Through your family you inherit a lot of things. Car's, homes, debts, genes, but the one thing us as men need most you can not inherit, the 'family jewels'. If you don't understand this saying in due time you will, but for us that understand it you know what I am talking about. Nothing is more of a flow breaker than getting a swift whack to your family jewels. Not only that, but it's a very uncomfortable lesson to learn.
But how do we avoid, or prevent this situation as well as we can? In this review we will cover a few of the main contributors to the pain we refer to as "sacking", and ways to prevent this painful lesson like running a set of good grippy pedals.We have all been young, looking up to the "older kids" and their "older kid's bikes". Now, I don't know about you guys and girls, but I knew I could ride that "big kid bike". Well, these are some of the situations we as guys should try to avoid. It puts our jewels in a situation where if we were to slip a pedal, or try to bail they are going to get squashed, and it won't feel good. At a young age this pain is nothing compared to what it is now, but even still let's all try to avoid that situation, regardless of age.
Where would the Jewels go?A bike that's too large is one of the biggest players in sore soldiers, but it's not the only thing that brings the pain when it comes time. When we ride our bikes our weight is distributed evenly (for the most part) on the pedals. One faces forward and one is backwards, making it so our legs are always counter acting each other's actions. Meaning, if you're pedaling forward with your left foot, your right foot is pulling up on the pedal. All the pressure you displace on 1 pedal is being forced into the drive train through the chain, producing what we call a pedal stroke. But if we break the cycle by removing the chain, we are now doing what I like to refer to as the "spin doctor" effect, meaning your legs are going from 100% resistance by the chain/driveline, to 100% wasted power. When you break a chain it usually results in a smashed knee, or a really sore pair of jewels. Either way, this isn't something you want to run into very often, but it's not something that happens on a regular basis.
Uncommon but painful I think the most common circumstance where the jewels would get a beating would be blowing the pedals. We have all slipped, missed, or blew a pedal before, and it is not a very comfortable feeling. Let's be honest, the family jewels are strong, but not strong enough to withstand my body weight falling on them.
Myself and my buddy Mike Estes both have the same plan when it comes to pedals, replace them when you're getting worried about slipping them. Stock pedals tend to be one of the least expensive components on a bike, but they play one of the most important contact points on your bike. Recently I got a pair of the
Premium Products Slim Pedals for my hardtail, which are a well designed, well thought out, as well as a flashy pair of pedals. So far I am very pleased with them, but here's some information on them.
Solid Traction
The Premium Slim Pedals are constructed out of 6061 T-6 aluminum, that has been extruded and CNC machined down to produce the low profile body. The body of the pedal is 14mm's thick at its thinnest portion, and only has 3mm's of change to the 17mm wide exterior sections. This 3mm change creates a comfortable "concave" for your foot to sit in. They spin on micro sealed bearing and DU bushings which are all assembled on a CNC machined chromoly spindle. All together the Slim pedals weigh under 16oz, or a pound for the 2 pedals. They are constructed in a flashy Ano Red, but also are featured in a Anodized Black color scheme, and in Brown.
The Slim pedals are a fairly basic design, with pins on the pedal faces to give us traction, however pin construction and placement has changed for the better over time. The Premium Slim pedals use a fat allen key insertion on the back of the pins. What that helps with is once you mash the end of a pin down, or wear it off, you have to remove them, but the issue for a while was getting them out. This isn't something, but it's a nice feature for pedals to aid the end user in a more pleasant experience when replacing pins.
One thing the Slim pedals do is catch people's eyes with their flashy finish. The average rider was interested in these pedals not only because they are flashy, but because they are thin, had a sweet laser etched logo job, and look great when they are in motion. They have a nice shape to them that fits perfectly in the "pocket" of your shoe. By pocket I am referring to the zone in your shoe where a pedal feels most comfortable. Skate shoes are more prone to have a smaller pocket due to the flimsy sole, where as riding shoes like 5.10s have a hard rubber sole, making a larger pocket. The Slim pedals are not to big, not to wide, and seem to fit in the perfect zone.
Jammed up tight
So why are they good, because they are thin? Well, I thought about that too when I heard about the
FlyPaper pedals, and I think it's a combination of things. First off, the closer your foot is to the center of the pedal the more stable you should feel. Your foot is closer to the pivoting point on the pedal, making it a more fluid motion for pedaling. More clearance when pedaling as well. The Premium Slim pedals offers all these benefits. Now if you are a masher that bashes into rocks simply because that's how you ride, maybe they are not for you.
Throwing it flat
Overall I am super pleased with the
Premium Slim pedals. I would suggest them for any street or dirt rider who is in the market for some light, thin and reliable pedals. The Premium Slim pedals retail for 140$ CDN and are distributed by
Norco in Canada.
www.sicklines.com/2008/02/18/kona-wah-wah-pedals