Spotlight on pedals

Contents:
Toe clips/clipless pedals The Brompton folding pedal Versus soles Removing the Brompton folding pedal The Brompton folding pedal folding too far

The Brompton comes with ordinary bicycle pedals, optionally with a folding left pedal. You can even get a similar folding right pedal for symmetry in look and feel (folding it is pointless). They can be replaced with any kind of (folding) pedal.

Toe clips/clipless pedals

in the U.S. nearly all "serious" cyclists use some means of securing the foot the pedal, both for greater efficiency and greater safety (the last is somewhat debatable, but only in the case of novice cyclists). So I grew up riding with toe clips and straps, and eventually graduated to clipless ones when they became available. I always assumed it was the same for cyclists everywhere, but I have heard that, outside of the racing community, they are not popular in the U.K.
About a year ago I first tried out Beebop pedals, at the urging of an "evangelist". I couldn't imagine why someone would be so excited about a pedal!
Within a couple of weeks, I too had become an evangelist. These are the simplest, "friendliest", most accommodating, LIGHTEST and SMALLEST pedals on earth! I have them on all my bikes, including my Brompton. They are so small as to pose no problem when carrying the folded bike (though I do carry it "backwards", so that the tiny bit of protruding left pedal is on the outside of the package). There are also adapters available for accommodating casual shoes, but with the wide variety of "casual" styled SPD shoes these days, I don't see as pressing a need.
Andrew Henry:
I've got a toeclip just on the right hand pedal. This doesn't get in the way of the folding. I thought that this would be a problem with the folding pedal. I thought about using a power grip on the folding pedal as I thought that it might be more squishable than a plastic toeclip. However, I've found that having one toeclip is fine. So I haven't bothered to try this out.
Its nice having a toeclip as it makes it easier to get the cranks in the right position for starting off. My foot has never slipped off the folding pedal, but it is nice to know that one foot is securely mounted.
I don't like the plastic right hand side pedal that came with my Brompton. I used to have this sort on another bike and I found them very slippery in the wet.
Richard Taylor:
I often use a pair of Ritchey clipless pedals on my Brompton. As I have SPDs on the bottom of several pairs of shoes and a pair of sandles, I find this very convenient - not quite as good a shape as a folding pedal, but much smaller than a normal pedal. In an emergency, the clipless pedals will support a `normal` shoe, and if I have thougt about it, I have little clip on platform + toe-clips (from Shimano I think) that convert them into normal sized pedals in 20 secs.

The Brompton folding pedal

Since March 2000, the Brompton ships with a folding pedal; before it was optional. The ordinary left pedal is the only thing sticking out of the folded package. What are the trade-offs of paying up for a folding pedal?

Phil Gough, Jul 1997:
For me the Brompton folding pedal is a real life-enhanciong advance, mainly because on my daily commute by crowded train I can leave it in the vestibule of the sliding doors, folded, and no other passenger is going ot trip over it, and I can sit and read my newspaper without any worries.
Stein Somers, Mar 1998:
The standard folding procedure involves turning the left pedal to an 11 o'clock position, which leaves the left pedal and crank stick out and hinder leg movement when I carry the folded Brompton to my right, even if the pedal is folded. Also the folded pedal scratches the main tube.
So I leave the left pedal at 6 o'clock in the corner of the folded package. There it doesn't hinder me or others while I carry it. The problem I have with the folding pedal is that it cannot be folded in that 6 o'clock position. I favour much easier carrying to a more compact folded package. In trains the left pedal sticking out is always under a chair, or I put the back pockets of the standard pannier around it, so it doesn't harm passengers. On the rare occasions I leave the folded Brompton in a locker, I simply unscrew the left pedal.

Versus soles

Matt Hayworth, Jun 2000:
My folding pedal has scratched the surface completely off the inner heel of my left (leather) shoe. I was thinking of getting a rubber cover for my left shoe, the type people use when wearing dress shoes in the rain. Any other solutions? I suppose I could just wear tennis shoes to the office and change there, but that seems a little undignified. But for now I have to figure out if the shoes are really ruined, or if some shoe polish would cover the damage...
I'm probably not pedaling with ball of my foot -- I had rollerblade wheels put on to replace the castors, so I sort of pedal in a way that avoids these, and that probably contributes to the problem, but I would think that anyone wearing leather shoes would tend to scratch them on the sharp medal of the folding pedal. I guess I'll go with the rubber galoshes and try to repair the damage with shoe polish. But other Brompton owners should be aware that a good pair of dress shoes can easily and almost unavoidably be damaged by the folding pedal. Not that I don't like the folding pedal!
PHolden960, Jun 2000:
Just took my loafers in for re-soling. Couldn't explain to the clerk why the left sole was worn thru, then I told him I *didn't* use feet to stop. (He said he was thinking just that.) Could this be?

