Founded | 2009 |
---|---|
Headquarters | Palo Alto, California |
Key people | Brian Riley CEO, co-founder, Andrew Ouelett Co-founder, Al Nordin Executive Advisor |
Products | Bicycle brakes |
Website | Slidepadbrake.com |
Slidepad is a bicycle brake technology company located in Palo Alto, California. [1] It was co-founded by Brian Riley and Andrew Ouellet in 2009. [2]
Slidepad was started by Riley and Ouellet while students at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. [2] Ouellet received inspiration for the product after he crashed his bicycle when applying too much pressure on his front brakes, resulting in front wheel lockup. [2] In 2009, Riley and Ouellet entered their initial design in Cal Poly’s Business Plan competition and won 1st place. [3] In 2013 Alan Nordin, former president of Fallbrook Technologies' bicycle division, joined the company as an executive advisor. [4]
In 2011, Slidepad Technologies formed an agreement with a Taiwanese manufacturer to build a Slidepad braking system for OEM distribution. [5] Jamis Bicycles was the first bike-manufacturer to specify the technology on their 2013 models. [6] Stanford University and Jamis Bicycles currently use Slidepad technology. [5] [7]
In November 2012, the company took a 40-day, 11,000 mile, "Save Your Teeth Tour" across 90 bike shops from Palo Alto, California to New Jersey. [6]
Slidepad is an Intelligent Brake Distribution (IBD) technology, aimed at making braking easier for novice or casual cyclists, integrates into V-brake systems to provide single-lever braking. [4] It modulates the front brake force in real time, based on the road surface and rider weight position, and avoids front wheel lockup accidents when applying the front brake. [1] [8] It was designed to prevent riders from flipping over their handlebars when applying the front brake. [1] Once the brake pads make contact with the rear wheel, the Slidepad slides forward, which pulls a cable that is connected to the front brakes. [1] Similar to the anti-lock brake system in cars, the mechanism prevents the front wheel from locking, no matter how hard the brake is pressed or how slippery the road conditions are. [6] [9]
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