

Just make double sure the inside stroke screw doesn change adjustment,
or you fall on the right side and bend things.

Factor the no-pedals into the cost. If the bike is higher end, most likely 9/16 inch threaded pedals. Lots to choose from. I like to get two sets for a nice road bike. One is clipless, low profile, and light. The other is caged with clips and straps, and decent quality with sealed cartridge bearings. I keep the clipless for club rides with more experienced folks to keep up appearances :-). I keep the clips/strapped caged pedals for commutes and if I need to park the bike outside (clips and straps look older and therefore cheaper - and hopefully - knock on wood - less tempting to steal).

I have even seen some bike specifications call out "test ride" pedals.

You get to a certain point in life..................you know what I mean ?

funny thing though....why don't bikes come without saddles for the same reasons they don't include pedals? I mean if anything is a personal choice, it's the saddle, right? :D

It's a nefarious bike-shop scam to part you with more of your hard-earned cash. Sucker you in at a price point on a bike on which they don't make much margin at all, and then sell the pedals as accessories at much higher margin.

The last bike I bought did come without either pedals or saddle. The LBS asked me to drop off those items so they could install them before I came to pick up the bike and get a fitting.