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Comments
Onza Ho pedal. Elastomer instead of springs!
Onza pedals? HAd some on my GT RTS back in the day…
Onza pedats from the early 90′s
Onza. Good idea that was terrible in reality. I was riding a pair of these when I endured my wort-ever cycling accident. 30+ miles per hour, over the bars in a deep mud-puddle – shoes didn’t release from the pedals. The pedals went into the trash the next morning.
Absolutely correct. Onza HO Pedal.
Apparently I was the only one in the universe who liked Onza pedals. The only thing I did not like was that the rubber got stiff in cold weather and I’d get trapped sometimes.
Onza Ho. I ran those things for a couple of years. Generally they we’re ok, and you could swap out the bumpers for different densities to change retention properties.. Thanks for the memories!
Onza Ho, i still using mine!!
Onza Pedals… Had some in the day!
Onza’s!!! I’m using them now!!!
Still have a set of those! I quit using them after SMACKING them HARD on a rock at Devils Den race because then I couldn’t get in both sides anymore. Cleat engagement plate got bent!
Those are some worn out onzas! they should probably be thrown out before winter when they start to kill people.
Oh SwEEETttt!!! ONZA HO Pedals!!! I wish I still had mine even though the work like crap in the cold…. oh… and I recall they were easier to get into than the Shimanos
They are the Onza High Output pedals with Black elastomers (tightest release) and CroMo spindles.
I hate those things! No one bothered to tell me that the bumpers turned into rocks when it got cold out. So my first ride with em it was in the mid-30s spitting down snow. Making a long, sordid tale short, I came out of that ride with half my body muddy slush covered ’cause I couldn’t unclip and kept falling into semi-frozen mud puddles.
I actually had to take my shoe(s) off a few times to get the cleat out of the pedal! I’d wrenched it completely around and had to re-do the cleat placement to where I could ride it again.
ALMOST went back to clips and straps because of those pedals. Tried some Speedplay Magnums instead. Whew! Mo bettah
Yup, OnZa HO! I liked their simplicity, and in SoCal they worked great. Not so much when I went back to winter in New England. But I remember being able just to walk in to OnZa HQ in Santa Monica, show them the banged-up pedals, and walk out with refurbs.
I just threw up a little, and my knee started throbbing.
anybody need a pair of onza ti barends with the rubber hoods to complete a retro build? got 2 pair in a parts bin.
I think “high output” referred to the release rate – at every worst possible opportunity. I can’t count the number of saddles I took in the back or times I came down hard on the top tube because of a random Onza release – even with the black elastomers.
I still have them in a shoebox in the basement and cringe every time I open it. Also in the box are the remnants of my HO Breaks (spelled correctly.) The only Onza product that never failed me was the porcupine sticker.
I’d say Onzas were the worst pedals ever, but I had a set of the Suntour-MKS pedals first – those were death traps.
Those were my first clipless pedals, and I tipped over, many, many times with them. The only time they didn’t release was when you really needed them to. I have a friend who was still using his up until recently – freaking glutton for punishment!
I converted to clipless with these onZa’s some 16 years ago! I remembered going for a very muddy maiden clipless ride in Alum Creek state park near Columbus, OH. I loved them! Used them for about four years and never had any complaints. Then again I never tried other clipless systems when I was on the onZa’s, so what do I know if they sucked in winter (I used the clear elastomers, the softest ones I think). Thanks for the memories!
Onza H.O. *with stock elastomers.
They were my first clipless pedals; I crashed with them because I was 15, 16, 17 and mountain biking. I hope my bones are still as resilient!
Onza HO pedals, with the “medium release” elastomer installed. Note that the top of the elastomer is missing, as it would always be within 5 minutes of installing a new pair (and ensuring inconsistent release). Replacing the elastomers required removing the (easily stripped) allen bolts visible in the picture. The one thing no one has mentioned yet: these pedals were dangerously sensitive to changing weather conditions. I took them out on a 30F day in Gunnison, CO with the “high tension” elastomers in, and was completely unable to get out of them under any circumstances.
…and yet these things still beat the pants off of the 0 degrees of float MKS clipless pedals I had prior.
Best thing about these pedals……the Onza porcupine decal that came in the box.
Onza’s
Good bye and good riddance.
Onza HO. I met and rode with the Onza owners on the Big Island a long time ago. They were a couple of Japanese-American guys, good riders but more interested in the business side. Remember these pedals were like the Eggbeaters of the day; they might have had shortcomings but the only alternatives were Shimano SPuDs (737′s?) which were super heavy and clogged up in mud.
Yeah, Onza HOs, which were sold with pairs of clear, black and blue colored elastomers to adjust release tension. Clear was softest, blue medium, black firmest. I used these pedals for 2 years, eventually even the firm black elastomers degraded and had a hard time holding my skinny self in the pedal. Also, as someone has mentioned already — in cold winter temps, the elastomers didn’t work much if at all.
Not a bad attempt at clipless pedal design, really. At the time this Onza was available, Wellgo was already making the earlier version of what it makes today in the SPD cleat format, mechanically sprung MTB clipless pedal. They were sold under Shimano, Ritchey and Wellgo names.
Last time I checked. cycles de ORO still had a entire draw full of the elastomer inserts!!!!
drawer.
Is it bad that when I saw the pic load, I instantly knew the answer?
Back in late 90′s I traded my Onza HO Ti for a set of Ti BeBops on my MTB racer. What a bad deal, both pedals were just awful, and the BeBops actually cost me 50 more!
Onza HO: these were my first clipless pedals. Different colors elastomere for high/low tension.
Nice stuff
These were my first clipless pedals. I remember having to carve out the bottoms of my nike bike shoes to get them to fit properly. It was always a treat watching someone new go on their first ride with these. You would be on an insanely technical climb when you would just fall over because you forgot how to clip out.
I had a pair and still have a couple blue inserts in the bin. I really liked them most of the time. I did wheelie onto my back a few times, cause I couldn’t get out. I felt like a dying fish.
@ satisFACTORYrider:
I could totally use a pair of those. Let me know what you want for them.
charlie7latyahoodotca
Onza HO, loved ‘em…many years ago
with blue elastomers, if I’m not wrong….nice to see that someone still has a pair on his bike
These were all the rage. I think they made bar ends too. Problem was, could not clip in or out.
[...] by this week’s Monday Mystery Pic, I wondered: what was onZa’s best product? Working at a bike shop in the mid-90s, we saw [...]
My least favorite onza product
Answer, as you all know, from Matt Appleman: “I received an old Mtn. frame for a carbon repair. These OnZa ‘High Output’ pedals were on it! They’re from the early 90′s. They used an elastomer instead of spring to hold the cleat in.”
Check out Marc’s article asking “What was your favorite Onza product?” http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/07/23/question-what-was-your-favorite-onza-product/
Nice1-I have 5 pair of the H.O. Pedals since ’93. Never had a problem at all. Let me know if you want to get rid of yours sitting in your dust bin…
very very old
Is there anybody on this thread that would be willing to sell their Onza H.O. cleats or elastomers? I love these pedals and would like a second set of cleats. You can contact me at joshcgoldsmith@gmail.com.
Cheers