When the first people decided they’d like to fly, many mocked the idea as “impossible”. Today, it’s difficult to imagine a world without aviation. So when folks like Kai Ingvald Flateland innovate new products on our behalf, I believe we need to listen with impartiality, test those products and fairly conclude for ourselves whether they add something to century old designs or not, so please do keep an open mind as we proceed with this review.
This will undoubtedly be my most “intriguing” review thus far! Why? Well, TwinPegs are a completely unknown quantity to me. On an adventure bike, I’ve never tried anything like it so I’ve no idea whether I’ll love them or loathe them. Will they improve my riding experience and if so, which part of my riding experience might they improve?
I’ve used something vaguely similar on my Harley Davidson though their purpose is simply for comfort:
In order to better understand the purpose of these TwinPegs, I’ll copy and past an email from Kai (the designer) himself, which I think, very eloquently describes that purpose. Please remember that Kai is Norwegian and not a native English speaker and whilst his English is better than many of my British compatriots, out of respect I have not “corrected” any spelling or grammar.
“Reaching out is a challenge for small companies. And it adds to the challenge that I present a ergonomic concept that are in direct opposition to “what everybody knows”, the importance of using the calf muscles for “added damping” and allowing the boots to pivot around the footpegs. And as the TwinPegs solution requires more parts, it will inevitably cost more to produce than a pair of aftermarket footpegs. Who is most likely to be correct, the rest of the motorcycle industry with 120 years of experience, or an unknown engineer and motorcycle enthusiast from Norway? 🙂
But that aspect also makes this an interesting story. The question I am asking is as follows; “Can vi really be sure that they found the ideal ergonomic concept for modern day offroad motorcycling back in the pioneer years of motorcycling, when the first motorcycles inherited single footpegs from the early bicycles”. There are no principal difference in ergonomics between a 1938 Triumph Speed Twin and a 2022 Yamaha Ténéré 700, but the use is quite different. You must find your own answer to that question, but my five years of work with this project, all customer feedback and TwinPegs racing experience from desert racing and enduro racing tells me that the answer is “no”. Adding a rear footpeg may seem a minor detail, but it redefines how the muscles in the body are used. I claim that a TwinPegs equipped motorcycle is more in tune with how our body is designed, hence you save energy and gain control.
My theory is that the strong design tradition have created a “blind spot” shared by all of the motorcycle industry and all riders. I invented TwinPegs after a enduro ride, where I deliberately tried to look at my motorcycle as a device for offroad transport that I had never seen before, in order to find out how I could modify it so it would be
less exhausting to ride it. I laughed when I suddenly noticed that “they had a forgot” to install more than one pair of footpegs. It was a very strange experience to “see” that there were a pair of pegs missing for the first time.
An interesting point is how ATV’s are designed. Also on ATV’s is it beneficial to stand while riding in techincal terrain. So if single footpegs is the ideal solution, one would expect that to be the design offered on the ATV. But what they have is “floorboards”. My theory; when the ATV’s were designed, there were no strong design tradition on ergonomics, so they could just use their common sense. And the choice was “TwinPegs”.
Another aspect is “innovation mm by mm”. The footpegs on old aircooled GS, are very narrow. As is the footpegs on my 94 KTM 620SX. The pegs are getting wider and wider, like the 58 mm Altrider footpegs.
I recommend that for people who are testing TwinPegs; ride with it till you get used to it, and work with dialing in the correct height adjustment of the rear footpeg according to your preferences. And then remove the rear footpegs, just to see how the ride experience changes when you g back to what you have always had. Lessons learnt from enduro racing, is that it is beneficial to have the rear footpegs 10-15 mm lower than the primary footpegs. So you can weight the (front) primary footpeg, the rear auxillary footpeg, or both two simultaneously.”
Here’s a short video that might also help us understand exactly what these dual pegs are supposed to accomplish:
And here’s another video of the trialling of a set of TwinPegs in Norway on a.. wait for it.. Tenere 700!
And here on a Husky Norden 901:
All great stuff but the proof is in the Overland Rider pudding, so let’s get a set mounted and see what they can do! Keep in mind that due to current commitments my testing will be predominantly on tarmac and some green lanes. The Isle of Wight is a small island, 42 miles across and 65 miles in circumference and with little or no off-road areas. For that I need to go to the mainland and time/work constraints are not currently playing ball. However, these dual pegs would seem to add something to any rider’s arsenal: if you’re touring these can be adjusted to provide similar comfort to the Harley heel pegs above? If you’re new to off-road riding they “might” help give you confidence by allowing you to use further leg muscles to balance and control your ride? But keep in mind that thus far the main TwinPeg enthusiasts have been racers and they’ve already been gainfully employed by riders in the 2022 European Enduro Championships (Vide Holt secured 3rd spot using TwinPegs), Andrew Houlihan (who previously raced the Dakar Rally) won the Sunraysia Safari Rally (Adventure Class) on TwinPegs and other endurance and enduro races, so they seem to have a real pedigree across the board.
I will receive a set early next week and weather and work commitments allowing I will begin to review them shortly after receipt. Please check back soon as this will be an interesting test and will hopefully instigate a healthy and productive debate.