Jerry Moos wrote:
>Thanks, Duane. What I have is the 36F. The catalog calls this a
>"Rattrap Pedal", although I would have applied this term more to the
>mod 460, which the catalog calls a "Course Pedal'. I think the term
>"rattrap" has always been applied very loosely. Does anyone know
>the origin of this term, and what type of pedal it was originally
>applied to?
"Rat traps" is an old term for toe clips. Basically, a "rat trap" pedal was originally any pedal that was designed to have clips and straps mounted.
Marketeers eventually warped this to a different meaning, just as they did with "alpine" gearing.
When I was first getting into the drop-bar lightweight scene, in the early '60s, primarily in an AYH crowd, nobody called toe clips "toe clips". To call them "toe clips" would be like calling a joint a "marihuana cigarette."
They were universally referred to as "traps" which was understood to be a shortened form of "rat traps."
Sheldon "Marcel Berthet #23 Was The Best" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
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