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FlyByke reimagines toe clips with shoe hugging pedal holster

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Once you’ve been riding clipless for long enough, it’s easy to forget that many cyclists aren’t clipping in. Instead, it’s probably safe to say that there are more riders world wide pedaling around in whatever footwear they have (or barefoot even). For those riders still rocking their street shoes, FlyByke has what they think is a better mouse foot trap.

FlyByke reimagines toe clips with shoe hugging pedal holster

Still very much a prototype, the idea was sent to us by the inventor – Duncan White of New Zealand. He mentioned that after becoming frustrated with the typical toe cages or clipless shoes and cleats, he came up with the idea.

FlyByke reimagines toe clips with shoe hugging pedal holsterFlyByke reimagines toe clips with shoe hugging pedal holster

Compared to most toe clips, the FlyByke design is unique as it includes a winglet that curves down and over the shoe preventing the shoe from moving outwards. Duncan says the final design may have dual winglets for even better support of your shoe. There’s also a optional flipper which gets installed on the back end of the pedal to make it easier to get your shoe into the holster.

Duncan tells us that his patent has been published and is looking for feedback and to hopefully make the right connections to bring the FlyByke Pedal Holster to market.

 

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33 Comments
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pete
pete
6 years ago

what are these for? cant people just use pedal straps?

JNH
JNH
6 years ago
Reply to  pete

Pedal straps are pretty horrible in an emergency, what with the not coming undone on command and all.

GeekonaBike (@GeekonaBike)
Reply to  pete

I like power straps for winter riding & have No trouble getting out w/ same clipless twist motion. These do looks less intimidating, but likely need to same straight back as toe clips release.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago

Yup, straps are bad. If they’re tight enough to be doing any good, you should have to release tension to get out. If you’re riding tight enough, get cycling shoes. These are great for a bit of stability for everyone else

Thor
Thor
6 years ago

Clipless pedals are great, but the disadvantage is having to wear a special shoe. I use flats on my commuter bikes for that reason. The truth is, the advantage of being attached to your pedal is very small and not worth the extra trouble most of the time. I would never put toe clips on a commuter bike, not these nor any version (including Power Grips). Grippy mountain bike pedals work fine and offer lots of support. Yeah, I can’t pull straight up. I rarely did that anyway. I suppose if you ride fixed it might be more important to stay attached, but in that case I’d just go ahead and put on my clipless shoes and run my Eggbeaters. Much easier to attach to than trying to flip the pedal while the cranks are turning. (I also ran a front brake and didn’t skid everywhere. I’m not very cool I guess).

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago
Reply to  Thor

There are plenty of street walkable shoes with cleat mounts these days. Comfy enough that I occasionally worked 8-10 hour shifts at a bike shop in them without anyone knowing I was wearing cycling shoes.

Dylan
Dylan
6 years ago

“After becoming frustrated with the typical toe cages or clipless shoes and cleats, he came up with the idea”.What frustrating problems exactly is this solving? Easier entry than toe clips by omitting the strap, sure, but by omitting the strap you’ve basically lost most of the benefit of toe clips. Why bother?

Duncan White
Duncan White
6 years ago
Reply to  Dylan

They provide all the benefits of clips with cinched down straps but are much more easy to slip into and out of and no straps rubbing on your crank or having to adjust for different shoes. I’ve been using them long time and they work brilliantly perfect.

Randall
Randall
6 years ago

I don’t see an improvement over properly adjusted plastic Cat-Eye TC-200.

TomM
TomM
6 years ago

Pretty similar to Power Grips which have been around for something like a quarter century.

Jim Hogan
6 years ago

“I was absolutely stunned – shocked – to see haters trashing a product they’ve never even touched in the Bikerumor comments section” said no one ever.

mudrock
mudrock
6 years ago

This is a good idea, holds your foot in place, can be quickly withdrawn (toe clip straps tend to grab your shoe if you try to yank them out – I used them for 20 years). Perfect for commuters who don’t use clipless pedals and shoes.

