Throughout the season, I’ve been torn between riding road pedals or mountain pedals. There have been times that I rode one or the other, and wished I had the other. Some gravel rides have been less technical, and I was able to get away with road pedals. Others were much more technical, and mountain pedals and shoes were right for the day. TIME’s new Cyclo aims to give you the best of both worlds.
The first question that comes to mind is, do we really need a new pedal? TIME thinks we do, and I can see why. Road pedals provide stable platforms to put power down, but they aren’t functional when it comes to walking. Mountain pedals aren’t as stable as road due to their smaller cleats and interface and have the tendency to be heavier. What you gain though, is the ability to actually walk off the bike, and the ability to get in and out of the pedals in sloppy conditions.
The Cyclo brings together features from Time’s ATAC mountain pedals with the XPro road pedals. The locking mechanism is what they are calling a modified i-Click system.. Looking at other ATAC pedals, it looks as though flipped the ATAC retention system, putting the spring in the rear instead of the front. Instead of a larger, three-holed, plastic cleat, it uses the same two-holed cleat from the ATAC line up, which will be great for ATAC users looking to lighten up their gravel rig. The two top-level versions of the Cyclo have micro-adjustment for the retention system’s tension, allowing riders to increase or decrease the release tension to their desired limits.
The pedal body has a larger platform than other mountain pedals, looking more like a road pedal. The idea is that the larger platform will provide more stability and power transfer while pedaling. Even though the cleat is the smaller two-blot design, the lugs on the shoe should interface with the pedal platform, giving you a larger contact patch, like a typical road pedal.
One thing that you do lose from traditional mountain bike pedals is the double-sided entry. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker for gravel or cyclo tourism like it would be for cyclocross or mountain biking.
While it is not the first gravel focused pedal (I would debate that the Speedplay Syzr pedal was one of the first), it is possibly the first carbon bodied gravel focused pedal on the market. Weight is where the Cyclo has the advantage, coming in at between 128-145 grams, depending on the model. Compared to the Syzr with Chromoly spindle, you save almost 70 grams a pedal. When you add in the cleat, you can probably save another 10-20 grams, at a lower price point.
The Cyclo comes in three levels, the 2, 6, and 10, with the higher the number, the higher level the pedal. The 2 features a glass-filled composite body with a steel axle. It is the basic model. The 6 gets you a lightened steel axle, a medal interface plate for durability, and adds the micro-adjustment to the retention. The 10 trades the glass-filled composite body for a carbon filled composite body. Weights come in at 145g, 129g, and 128g respectively. Retail pricing is $75, $110, and $130.
TIME may be onto something with the Cyclo, offering road benefits with mountain functionality. Looking at the current line up of products though, could this be the beginning of a new range from the French company, as they do not currently have a gravel frameset or off-road focused shoes. We’ll keep you updated on if we here more in the future.
If TIME nailed it with the Cyclo for the type of riding you are into, you can get your grubby little mitts on a pair in late-November. We’ll work on getting a pair in for review and let you know what we think. We’ll have a review out soon for their Osmos road shoes and XPro pedals.
http://www.time-sport.com
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
~Veggie Powered Athlete~
Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
Dream Bike – I’ll tell you when they make it
Discipline – Cyclocross, gravel, road and duathlons (ride/run)
Favorite Rides – Quiet country roads of Amish Country, some of the best roads around.
Food of Choice – Sweet potato roll
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Bourbon of Choice – Widow Jane 10 Year