>Michael Camilleri <MJTC@phyv1.auckland.ac.nz> wrote:
>>How about POWERGRIPS. They are a wide strap going diagonally across the pedal,
>>and secure the foot as it is twisted in. No straps, no clips, uses any shoe
>>type you want, and very quick and easy to get in and out
off.
>>You use a standard pedal, so you have the choice of strapping in or turning
>>the pedal upside down.
>
>>I think these would be a much saner proposition on a unicycle than clipless
>>pedals, and a hell of a lot cheaper (about $15 US), and they can really
grip
>>tight.
Dennis Kathrens wrote:
>The whole idea is to keep the feet on the pedals at higher cadences for racing,
>since the current rules disallow wheel size/crank length changes which would
>moderate cadences at racing speed.
>SPDs? Powergrips? They’d probably work great…until you lost it. I haven’t
>tried SPD or Powergrips, but my personal feeling is I don’t want ANYTHING
>keeping my feet from hitting the ground first if I have to bail. Especially if
>I’m going fast.
Dennis’ gut feeling matches my experience. I have tried unicycles with various
forms of toe clips, and fallen on my face (eventually). Ken Fuchs had toe clips
when he attended his first USA National Meet, in 1980. He did not have them
after that. You can ask him why. Another friend of mine spent a small fortune on
clipless pedals and special shoes, then took a face plant and broke a finger.
In years past, Sem and Teresa have been at unicycle meets with velcro pedals. I
don’t know how that worked out, other than that I would prefer a weak grip to a
strong one, for fear of the same results as above.
Riders from Sweden have come to our conventions using flat pedals covered with
skateboard grip tape. this is like a coarse sandpaper that grips to the shoe
without holding it from lifting off. They were primarily concerned with artistic
riding, however.
For myself, I use turf shoes, with a very knobby bottom, in combination with
very lightweight, VERY sharp rat trap pedals. The shoes & pedals release
immediately when necessary, but provide a sure grip even at the highest speeds.
I DO NOT recommend super-sharp pedals for beginners. The particular brand of
pedals I use (Skyway, from the early 80’s) have left scars in the legs of at
least two people, one of whom is JeanPaul Jenack (he was not the one riding, and
neither was I)!
Stay on Top! John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone unicycle@aol.com