I got a pair for my 12 year old son. Now that the triathlon circuit is over he will try his luck in a couple duathlon events before the year ends.
As you can see in the below photo he usually leaves his cycling shoes attached to his pedals coming out of T1. He tried to work the PYRO platforms in the same manner as his cycling shoes and unfortunatelly he broke the left heel stop.
I remember someone mentioning in a post here in ST that he uses these platforms without the heel stop and was wondering what aditional power loss could be caused by this modification. The next event will be held in a perfectly flat course and this is why we are thinking that he can use PYRO platforms. Both my son and I personally witnessed Frodeno (picture below) in an ITU event come in first place to T2 , so I guess that if this platform type is efficient enough for ITU events the risk trying them in a kid’s duathlon should be reasonable.
The course for his age group is relativelly short 1km-10km-1km. Last time he arrived at the same event that will take place this Sunday in third place with a time difference so small that I am sure that he would have won if not because he had to put on his running shoes when the other kids (using toe clip pedals) just got down from their bikes to take off running.
Any input regarding these platforms specially about the heel stop modification will be appreciated.
Thanks beforehand,
Sergio
i’m sure i’m not as speedy as your son…but i use my Pyros for a couple sprints each year with what i consider to be a fair amount of success. i purposely removed the heel stops after i found them to be a nuisance.
i’d have him practice a few times and compare with standard pedals/toe clips and see which is more comfortable. my guess is that he will like the platforms better.
Thanks for your advise Jim. I already removed the heel stops to give them a try with this modification.
I also reversed the velcro straps so that they open pulling towards the bike. My son did not like them as they came, as they open/close opposite to his Specialized Trivent shoes.
I doubt he will use them for triathlon as he has a lot of practice mounting/dismounting barefooted, but I think that he might save a few seconds in a duathlon using PYROs.
We will give them another try tomorrow.
Thanks again for your help.
Sergio
i never thought about switching the straps around. i’ve had the best luck with a preset position for them. snug enough to offer a little lateral support, but not loose enough to flap. then i don’t have to try and tighten them or snug them down after mounting. just slip in and go. i ride with a slight emphasis on “toe forward” with the Pyros which for the short distance on flat courses is an advantage for me. just got to make sure and not do a last minute shoe change which might affect the strap setting.
He has been strapping his cycling shoes on the bike long enough so that doing it with the platforms to get them a little tighter should be no problem. He is a better cyclist than runner so I am a little afraid of him loosing some power on the cycle to gain a few seconds running.
Your experience shure gives me some ideas about what to expect.
Thanks again Jim.
Sergio