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One of the biggest difficulties I had with going to clipless pedals on my bike last year was that the requirement for bike shoes made it difficult to use my bike for a short trips, such as those up to the store. It’s not hard to slip my bike shoes on, but they aren’t exactly comfortable for walking around in. While it would be possible to buy something like Keen’s Commuter cycling sandels / hiking shoes, that would be expensive and overkill.
Thanks to I’ve been checking out Alfred E. Bike‘s Daily Deal section, and late last week they had a set of Winwood Decksters for right around US$20, shipped. These devices are aluminum platform pedals, but with SPD-type cleat mounts (like most cycling shoes) on the bottom. Mated to a pair of cleats, they can turn any pedal back into a platform, perfect for quick rides to the store, picking up pizza, etc. Having recently switched to Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals I had a spare set of cleats, perfect for use on these pedals.
When my set of Decksters arrived today, I decided to fit them with the cleats and deal with the cold / wet weather and give them a try. Installation of the cleats was very simply, and after being torqued to ~44 inch-pounds, I snapped them on the pedals and took a couple quick rides around the basement. Due to the plastic blocks on the bottom of the pedals (mandatory for using the Decksters with TIME or Eggbeater pedals) the Decksters fit very snugly on the pedals, and didn’t move.
While I could pop them off by twisting them with my hands, during a test ride around the neighborhood, intentionally rotating my feet on them, they didn’t seem to move. They also felt nicely solid, like a good pair of reasonably sized platforms. Initially I thought that pins or sharp points on them would make them a bit better, but I think this would lead to them popping off more easily, and may encourage their use in situations where they just don’t belong (BMX, DJ, FR, etc.).
If you’d like to see more photos of these pedals, here is my album of the Winwood Decksters platform pedal adapters, and here are the photos which can be found in there:
· Boxed Winwood Decksters, as received from Alfred E. Bike.
· The Winwood Deckster platforms themselves, along with nuts and screws for mounting the cleats.
· Pair of Crank Brothers Eggbeater cleats, ready to mount on the bottom of the Winwood Decksters.
· Yes, I made sure to torque the screws to the recommended ~44 inch-pounds.
· Bottom of the Winwood Decksters pedal with Crank Brothers Eggbeater cleat attached.
· Winwood Decksters platform pedal clipped into the Crank Brothers Eggbeater C pedal on my multi-speed bike. This feels very stable for riding around the neighborhood and to the store.
· Detail of the underside of the Winwood Deckster pedal, clipped to an Eggbeater C pedal. Note that the plastic blocks rest against the pedal and ensure that it doesn’t move.
