But if you need to stop suddenly and you panic, braking with the wrong hand can send you flying over the handlebars into traffic or worse: public embarrassment. Slidepad Technologies based in Palo Alto has spent the past four years refining a patented system to solve this problem and require only one hand brake for a bike. Co-founder Andrew Ouellet came up with the idea while mountain biking as a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2008. This humble and soft-spoken mechanical engineer, built a heavy and bulky prototype that won Design and Business Plan competitions, but lacked market viability due to the cost and size. It was during one of these product competitions that co-founder Brian Riley saw the product for the first time and wanted to join the team. One great story about the company's founding is that Andrew learned to machine parts in the student shops at Cal Poly. This led to summer jobs in machine shops which led to requests for machine work while back at school. With orders in hand, he convinced his parents to front him 21 of the $38k needed to buy a machine himself, stuck it in his garage in SLO, and got to work in between classes, nights, and weekends.
After cranking for a few months with his machine in the garage at college, he was able to pay his parents back. Brake levers, Tektro CL530 ergonomic designed alloy brake levers with kraton insert. That's the machine they use today to prototype new designs molds quickly. Bottom bracket, FSA sealed cartridge, 68 x 122.5mm. See the head of sales Kyle Jansen describe their four year iteration cycle in the video below: Iteration after iteration got them to the slickly designed and lightweight offering they have today. Available for OEM bicycle manufacturers, Slidepad revolutionizes braking for casual cyclists.Last year they really had a breakthrough scoring a contract with Jamis Bicycles to have their brakes featured on several 2013 models releasing in late 2012. The system intelligently modulates front braking force, which alleviates the risks of front wheel lockup accidents caused by rider mistakes. The company manufactures a revolutionary single lever bicycle brake system, which easily integrates with standard braking components to provide a simplified braking setup. Slidepad Technologies was officially launched in March 2011. In October, the Slidepad braking system passed federal tests from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, certifying the product's safety for the U.S. “Parents love the Slidepad system for their kids, and it's a big advantage for us to be able to offer this to the large number of inexperienced adult customers we get here as well.” “We've rented out adult and kids bikes with the Slidepad system over 200 times this summer with very positive results,” said Rob Schwartz, owner of San Francisco Bicycle Rentals. In addition to manufacturers turning to simplified, single-lever braking, rental companies in the Bay Area continue to use the Slidepad system to provide customers with a positive rental experience. Rhode Island-based Dynamic Bicycles is also speccing the Slidepad system, with select 2012 models scheduled to hit the market in March.
Jamis bikes featuring the Slidepad system will be available in July or August 2012. That “represents not only the biggest growth opportunity for the bike industry, but also an important step in the global shift toward environmental sustainability,” Riley said. The company’s brake system will help get more casual and inexperienced riders on bikes. Slidepad President and Co-Founder, Brian Riley has argued that Slidepad Technologies’ revolutionary single-lever front and rear brake system is available as an aftermarket kit for just 49. “In keeping with that emphasis for the user, having a single shifter and using the Slidepad system for a single brake lever works really well both functionally and aesthetically.” “Jamis has a number of bikes that are single chain ring, multiple gear bikes and simplicity is important for the users,” said Greg Webber, Jamis vice president of product development.
The system alleviates the risks of front wheel lockup accidents caused by rider error, all while simplifying the user experience for recreational riders. James Bicycles will use Slidepad Technologies new patent-pending, single-lever brake system on select 2013 models, giving recreational cyclists a single-lever braking system that uses the force of the rear wheel to intelligently modulate the front brake.
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