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I hate those things! No one bothered to tell me that the bumpers turned into rocks when it got cold out. So my first ride with em it was in the mid-30s spitting down snow. Making a long, sordid tale short, I came out of that ride with half my body muddy slush covered ’cause I couldn’t unclip and kept falling into semi-frozen mud puddles.
I actually had to take my shoe(s) off a few times to get the cleat out of the pedal! I’d wrenched it completely around and had to re-do the cleat placement to where I could ride it again.
ALMOST went back to clips and straps because of those pedals. Tried some Speedplay Magnums instead. Whew! Mo bettah
I think “high output” referred to the release rate – at every worst possible opportunity. I can’t count the number of saddles I took in the back or times I came down hard on the top tube because of a random Onza release – even with the black elastomers.
I still have them in a shoebox in the basement and cringe every time I open it. Also in the box are the remnants of my HO Breaks (spelled correctly.) The only Onza product that never failed me was the porcupine sticker.
I’d say Onzas were the worst pedals ever, but I had a set of the Suntour-MKS pedals first – those were death traps.
I converted to clipless with these onZa’s some 16 years ago! I remembered going for a very muddy maiden clipless ride in Alum Creek state park near Columbus, OH. I loved them! Used them for about four years and never had any complaints. Then again I never tried other clipless systems when I was on the onZa’s, so what do I know if they sucked in winter (I used the clear elastomers, the softest ones I think). Thanks for the memories!
Onza HO pedals, with the “medium release” elastomer installed. Note that the top of the elastomer is missing, as it would always be within 5 minutes of installing a new pair (and ensuring inconsistent release). Replacing the elastomers required removing the (easily stripped) allen bolts visible in the picture. The one thing no one has mentioned yet: these pedals were dangerously sensitive to changing weather conditions. I took them out on a 30F day in Gunnison, CO with the “high tension” elastomers in, and was completely unable to get out of them under any circumstances.
…and yet these things still beat the pants off of the 0 degrees of float MKS clipless pedals I had prior.
Onza HO. I met and rode with the Onza owners on the Big Island a long time ago. They were a couple of Japanese-American guys, good riders but more interested in the business side. Remember these pedals were like the Eggbeaters of the day; they might have had shortcomings but the only alternatives were Shimano SPuDs (737’s?) which were super heavy and clogged up in mud.
Yeah, Onza HOs, which were sold with pairs of clear, black and blue colored elastomers to adjust release tension. Clear was softest, blue medium, black firmest. I used these pedals for 2 years, eventually even the firm black elastomers degraded and had a hard time holding my skinny self in the pedal. Also, as someone has mentioned already — in cold winter temps, the elastomers didn’t work much if at all.
Not a bad attempt at clipless pedal design, really. At the time this Onza was available, Wellgo was already making the earlier version of what it makes today in the SPD cleat format, mechanically sprung MTB clipless pedal. They were sold under Shimano, Ritchey and Wellgo names.
These were my first clipless pedals. I remember having to carve out the bottoms of my nike bike shoes to get them to fit properly. It was always a treat watching someone new go on their first ride with these. You would be on an insanely technical climb when you would just fall over because you forgot how to clip out.
Answer, as you all know, from Matt Appleman: “I received an old Mtn. frame for a carbon repair. These OnZa ‘High Output’ pedals were on it! They’re from the early 90’s. They used an elastomer instead of spring to hold the cleat in.”
Check out Marc’s article asking “What was your favorite Onza product?” https://bikerumor.com/2012/07/23/question-what-was-your-favorite-onza-product/
Is there anybody on this thread that would be willing to sell their Onza H.O. cleats or elastomers? I love these pedals and would like a second set of cleats. You can contact me at joshcgoldsmith@gmail.com.
Cheers
I fondle mine from time to time. They are hanging in my workshop. The years I spent dreaming of owning them (from age 13 to 17) made the agony of finding their function to be poorer than Shimano 535’s all the greater. I liked the loose feel once clipped in. I liked the weight. I liked the way they looked (so much it is hard to concieve). I didn’t like random release in mud and snow. Their claimed superiority in mud was not based on testing. I didn’t like having to remove lots of sole from my Sidi’s to be able to clip in. I didn’t like that Onza stopped making them in stead of keeping the basic design and improving it. Onza – just taste that word.. It radiates 90’s madness and wonderment.
