A new pedal appeared last week, launched by the French brand Ekoi and it caused a stir in cycling. However, they didn’t even last until the weekend, as the UCI, the International Cycling Union, moved to prevent their use, at least for now.
The controversy over the new pedal
As reported by French technology website Matos Vélo, the UCI stewards, during the Etoile de Bessèges, informed the Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur team that they would no longer be able to use the pedals. The UCI has not yet responded to a request for clarification on the matter.
The pedals in question are the so-called PW8 model from French brand Ekoi, which features a bold new design in the form of a large platform, and a bold, if vague, claim of an eight-watt saving.
Uncertainties regarding the future of the product
Ekoi is not officially providing any information about the pedals, which have not been launched, but was keen to reinforce that 2 million euros were spent on developing the product, which has been presented to the biggest professional teams in the world.
For now, there are two teams experimenting with the pedals: Nice Métropole and Burgos-BH. Or at least that was the case until the weekend.
The future of pedals?
It’s not exactly clear what prompted the UCI to act. Unreleased prototype equipment is eligible for use as long as it has been registered with the governing body’s technical department, so it is possible that there was an administrative failure rather than the UCI rejecting the design of the pedal itself.