Duncan White
Duncan White
6 years ago
Reply to  mudrock

You’re exactly right! When I ride and dismount I forget my shoes are secured and just make a normal easy dismount. My right shoe just slips out the back and my left shoe naturally twists on the pedal as my right leg swings over the bike onto the ground and then just slip the left shoe out. It’s so natural I can come to a complete stop before slipping my right shoe smoothly straight out the back all in one easy motion Thanks for your feedback.

Dan Weinshenker
Dan Weinshenker
6 years ago

Properly adjusted Power Grips work great. Easy in and out, but totally secure with the twisting/tightening motion.

Greg Moore
Greg Moore
6 years ago

You had me at winglet.

Tomi
Tomi
6 years ago

I could have seen myself put similar devices back when I was only a roadie and had no clues because at the time I thought I needed such support.

In the meantime I discovered proper grippy MTB flat pedals with pins and I don’t see the point anymore. as I feel secure with them. Even with my oxford or derby street shoes I don’t suffer any slippage and can bunny hop a curb without fear. I even tried bunny hopping with flip flops and it somehow works if you are careful.

So what are these trying to solve that a properly made flat pedal can’t ?

Joe
Joe
6 years ago
Reply to  Tomi

Okay, so, hear me out. The Race Face Chester pedal has a street value around $50USD. It has a polycarbonate pedal body of appreciably shallow thickness featuring metal pins on a sizable surface area. You won’t reliably find a pedal with a large platform and metal pins for much less than that. The Chester (or something very, very similar for a similar price) offers ubiquitous distribution and will be sold at any brick and mortar store that provides a comprehensive selection of platforms to its patrons. A solid toe-clippable platform/quill pedal, the kind this product is designed for, will be available for $25-40USD depending on branding (Wellgo vs XLC vs All-City, etcetera). As a salesperson, I see little value in upselling a customer with this product when I could just pick up some Chesters and say “Or, you could just spend $5-$15 more and have a pedal that just sticks to your feet without flipping it over.” As a savvy consumer, I can only see this being an appealing product if one is still rocking the stock pedals on a hybrid that cost $10 aftermarket and one wants some marginal foot retention benefits while spending as little money as possible. There was a time when not clipping in was a choice between polycarbonate BMX pedals that were a half inch thick($20-40), old school trail/DJ pedals (~$80-120), pedals and toe clips and straps($40-200), or buying clipless shoes and pedals($100-???), but those times are past, and there really isn’t a rational reason for this product to exist on the market. I appreciate that this dude had an idea and worked it out, however I can’t really see what niche this product fills or why the market would benefit from another option when plain ol’ platforms (be they MKS classics or aggro trail pedals), BMX pedals with FGFS straps, or clipping in with cleats covers all the bases from economy-class to race-oriented.

Duncan White
Duncan White
6 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Plain old platforms do not offer the pedaling efficiency for road biking commuting. This solution is to enable pedaling efficiency with the benefit of wearing your sneaker running work shoe or whatever you have your feet in. Short triathlon rider has emailed me requesting 2 sets for his Tri-bike and Mtn bike. These holsters perform as well as cleats in my pedaling performance.

Dylan
Dylan
6 years ago
Reply to  Duncan White

Being clipped in has definite advantages (security, peak power, smoothing out power delivery), but efficiency isn’t one of them. Multiple studies have debunked the efficiency myth. My main scepticism about these performance wise is that I don’t see that that they would allow you to pull up on the pedal like you can with a clipless pedal or clip & strap.

i
i
6 years ago

With a strap, the clip is only there to hold the strap open so you can get your foot in. It sounds, from the comments, like the inventor is claiming this is rigid enough to not need a strap; so the clip does both functions. Yet, one assumes it’s also supple enough to not shatter whenever you drag it on a curb or stomp the top of the pedal.

I’d have to see that to believe it.
I don’t personally have a need for such a thing, but I know at least one commuter that would. I don’t think this is aimed at the clipped in, or ‘has scars on their shins from learning to ride flats’ crowd.

Duncan White
Duncan White
6 years ago
Reply to  i

Polycarbonate or fibre injected plastic is tough stuff

satanas
satanas
6 years ago

I’m wondering how well these work compared with fixie footstraps. I haven’t used those, but have tried Powergrips and found them a bit tricky to get into quickly. Sometimes a bit more stability than just flats is useful, IMHO, so am curious.

