Gear

The 14 tech innovations that changed road cycling

Fourteen bits of kit that make the bike of today

7. Clipless pedals

Disc brakes and Di2 - two of the tech innovations that make the modern road bike
The safety bicycle was developed in the late 1800s (Pic: H. Clarke via Wikimedia Commons)
The invention of the pneumatic tyre significantly improved comfort
The invention of the rear derailleur made it much easier to change gear
We may take the QR for granted but it revolutionised things back in 1927
The yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the Tour de France
Helmet design has come on a long way since the ‘leather hairnet’ style of the 1970s
French company LOOK pioneered the design of the clipless pedal
The Shimano Total Integration system was introduced in 1990
Greg LeMond first used TT bars to effectively win the 1989 Tour de France
German company SRM developed the first power meter in the 1980s
View image | gettyimages.com
Garmin GPS computers are now almost ubiquitous
Shimano brought the first successful electronic groupset to market back in 2009
The future is here: disc brakes are to be trialled in professional road cycling in August and September

7. Clipless pedals

Although the first ever clipless pedal was technically made in 1895 by Charles Hanson, it wasn’t until the 1970s, and the M71 made by Cino Cinelli, before it started to look anything like the pedals we ride today.

But the M71 still required the rider to reach down and unlock them using a lever, so in 1984, LOOK decided to use a similar binding system to that used in downhill skiing.

In 1985, Bernard Hinault won the Tour de France riding LOOK’s clipless pedals and it became clear that it was an idea that was going to stick around. Remarkably, the LOOK design ridden by Hinault is very similar to that which the French company still use today.

Although there are other designs available from companies like Time or Speedplay, the same principle in which the rider presses down to engage the cleat, then rotates the heel outwards to release, is pretty much universal among road pedals to this day.