Velcro clickless clipless
 

I had an idea tonight and it was too funny not to try it out. Without further preamble here it is: velcro clipless.

The pedal assembly:
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...3&d=1329610559

The shoe attachment:
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...4&d=1329610570

Attached to human foot (note high fashion style):
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...5&d=1329610578

Attached to pedal without cyclist (not the intended mode of operation):
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...7&d=1329610605

And finally, the operational configuration:
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...6&d=1329610591

I did test tonight only briefly (it's raining, not optimal test conditions) but it was successful! I could pedal one-legged, pull up on the back side, and suffered no tombay falls at stoplights.

Think it will catch on?

I'd be a little scared of hitting a bump, or standing and pedaling, and finding myself suddenly and unintentionally disconnected from the bike.

Interesting idea thou, but i think it might cause some crashes.

How is it any better than this:

http://www.lastazionedellebiciclette...power-grip.jpg

I don't want to cause any crashes. Maybe I need to take a trip down to home depot and try out some of their super-heavy-duty velcro.

No

Maybe it's not any better, but the velcro foot just steps on and comes right off whenever you twist it any old way, and I've heard those are inconvenient strapping on and sometimes catching your foot when you pull away.

What, is it the fashion-sense dragging it down? I could make it out of carbon fiber, if that would help.

Plus, those things look kind of dorky. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (no offense intended).

I like the way you think.

However my objection is release. From my experience with hook and loop fastening it's easier to create the bond than to break it.

good point. I'll be riding with just one velcro-foot tomorrow to cut my chances of crashing in half, when I'm testing it.

there are already many production versions. i got gifted a set of these: http://www.ynotcycle.com/products/pedal-straps/

http://www.ynotcycle.com/wp-content/...al-strap-4.jpg

i like the adjustable float

He's thinking anyway.

Yep, anywhere you stomp your foot. I'm not really serious since I don't see how it would last very long, and it took longer to take the pictures than to construct, but I'm starting to wonder if it might be use-able ...

Those look like they're attached to the pedal - my straps come off the pedal when I pull my foot off, a different concept.

I'd miss the click of my current setup when stepping in, but the velcro ripping sound would be fun when stepping out.

Yeh, it is. My wife could hear me clear in the house when I pulled off outside the door. I was really worried that there'd be a scritch-scritch on every pedal stroke which would drive you crazy in a few feet, but that didn't happen.

Velcro doesn't seem like it would be able to have a strong enough connection to allow you to pull up on the pedal.

That would be kind of a flaw, and that's the same objection I'd have. Can't tell till someone tries it - velcro can have a pretty strong connection at the right angles, but you're probably right.

Add some sand to the mix and you'll be left with some fuzzy platform pedals.

i have a cat. i cannot wait for cat to have its hair near pedals. i have always wanted cat hair pedals.

*cat fer pedale's

it may have a bunch of flaws, but would it be better if there was no velcro at all?

** cat fur pedals :)

That's the important thing.

Without innovative thinking we'd probably all riding on inferior frame material.

Like steel for example.

wtf ru saying?

The weather is still unpleasant but as promised I did try it out today. Left velcro foot and right platform, only about a half hour's worth of riding. So here's the report, such as it is.

I admit, fredly novice that I am, that I've never used clipless so I don't have much to compare against but I did enjoy the feeling of being solidly rooted to the pedal. I walked the bike up a muddy embankment before starting off, while wearing the foot velcro. On an easy brisk cadence it does feel like I'm getting more out of the stroke, more circular kind of effort. There was no slipping or accidental disengaging, pretty solidly connected. You have to be pretty deliberate to get your foot off. That's the good news part.

Pulling off feels like your feet have been sucked down by a foot of mud, kind of weird and slow. Charging ahead and pulling your feet up, I don't know. How hard do you normally pull, when you're doing that? It seems like I could only get a fraction of the force on the up stroke compared to the down, but pulling up quickly - to me, unnaturally quickly - I could hear the ripping sound. Someone with piston legs would rip right out, might be a deal-breaker there. I also detoured to one of my favorite short, steep hills and chugged up it. It was also a test of my brakes and gearing on my new build, which passed (yay). But anyway I tried pulling up while standing as someone mentioned and frankly I didn't get it. Maybe with both feet anchored I'd get a rhythm but I wasn't able to competently test with this technique.

Regardless of the defects I think I'll rig up the other pedal and roll with it for awhile.

I think it's a good idea. I'm in the process of inventing shorts that will velcro to my saddle.

Heck... I was thinking of using velcro to attach the chamois directly to my body. Think of the weight saving with no real shorts, only the chamois. :)