MBR
MBR
6 years ago

For the people who think toe clips and straps are dangerous, you are both right and wrong.
You’re right if you’re thinking of old road shoes with bolted on cleats and a tight strap. That’s back in the day of wool shorts, leather chamois and hairnets. You are wrong if you use a shoe with a touring type sole, have a pedal cage that isn’t too sharp and have the straps loose enough for the shoe to enter and exit without having to touch the strap [not the Powerstrap type of strap]. Toe clips and straps offer the best of clipless [the foot is held in proper position over the pedal], and plats [the shoe isn’t subject to a mechanism failing and having the foot held onto the pedal]. Half clips are another option. I’ve run clips and straps on my mountain bikes since about ’88 and never had a foot get trapped in the pedal. However, I’ve seen lots of people fall and get injured when they couldn’t get their foot out of a clipless pedal. And the argument about not being able to pull up on the foot with loose straps, a bit true, but you can pull up an amount equal to the weight of the leg and the foot will not drift on the pedal. The bio-mechanics of the leg have evolved to really not support massive pulling up. Besides, about the only time one pulls up on the leg more than the weight of a leg, is in an all out sprint. I get sh*t from people all the time about how they think my clips and straps are dangerous. Since I’m usually ahead of most people I ride with, they usually realize it’s not slowing me down. And putting straps on current design plats is a heavy reinvention of what’s already been done with a nice quill cage pedal.

Duncan White
Duncan White
6 years ago
Reply to  MBR

Yep I used the loose straps for many years till the straps frayed rubbing on the crank arm. Even loose straps were often difficult getting my various shoe sizes into. I would have to lean on the car and bend down fiddling the straps to get my shoes in. No problems now! I slip my right shoe in, in a split second and power off. And I pull up push forward and down for a 360 degree efficient rotation. I hope someday you’ll get to try a pair. Look cool to.

Paul,
Paul,
6 years ago
Reply to  MBR

I’ve run toe straps since I’ve been mountain biking for over 20 years. I like platforms other than through rock gardens where my feet can bounce off of the pedal. I have been against clip in since I don’t see them allowing myself an easy exit, toe buckets I have zero issues getting out of. Getting in can be a pain but I don’t run the straps tight. I tried some spd’s from DMR and a set of Shimano XTR’s, with my wolvhammer winter shoes I was able to pull right out of the DMR’s. Tried it with the XTR’ and they were horrible, have to twist my leg to get out which sucks. Just tried the DMR’s with a set of 5/10’s and I can’t pull straight out. I’m not going to change my riding style so I can ride what everyone else is but the selection of good pedals for toe buckets is disappearing. Clip in pedals are on my road bike where they belong.

Ron G.
Ron G.
6 years ago

“includes a winglet that curves down and over the shoe preventing the shoe from moving outwards” Or, you could just not move your foot outwards. Is this really a problem people have?

Duncan White
Duncan White
6 years ago
Reply to  Ron G.

Yes most people. Only a very few have inward lateral forces. If you have studs or other grippy pedals and grippy shoes you’ll be fine maybe but might lose your pedals when pedaling over bumpy roads or tracks

Ron G.
Ron G.
6 years ago
Reply to  Duncan White

No, I won’t. Really, it was a rhetorical question. If you’re falling off the pedals while riding over bumpy surfaces, you’re doing it wrong.

Peter Nason
Peter Nason
6 years ago

I think it’s a great product abd offers a third option to people who arent satisfied with clipless or straps and want more versatility.

Surly Will
Surly Will
6 years ago

Toe CAGE … clipless pedals have clips … whereas “clips” never did … they had cages and straps.

Rusty Piton
Rusty Piton
6 years ago

Just what nobody was clamoring for!

rustyring
2 years ago

Those of us who use toe clips, clip in. Those who use clipless pedals (more properly called cleated pedals in this day and age), cleat in. Hence the term “clipless.” This point of vocabulary leads to endless confusion in folks who don’t get the difference between clips and cleats, so it’s well to mind your phrasing.

Thanks for the post! I ride in clips, and these appear worth looking into.

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