Displayed as a prototype at Interbike last year, Speedplay has been working hard on getting their new Syzr mountain bike pedals to market.
Previously light on details, now we’ve got the scoop on how the Syzrs work and what makes them special, and now that we know, we’re pretty excited to try them out when they finally go into production this fall.
Speedplay’s theory of pedal design is create a true cycling specific cleat engagement design rather than the more common pedal design that resembles its ski binding roots. The Syzr borrows a lot of what makes their road pedals great, namely the individual float limits for each direction (inward and outward) and the large, flat contact patch. Unlike most pedals that have cleats that rotate slightly within the pedal bindings, the Syzr’s cleat position within the pedal remains fixed, and it rotates with the pedal until it hits the limit screw.
Hit more for close up photos and better illustration of how it works…
The Syzr is a two-sided pedal with a tension screw on one side to adjust the amount of force required to release the cleat. It uses a hardened chromoly steel for the cleats and engagement contact points on the pedal body.
The outer section of the cleat (the part that clicks into the pedal) rotates around the inner part that bolts to the shoe. There are two screws (at top of cleat in this photo) that individually set the inward and outward rotation (ie. float) of the shoe. The great part about their placement is that you can slide a long allen wrench between the shoe and the pedal and set float limits while your shoe is on the pedal, letting you fine tune how close to the chainstays your heel gets.
Here’s the next great feature. Where a lot of mountain bike pedals use the tread as a platform to provide some stability, the Syzr pedal body actually sits directly on two flat patches on the cleat (where the arrow is pointing), which gives it a very stable, firm feel.
Compare this photo to the one above it and you’ll see how the cleat and pedal rotate together, so stability and engagement are constant until the point where the cleat is ready to disengage.
The way Speedplay’s founder put it is this: “It feels like a road pedal.” And apparently, that’s what their sponsored racers wanted.
Spindle options will likely include Chromoly, Stainless Steel and Titanium, though Speedplay founder Richard Byrne wouldn’t say for certain because they haven’t finalized that. Regardless, he said the SS spindle should be around 300g/pair plus about 56g for cleats. Ti spindles would knock off about 45g.
