Racing pedals, in place of a traditional tiller, are becoming increasingly popular among performance marathon paddlers. If you are looking to make the switch from a tiller system then there are some key advantages that may well make it worth your while getting to grips with.
Firstly, for those with larger feet you may find you have to remove one foot from the foot plate so you can swing the tiller fully over when making big turns. With pedals, there is no need to do this, so they offer more responsive steering. Some generally find it faster to apply smaller rudder movements too. On a more subtle note, when you are in the process of leg driving, it is not possible to move your foot sideways with pressure applied to the foot plate. With a pedal, you can apply your steering at any point within the paddle stroke cycle without having to wait precious moments.
If you like tillers then that's good too, every system has it's advantages and disadvantages. Compared to a tiller the racing pedals are a bit more fiddly to setup, and will need some tailoring to fit your feet and boat model, but this is simple to do and well worth the effort.
Firstly, for those with larger feet you may find you have to remove one foot from the foot plate so you can swing the tiller fully over when making big turns. With pedals, there is no need to do this, so they offer more responsive steering. Some generally find it faster to apply smaller rudder movements too. On a more subtle note, when you are in the process of leg driving, it is not possible to move your foot sideways with pressure applied to the foot plate. With a pedal, you can apply your steering at any point within the paddle stroke cycle without having to wait precious moments.
If you like tillers then that's good too, every system has it's advantages and disadvantages. Compared to a tiller the racing pedals are a bit more fiddly to setup, and will need some tailoring to fit your feet and boat model, but this is simple to do and well worth the effort.
Our performance carbon racing pedals include a carbon half footplate, aluminium frame, adjustable bungee tensioner, carbon pedals and comes pull bar ready. We can also supply with the carbon pull bar fitted.
Moving away from the full plate option has allowed us to make the footplate height adjustable using the two sets of three vertical holes on the front. We recommend using the pedals in conjunction with our heel plate system for maximum leg drive. Set the height so the ball of your foot is on the plate and your toes are able to move the pedal comfortably.
The pedals are conveniently tensioned back so they don't flop around and keep the steering lines securely on the rudder wheel. You can adjust the tension of the bungee using the toggle at the back.
The carbon pedals are supplied as a full-size blank, and without holes for the steering wires. This is to allow you to tailor the pedals to fit your boat's deck profile at your given height setting. Ideally you want to aim to have the wires positioned as high as possible on the pedal face for maximum rudder movement. However, if you want a high plate position in a slim boat, you will likely need to trim or file the top corners so it doesn't rub the deck. Use a 3mm drill bit to drill the holes for the rudder wire, c5mm in from the edges . The gallery photo is a Rift L with a high pedal position for reference. Boats like the Tor and M.50 have a lot of space so may not require trimming.
We have had success using the forward wire guides in the standard Kirton position but its not a one-size-fits-all setup, so you may need to bond in an extra set of raised wire guides just aft of the footrest. We suggest they are a minimum of 250mm aft of the footrest side plates (flanges) so you can bring the footrest further into the cockpit for easy adjustment without removing the steering lines. You may well be able to place the wire guides 400mm aft of the side plates if the steering lines come out at a good angle, which is even better, but you will have to experiment with your exact setup to see what is acceptable.
If you prefer rope to wire, we supply quality 1.5mm dyneema rope with minimum elongation. All our testing has been completed with wire which is our preferred set-up.
Other products you may be interested in
Carbon Wire guides x2
Cable nipples x2
Rope 7m (understern)