Mercury SL: world's LIGHTEST road pedals
Today let's take a closer look at one of the most important products from our SL line, the Mercury SL pedals. There are several really important features these pedals offer that you might not see at first glance. So let’s get into them.
Right off the bat, you notice that Mercury pedals are small, slim, and light. So light in fact, that an entire Mercury assembly, two pedals, two cleats, and all hardware, comes in lighter than a single pedal from a lot of other top-shelf offerings. But more than that, they are extremely simple. The construction of each pedal consists of the titanium spindle, two stainless steel bearings, the bearing sleeve, and a custom-machined end bolt to hold it all in place. And if you’ve ever disassembled a pedal before, you’ll notice that these bearings are actually very large in the world of pedals. Mercury SL is the only pedal on the market two bearings of this size with this stance width. The result is an extremely smooth pedal stroke, with less friction, meaning less mechanical loss of power.
Adding to that idea, we designed Mercury as a no-float pedal. In my personal experience, pedal float caused so many more problems than it purports to solve. For myself, and for countless customers who reached out to me with similar experience, taking the time to find your ideal foot position, then having a fixed pedal to support it, actually makes the ride feel more comfortable, more locked in, and more powerful, compared to the ice-skating feel of floating pedals. It’s no wonder that a large proportion of pro peloton riders and track cyclists insist on fixed pedal systems.
Now we move on to the cleats themselves. The mechanism couldn’t be simpler or more effective. A simple c-shaped opening grabs the pedals with ease, exerting hundreds of pounds of grip force. This means the cleats will never clip out during normal pedaling motions. However, a simple supination of your foot gets them to release with ease. You may want to practice once or twice on a trainer before you hit the road, but within two minutes it’ll feel like your new normal.
The concept for Mercury goes back decades to spindle-style pedals of the past. But it is the ONLY pedal ever made that allows this mechanical concept to be used with standard three-bolt shoes and a standard three-bolt pattern. You get plenty of room for fore/aft and even rotational adjustment, so that you can find the perfect position for your cleats and optimize your pedal stroke.
If you’ve ever been dissatisfied with your pedals, or you’re in the market to drop some substantial grams from your rig, take a look at Mercury SL, available now in the TriRig store.