Removing the Brompton folding pedal

Rory M. dela Paz, Oct 1998:
I have the left hand side folding pedal and would like to replace it with Performance Campus pedals (one side is SPD compatible). My problem is in trying to remove the folding pedal. The only tool that I have which can accommodate the pedal is an 8" adjustable wrench. However, this does not seem to provide me with enough leverage to loosen the pedal. That is, I can't quite get a good enough angle for the wrench to grip the pedal. Has anybody removed their folding pedal before? If so, what tool or what technique did you end up using to loosen the pedal? Or am I better off going to my local bike shop and let them wrestle with the problem? The only issue there is that I have not seen that many Bromptons in Boston (maybe just 2, the rest have been Fridays) so I don't know whether the bike shops here would even know how to handle one.

Peter Amey, Oct 1998:
I used a socket (socket wrench in USA?) without too much difficulty. A thinish ring spanner might also work. Do remember it's a left hand thread!
David Henshaw - A to B magazine, Oct 98:
The size is 24mm AF, but a 31/32 inch will work too.
David Edge, Oct 1998:
Little mantra I chant to remember handing is 'a left-hand pedal has a left-hand thread, bottom brackets are the other way round'
The first is nigh-on universal, while the latter only applies to moder BSC (British), old Raleigh and peculiar Swiss BBs. French and Italians are both right-handed. Applies to Bromptons though.
Scoman, Sep 1999:
I was able to get it off with pliers without doing any damage to the head.
Jim McLaughlin, Sep 1999:
This socket is standard at any hardware or auto store. Mine was originally purchased to service U-joints on my car. They cost several dollars. Very handy if you like to switch between folding and clip-in pedals.
Larry Chinn - Freewheel, Sep 1999:
Per Mr. Wasson's instructions I got a 24 mm socket for a ratchet to remove the left folding pedal (actually mine's 15/16 inches). If you're near San Francisco, please feel free to contact me.
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The Freewheel
980 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110-2322
(415) 643-9213
(415) 643-9224 fax
http://www.freewheelsf.com
larryc@freewheelsf.com
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BTW, the left pedal has reverse threading.

The Brompton folding pedal folding too far

Simon Risley, Mar 1999:
[...] how does one stop the folded pedal getting pushed into the frame and hacking the paitwork up? All I've thought of is putting a gardening glove over it.

