YOSHIMURA Chilao SS Pedal
Some hot MTB pedals have arrived at Blue Lug!
Some of you who also ride motorcycles might recognize the Yoshimura logo. Yoshimura is a Japanese company who is famous for exhaust systems parts for motorcycles.
I actually was super into motorcycles when I was a student, way before I got into cycling. I would spend most of my money on aftermarket parts for motorcycles.
I rode a lot of motorcycles, and my favorite was off-road bikes, so the mufflers from Yoshimura when the Honda CRF came out with double mufflers stand out to me the most.
(Young me from my iPhone)
The motorbike in the picture is the Suzuki GSX-R600. Suzuki bikes are usually blue, since their corporate color is blue, but I intentionally picked red and I loved it.
Yoshimura and Suzuki had a close relationship from the old days and would develop parts for the engine and exhaust, offer tuning and would run racing teams.
Young Duncan might or might not have known those facts, but he did in fact have their muffler on his motorbike, so it is a brand I love.
Yoshimura released bicycle pedals a few years ago. I was confused to why Yoshimura would release a bike pedal, but I was stoked at the same time. They were unavailable to Japan, so I remember wanting their pedals really bad.
The grand son of the founder is now the president of Yoshimura R&D of America, Inc, and is a fan of mountain biking.
Yoshimura Cycling was started with the desire to create better pedals using the technology cultivated through motorcycles, as there was room for improvement in the pedals that were being used by him at the time.
The very first product of Yoshimura Cycling are these Chilao SS Pedals, which are made in Chino California. They are made from CNC machined aluminum.
They have beautiful finishes, but they also feature the Static Spring mechanism, which applies a constant force to the bearings, reducing wear and tear and increasing durability.
Furthermore, when getting a pedal strike, it absorbs the impact to the bearings and plays a role in supporting the spindle. It is also highly shock-resistant, making it a pedal that can be used for a long time.
There are two sizes to the Chilao SS Pedals. It all depends on your preference, but the small size is generally designed for smaller feet, or gravel riding, cross country or MTB.
The large size are for larger feet, or trail riding, enduro racing, and Downhill mountain biking. Again, it’s all preference, so using a large for gravel riding is totally fine, and using a small for MTBing to avoid pedal strikes are also fine.
They are available in Ice and Black for the small size, Black, Yoshikote and Pewter for the large size.
The pins for the pedals are sold separately. Small and large take different size pins so watch out for that. The pins are also available in multiple colors. Fun!
Bicycle parts incorporating the advanced technology of a long-established Japanese brand that has been active at the forefront of the motorcycle industry for many years. They are durable, can be used for a long time without much maintenance, and can be repaired with replacement parts unless it suffers fatal damage.
It has so many things in common with the other brands we carry, that it makes us realize once again that this is the foundation of manufacturing! I’m excited to see where the brand goes.
Thanks for reading!
