Behold: the BIG platform toe clip pedal

• Mark V
• 15 years ago
• Categories: Blog

I’ve been playing around with pedal ideas, and then I got some inspiration from the Seattle fixie scene. A number of the riders are using large platform pedals with toe clips and double straps. I thought that might be a cool idea for my Goblin bike, as I prefer my feet to be well connected to the pedals for sprints and any ride longer than a mile or so. As I have been a Speedplay user for years, it isn’t terribly surprising that I have their “Drillium” big platform pedal, though the fact that Speedplay makes such a pedal may be surprising in itself. The Drillium pedal has a ton of surface area with some very aggressive replaceable pins. I bought the pedals a couple years ago when I first started playing around with BMX bikes, but they’ve been in a box since. If I could somehow mount a robust plastic toe clip to the Drilliums, I figured that they would be perfect compliment to the extremely travel-ready Goblin bike. Those pedals would be superb with thin-sole casual shoes and the clip & straps would be so secure that I wouldn’t miss my usual binding system.

I looked around and decided to get the All-City Cycles 4-gate plastic clips. These clips will take double toe straps. Since the Drilliums aren’t designed to be used with clips, I had to get clever. I figured I could cut off the front regular mounting area of the clips and then bolt the remaining portion down on the upper surface of the Drillium pedal. Of course, this meant that I would lose a lot of the length of the clip, but if I can take advantage of my “compact” size, I will. My feet will fit fine, but I don’t think that this mod will work for that many like-minded tinkerers. Too bad for you. Why should I be held back just because the rest of you have stupid big feet?

And among other complaints, why can’t I have a heavier baggage allowance on airline flights? I weigh 55lbs less than the average US adult male. I say my second bag flies for free!

Anyways, I’m waiting on some Pake urethane-coated toe straps. They are stiffer than regular woven nylon straps (ie, easier to jam your shoe into) but are way cheaper than laminated leather toe straps. Two straps per pedal, maybe linked at the buckles with a homemade buckle pad. I think these pedals will rock once I get the straps; we’ll see.