Mr Bob Imrie, May 1998:
Has anyone found a way of inserting a pin into the pedal crank so that the folding pedal doesn't fall over too far? Mine did [...] as I wheeled my T5 off the train the back wheel moved downwards and the folding pedal got itself jammed behing the pump bracket. It took 5 minutes and two people to extract it. No damage apart from nasty digs in the paint. I don't want that to happen again! My local precision engineer is worried that inserting a pin might damage the integrity of the pedal crank.
- Leonard Rubin, May 1998:
  THIS IS A VERY BAD IDEA. Cast aluminum cranks are weak enough as it is, due to common and substantial structural imperfections introduced by that method of manufacture. Further weakening by introducing a massive stress riser/raiser such as the proposed invasion would constitute, will almost certainly eventually lead to catastrophic failure, as the aluminum (inevitably) fatigues. DON'T DO THAT!
  It would be preferrable to develop a folding habit/procedure that reduced the likelihood of that particular spatial conflict, and/or become more deliberate/observant/careful while wheeling folded & before unfolding or if necessary, use a velcro/elastic/metal strap/band/clip to safeguard against that problem.
  Another strategy is to use a different folding pedal (there are several available in Japan and Taiwan). Better still would be to check out our latest (still top secret) design (coy smile). Further news on that particular front will be forthcoming in a few months (inscrutible expression with trace of coy smile).
David Edge, May 1998:
This is a popular mod with Mud Dockers - they just drill a small hole and loctite a pin in; BUT...
The only people I've seen do it were relatively light, smooth pedallers. I was a 118kg gorilla (now 95kg) and have severely bent one Brompton crank and snapped another, so I'd advise extreme caution depending on your size, strength, use of the bike and how often you are prepared to inspect it. The Brompton cranks are wondrously light at the expense of gorilla-poofing, so putting such a stress-raiser in them is bad news.
I tried a cable tie round the crank, but that slipped; you could maybe try same with a spot of superglue?
David Dodson, Jun 1998:
Thanks for prompting me to deal with this annoyance, guys. I have just cut a roughly 5/8" by 2 and 1/8" rectangle of 2mm styrene sheet (as sold for model making) and taped it as a stopper to the inside of the crank with two turns of 2" wide Scotch clear mailing tape (not having waterproof tape to hand). The hinged plastic flap inside the pedal hits the styrene stopper, keeping the pedal about 1/2" clear of the frame. The tape goes round the 2" of stopper on the constant-width part of the crank to avoid scrunching where the crank widens towards the pedal. This seems reasonably robust (the mailing tape acts as a shock absorber and the styrene seems unlikely to damage the flap in the pedal) and is hardly noticable. I'd recommend beginning by *very lightly* sticking the stopper to the pedal to make a neat tape-wrapping job a bit easier.
Ian R. Platt, Sep 1998:
I use an old sock (Virgin Atlantic amenity pack lurid green, actually, tho it doesn't really matter) to try to prevent the folding pedal scratching the frame and the Brompton label when it's folded. The pedal really needs some kind of stop to prevent it overfolding, doesn't it?
Ian R. Platt, Sep 1998:
I fixed the over-folding pedal:
[...] You need: 1 x aluminium strip (6mm x 2mm x 140mm) 2 x 2.5mm x 5mm self-tapping screws to fit existing reflector screw holes Time: Under an hour (30mins +).
You don't need to remove the pedal from the crank, but if you do, don't forget it's a left hand screw & you loosen it by turning it clockwise, (ie the _opposite_ of 'turn to the right to make it tight'.
1. Make a square 'U' ( or rather, |_| ) bracket out of aluminium strip, not too wide (say 6mm) and fairly substantial (say 2mm - 3mm thick) but these dimentions are not critical. The length needs to be 140mm.
2. Remove the reflectors on the folding pedal by prising them out (carefully, you can re-use them) of the plastic casing with a flat screwdriver. This reveals the two crews holding the plastic casing the pedal. Remove, & save the screws.
3. The bent aluminium will be fastened into the holes nearest the crank: Fold the bike. Fold the pedal. The folding pedal should now be at about 11 o'clock position. Position the bracket so it's against bit (let's call it the pedal base plate or, in true Brompton fashion, PBP) the bolt goes through and _underneath_ the pedal. You need to make sure the bracket nice & snug against the PBP with the narrow side of the bracket sitting over the pedal.
  Make marks on the aluminium bracket through the two reflector holes. Drill out these holes to 2.5mm.
  Use the 5mm self-tappers to hold the bracket (I needed to trim the length a bit so they did not protrude into the interior of the pedal. You now should have a bracket which prevents the fedal scratching the frame.
4. To refit the reflectors: You have two choices:
  1. cut one end off the plastic holder & reflector so it fits along the side of the pedal to the point where the pedal begins to curve at the end. Use the original fixing position so it secures the shortened reflector holder. Press in the reflector.
  2. Do not cut the reflector. Trim the holder (I needed to cut away only the end of the casing, less then 1mm). Fit the holder so it is secured through the central hole in the holder into the original outer screw hole. (The holder will protrude past the end curve a bit, but ...). Press in the reflector again.
  Repeat for other side.
It took me about 30mins to do this and I now have a pedal which doesn't over-fold. The strip seems to make no difference to foot position (well, I haven't noticed it does) as you (like me) probably pedal with your insteps (bad style, or to avoid the rear carrier rollers/skate wheels BTW, I was told everyone in Holland cycles this way: any commennts?) and it was certainly unnoticeable when I Brompted out afterwards.
Ian R. Platt, Apr 1999:
I made the Platt-strap modification:
The reflectors on the pedal first need be removed by careful use of a small flat screwdriver inserted under the edge/down the side to spring the yellow plastic out. The screws can then be removed.
You need one strip of 3mm (or 2mm at a pinch) thick aluminium strip and 10mm wide. It needs to be long enough to be bent in a "|_| -shape" tightly _over_ (not under as this font suggests) the pedal and then drilled at each end so the screws which previously held the inboard ends of the reflectors can be used to hold this strap.
You could trim the inboard edges of the reflectors, but I just trimmed the black plastic reflector holders, (or you could _slightly_ elongate the holes horizontally) so that the reflectors fit back using the one remaning screw and project slightly beyond the outboard bend on the pedal.
I locktighted the screws but you could use a drop of nail varnish on the threads either. Colour:- to suit your taste ;-)
The Al strap then prevents the pedal going past 90 degrees to the spindle: no scratches!
Sure, you have 10mm less pedal space for your shoe, but as I doubt if anyone uses shoe clamps on a Brompton, what the hell! My foot hasbn't come off to date.
Hope it helps. It has helped me.
Dr Jonathan Jeffery, Feb 2002:
I use a Jubilee clip (possibly a UK-only name - I mean a metal band tightened by a screw, used for things like securing hosepipes , etc.). The jubilee clip is attached to the crank, near the peddle, so that the screw lies on the inner side of the crank. The clip is positioned as far along the crank as is possible without obstructing the normal spin of the peddle. When the peddle is folded, the black plastic locking section of the peddle buts-up against the screw of the clip, preventing further (over-) folding of the peddle.
Oh yes, I first wrapped a piece of firm plastic tape around the crank to prevent the tightened jubilee clip from scratching it.
Total mod time = 10 minutes, including locating an old jubilee clip!
- Joshua Ogawa, Mar 2003:
  I thought this would be a great idea and tried it. There were two problems.
  One was that the clip I could find at a local hardware shop was thicker than the gap between the pedal and the crank by 0.5mm or so. I had to file the clip down to fit in the gap to keep the clip close enough to the axis of the rotating pedal that when the pedal is folded, the black plastic part is stopped by this and the pedal is far enough from scratching the frame tube. The clip I got (Italian made) is made of mild steel and has no anti-corrosion finish. I recommend you folks to try find one with high-tensile spring-steel or stainless steel version of such a clip. The thinner the better.
  Another problem was that the clip's screw bit hits the standard Zefal pump when trying to fold the rear wheel. It's rather annoying and I have to watch it whenever I fold the bike or remove the pump. Has anyone got a solution to this?
Tony Raven, Apr 2003:
Maplin Self adhesive foot