On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 10:28 AM, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos
<jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> Actually, just the opposite. The quill of a road pedal curves upward, but for a given model of pedal, the track version removes this outside section altogether, so the track pedal of a given brand and model i.e. Campy NR Pista versus Campy NR Strada, will actually have better ground clearance than the road version.
>
My NR Pista vs. NR Strada pedals have the same corning clearance since the first place a Campagnolo pedal touches in corning is the outboard bearing cover and housing if the pedal touches levelly, or the outboard lower cage corners if the pedal touches tilted forward or back. Since the outboard bearing housing is at the same distance and position from the crank on Campagnolo Pista and Strada pedals, and since the cage corners are in the same position too, both Pista and Strada pedals have the same cornering clearance in the Campagnolo versions. I have Campagnolo Strada pedals that touched the road in racing cornering, and some have scrapes on the outboard bearing cover, and with a 170 Strada crank, and a road-typical 27cm bb height, the road will take an even chunk out of the bearing cap and the aluminum housing. Some have scrapes on the cage corners, but none of my Strada pedals have gotten scraped along the upward curve of the quill or the tip of the quill except in a full fall over to the side, where obviously the quill point is a primary road contact. Even on my track bikes with higher bbs, 165cm cranks and slightly narrower bb spindles (all clearance increasing features), if I tilt them over, crank down, the part that touches first is the lower cage corner, and a Strada pedal mounted on the same crank and bike does not touch quill (was curious so I tried it once).
My assumption is that at one point earlier in the century there may have been a difference in cornering clearance between quill pedals and their quill-less track versions, and that road/track quill/no-quill tradition was carried over in later Campagnolo pedals even though it did not provide any actual cornering difference. There may still be a difference in cornering clearance for other pedal makes-- TA road and track pedals, for example, where the TA road pedal is wider than a Campagolo Strada pedal.
My other guess is that originally the quill points were to help retain foot position on the pedals. You often see distinct quill shapes on very early safefy bike pedals that were not used with toe clips and straps and quills may have seemed like aides for foot location. You see early double sided pedals with quills pointing both up and down on the same pedal. Perhaps this was useful when riders still climbed aboard safety bikes, ordinary style, over the rear of the bike from a mounting peg on the seatstay, and getting that foot securely on the pedal seemed trickier since you weren't in the saddle yet when you had to step into/onto the pedal.
Mitch Harris
Little Rock Canyon, Utah, USA