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It's been done before. Shimano had clip ins that were similar 40 years ago in the 80s with a special thread which made them a non-start because it required a special Dura Ace crank.
There was another option, a commuter variant, linked in the Tioga Fly Paper thread on Mtbr.
Clipless wise, I'd say yes because of stability which should make it less tiring?
Put in an order for a pair. The 2 most immediate benefits that come to mind are a lower center of gravity on any given bike and the ability to glance off pedal strikes. No too excited about the "pendulum cradling effect" these will have, I think if you're in the chunk going fast you will get blown off regardless of using these or regular pedals - happy to be proven wrong though!
There is a benefit. Maybe not as much if you run thin pedals (think OneUp aluminium), but there is a benefit. Even pedalling up. I do roll my pedal going up in the technical, steep stuff sometimes, less so with drop pedals.
From over 40 years ago.
I ordered a set of pendulums and some 5mm shorter cranks and the shortest available for my bike at 155s (e-bike, so e13 cranks for Black Friday are only $74). I've dreamt of these pedals for years.
The price of the pedals was $214 shipped to the USA after conversion.
IME, how big a crank feels/ effectively is while pedaling is determined strictly from the distance from the BB to the top of the pedal while during the powerstroke. That's all that matters in my experience, not the overall circle/ oval. For instance, 165mm cranks feel like clown cranks when I'm on clipless pedals, yet 165s feel like 170s (or larger) when on flats, just because the foot is 5-10mm closer to the pedal spindle even on flats.
Standard pedals spin in an oval, the Pendulums with the foot surface in line with the pedal axle, should be perfect circles. I suspect that they make cranks feel longer. A lot longer. In fact you could add that at the bottom the cranks are longer when you are considering the length of the lever.
I mean, why did this ever go away? From where I sit, it's clearly a superior design.
So I was only 95% wrong 😅
Don't think pedals spin in an oval. If your foot sits on top of the axle for a traditional flat pedal, it basically does that throughout the whole circular motion. The only catch here is that your circle center is not the center of the BB, it's offset by the same amount your feet is off the axle of the pedal.
The black circle is what the crank/pedal spindle spins, at the center of that is the BB. Red is what you might be experiencing with a traditional flat pedal today, where you're offset positive at the same amount for the whole rotation. Blue is what might be possible with the pendulum pedals, where you're still offset the same amount, just negative.
PS - when you order shorter cranks, you're just drawing a smaller circle. The offset is the same.
If lower rider-bike-system COG mattered, riders could bend their knees a few degrees more and achieve lower COG than a new gadget offers. So much about mountain biking, beyond seated spinning on a regular surface, includes dynamically increasing and decreasing your ‘weight’ on the touch points.
I’m hoping someone offers some evidence that this static COG picture of bike performance matters at all, now that ebike companies are touting it. I can’t think of a single reason it would matter in tbe context of moutain biking.
you mean Forbidden going E with the DJI motor?
Please no, I don't want to have to buy new pedals
those pedals look really interesting, I'm a big boy, I can bend a few sets of DMR Vaults a year. That's a lot of stress in 2 bearings and no axle.
If it's has proven reliability, I will get some.
Bearings.
One big caveat with drop pedals is about 40 mm added (20 mm either side) to the Q factor. For people that don't like inboard bearing bulges (ala OneUp) these are probably a no go.
This is true If the angle of your foot to the ground is constant around the rotation. In actuality you rotate it back And forth and because the platform is above (or below) the axle, the circle gets skewed. Slightly, but skewed nonetheless.
Another little birdie also mentioned to me that the Forbidden E-Bike is going to be “very special”. If it comes with the DJI motor, it will indeed be very special.
Can I run them on my fatbike?
Another thing to consider is you might lose dropper post max drop if you're already at- or near- maxed.
EDIT: Regarding this self-righting feature, can they reliably be crank flipped?
BB Drop has a bigger effect on handling than system COG if weights remain constant. In theory these pedals could solve a high BB height / low BB drop problem that a rider is having, with the platform height being 12mm lower than the BB when the crank arms are level. I'm not sure on the effect of the offset pedal body to the center of BB would ride like, so the ride feel is likely not equivalent to riding the same frame but with 12mm in BB drop difference.
On the flip side if you have issues with pedal strikes, best steer clear of these.
I get why they would feel more grippy when your heels are dropped but what about literally everywhere else? Pedalling, jumping, pumping and any time you need to shift your weight forward is surely going to feel weird AF?
Depending on the pedal you are comparing they might not actually hang too much lower
Good point; I didn't think about the thickness differences.
You could install shorter pins and increase the pendulum effect.
Looks like I missed all the Zink Vacay talk
Anyways, here's a build by Jason Hansen from OC Bike Works that he told me to post to Vital: https://www.vitalmtb.com/community/lepigpen/zink-bikes-vacay-150
Also did everyone already talk about the possibility of duck footing those pedals? I'm guessing the weight balance actually reduces duck footing in tech significantly... That said if you do manage to flip it and duck foot it... That does sound scary lol
Shouldn’t we line up the axles to make this comparison?
You can do whatever you like.
The insertion limitation is a very very real thing that can be circumvented by replacing the dropper with one that has better insertion or by installing shorter cranks.
What do you mean by crank flipped?
@owl-x in reality on the outer edge it really is not that much of a difference. Inboard it's a bit more pronounced due to the larger bearings
Watched this yesterday and thought it was pretty well done. When I first saw these, I thought they were shite. Now I really want to try them.
big hole in the middle of the pedal… what could go wrong 😅
that's actually my only issue with it. Having seen some pretty gnarly foot injuries over the years I don't think the potential extra grip from the extra concavity is worth the lack of protection. Even a normal pedal strike seems like it could potentially be abnormally jarring.
Maybe both ideas really work well in tandem and testing has proved my worries aren't an issue. But i'd be more interested in this pedal if it had the offset and a more regular and proven pedal body design. But it's still a really cool idea in a world of a million very boring pedal options.
Those pedals are cool, I would love to try some. They kind of remind me of something I've seen before...
Agree on that but it’s also unacceptable how little protection mtb shoes offer in general.