New weight weenie pedals on the market- Ultralite Sports

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dmp
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by dmp

very interesting that Neil Beidelman was one of the designers. His name might not be instantly recognized in the cycling world, but he is a world class alpinist, high altitude climber and ski mountaineer, who's day job is in engineering and product design. I would strongly suspect that the engineering of these things is pretty robust and bombproof.

Predrefeu, I got a set of those rubber covers for my Look cleats after I nearly killed myself on a slick floor- now not only can I walk, but the cleats last forever. I suspect these guys will come up with something similar.

SpoonMan
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by SpoonMan

Well, clips and straps are covered in Fifty Shades of Twilight, aen't they timzcat?
2011 Scott Addict R3 (DA groupset, Tune Skyline RR wheelset, Rotor 52/36 Q-Rings)
2008 Giant Trinity A1 (cheapass 50mm carbon clinchers)
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by Weenie


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VNTech
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by VNTech

Walked right into that one, didn't I :)

Anyway, I won't be writing them up thoroughly on VeloNews for quite a while, but if you guys have any questions I can try to address them here.
VeloNews Magazine/VeloNews.com tech

Estelja
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by Estelja

Big question: Do they have bearings or only bushings?

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WMW
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by WMW

Estelja wrote:Big question: Do they have bearings or only bushings?


I noticed that there was no mention of bearings or bushings or anything in the maintenance section.
formerly rruff...

BmanX
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by BmanX

Well looking at this picture it looks like there are no bearings or bushings. It looks like the black part is the bushing. This explains a lot on how they were able to get the weight so low. Creative but I am not sure how long they will last.

Image
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WMW
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by WMW

Wow... the cleat is the "bushing"...? A plastic part rotating on a metal part? Add a little dirt or sand... nope, not for me.

EDIT: It looks like there is enough room for at least a composite bushing between the part the cleat clips to and the spindle. Roller bearings would be way better though.
Last edited by WMW on Sat Sep 15, 2012 5:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
formerly rruff...

kulivontot
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by kulivontot

+1 for these being unwalkable off the bike.

BmanX
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by BmanX

I think in the world of WW you have to push the envelope and see things differently. I think it is cool that the bushing is the mounting point but I will wait for some reviews before casting any doubt on the design.
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WMW
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by WMW

I can't believe that the cleat turns on that black aluminum piece. The friction would be very high, and the cleat and metal part would quickly wear and get sloppy.
formerly rruff...

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runner999
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by runner999

It's hard to tell from this picture but it looks like a couple of sealed bearings could be engineered to fit in the black cylinder cleat engagement peice judging the size of the axle in relationship to it. But even with those, there is another friction point where the spring loaded slide barrel contacts the inner edge of the cleat which could also support a sealed bearing or 2.

Image[/quote]

thisisatest
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by thisisatest

Im sure there is at least a DU sleeve inside the black part. I hope it's cheap/easy to replace, though. Street, jump bmx riders have been using DU bushinged pedals for a while now, and it's my understanding that they develop play quite readily.

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mythical
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by mythical

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/09/bikes-and-tech/quick-look-36-gram-ultralite-sports-road-pedals_238483 wrote:Stack height is on par with Speedplay at 13mm, and cleats are available in zero- and four-degree float options. The cleats and pedals are both manufactured in Colorado, and even the packaging is sourced domestically (from Ohio).
http://redkiteprayer.com/2012/09/ultralite-pedals/ wrote:But hey, these things weigh a negligible 72g for the pair of pedals, another 40g for the cleats. Nothing is lighter. Period. Also, the stack height is especially low, just less than 13mm from shoe sole to the center of the spindle. A low stack height reduces rotational weight, which cuts down on fatigue over the course of a ride.
Ultra low weight, yada yada yada, but no mention whatsoever in this entire thread about stack height?! :unbelievable:

If anything, lower pedal stack height improves power output more than lower pedal inertia ever has. I'll stick to my Speedplay Zero's until something lower comes along. Since my cleats are directly bolted onto my shoes soles, my pedal system should have a stack height of only 8.8mm... :)
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roca rule
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by roca rule

if you read the velonews article you are going to find that they state that they have a 13mm stack height wich is on par with speedplays (i don't know if it takes the adapter as a default configuration).

BobSantini
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by BobSantini

thisisatest wrote:Im sure there is at least a DU sleeve inside the black part. I hope it's cheap/easy to replace, though. Street, jump bmx riders have been using DU bushinged pedals for a while now, and it's my understanding that they develop play quite readily.

Maybe that's where the float comes from :)
Aerolite pedals run on delrin bushings. They seem to work acceptably. What is "DU"?
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by Weenie


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