Kick Pedal Mod: KickKlip

Rattlin' Bones

Rattlin' Bones

Gold Member
Check out my mod of kick drum pedal.

Now, most drummers are NOT us here on DW. Most of those thousands of kits on Reverb eBay and at Sweetwater Guitar Center DCP etc are sold to either beginners or intermediate players I(like me). Most "gigging" drummers just gig in bars and parking lots with country or blues bands, or classic rock cover bands. They're not totally and completely OCD over every feature of their kit and hardware. They just play.

They just play, including they just play their kicks with their pedals. And many have same issue I have: their foot slides up for some reason and moves up the pedal to chain or strap. Which is why most pedal manufacturers include a toe stop. Some are built-in and others are removable.

I have same issue. A few times a gig the band is playing hard and I'm driving the groove and my foot makes it all the way up the pedal and sometimes kinda jams my shoe kinda gets jammed up near chain and I briefly miss a beat or two as I extricate it.

Enter my mod: the KickKlip.

I'm a cyclist from wayyyyyy back. Back in the day when I raced we used toe clips on our pedals (I'm giving away my age lol) and a shoe with a a plate on bottom. Cycling pedals have evolved sine then; you now "clip in" with an even more specialized shoe/pedal combo that eliminates the need for toe clips. But there are still dinosaurs out there like me who no longer race and just like to use old school toe clips as we tool around parks and neighborhoods.

I have lots of toe clips in my garage, so I decided to try using a plastic cycling toe clip on my kick drum pedal to keep my foot more in place, plus stop my foot from creeping too far forward.

I cut part of the toe clip off that normally affixes to bike pedal, drilled a hole in clip, and screwed the kick pedal toe stop through the toe clip and then into the kick pedal.

It works. It really works. And as an unexpected consequence, it actually makes, for me, the pedal work better. I play mostly heel up/ toe down; as I raise my toes up to play pedal, the top of my shoe contacts with toe clip and aides in moving kick drum pedal. Does this in same way as a toe clip on a bike pedal. On a bike you push down on one pedal and pull up with the other. Toe clips allow you to do this. On kick drum pedal that pulling up action works, too. As a result my leg feels less fatigued and I'm also faster.

Would this work for any of you? Thoughts?IMG_1742.JPGIMG_1743.JPG
 
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Do you slip your foot under the rubber things or place your foot on top of the rubber things?

Nice mod to make it work for you.
 
Your foot goes inside it. That stops your foot from sliding too far up and hitting chain/ strap (unless you're wearing pointy cowboy boots lol), and also you get the additional upward force helping to raise pedal very quickly. It's force in addition to the spring. I made it to keep from sliding forward, but immediately noticed benefit of upward force helping to coax pedal to move up in addition to spring, which is one of major benefits of using one on a bike you pull up on your bike pedal on one side as you're pushing down on the other. That was unexpected but I could feel it during a 3 hour practice with band yesterday.

On a bike you use a strap and tighten it securely around your foot; strapping your foot to the pedal. That's what those two slots on top/ back on clip are for. I may try that, too, and just pull bottom of strap underneath the pedal. Keep it loose so you do get a bit of sideways foot movement, but just tight enough to help further stabilize your foot.

Here's what they look like on a bike:toe-clip-pedal.JPG
 
I'm glad that you found something that works for you. I would have never thought of doing something like that.
Have you thought of moving your pedal away from you I little? My kit is arranged so that my feel naturally fall on the sweet spot of the pedals, so my toes never go on the last 1/3 of the footboard near the chain. Just a thought.
 
Rattlin' Bones said:
Would this work for any of you? Thoughts?
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I've never had the problem you refer to ..... so no, it wouldn't work for me. I'd probably hate something attached to my toe like that. But KUDOS to you for coming up with an "out of the box" solution for yourself.
 
It's not actually attached to your shoe or toe. Your shoe tip just slides up into it. Your foot still moves pretty freely. Mainly it's a better "mousetrap"; it is a more positive toe stop than just a 1/4" high piece of metal that, from what I read, doesn't help all that much for most players. Most players toes - if they have this problem - just slip over the standard toe stop. And many players must need a toe stop or else most manufacturers would not engineer their pedals with toe stops. But my mod has extra benefit of providing additional lifting force so you actually play faster. I just built it to help stop my foot from sliding around so much; the lifting force is a positive yet unintended consequence.
 
Stickandbrush said:
Wouldn’t it be better to add cleats to your shoe ;) HA
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LOL :cool:

Back in the day when road racing bicycles I did use a cleat + toeclip. The shoes were these little leather things with wood soles and the cleat was nailed into the wood sole. Today's bicycles use a special pedal that only works with a certain shoe/cleat and you clip in without a toe clip.

Clipping into the kick pedal was something I thought of, but we generally move our feet around way too much on a kick pedal. You'd get no feel. Using an old school toe clip is a kinda compromise, plus it's very simple. In practice it worked much better than I expected.
 
It seems like a good idea for people that have a problem sliding into the chain. I intentionally move my foot to different parts of the pedal, so it would be a huge hindrance for me.
 
NackAttack said:
It seems like a good idea for people that have a problem sliding into the chain. I intentionally move my foot to different parts of the pedal, so it would be a huge hindrance for me.
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You can still move your foot all around it doesn't prevent that at all. If you never have your foot close to chain then there is no effect and you don't really need it. Just like you would not find a use for the toe stop that comes with so many pedals.
 
1) I love that you also put grip trap on your footboard! :) Smartest $5 I ever invested at K-Mart years ago!

2) And I love the concept of keeping the footboard in intimate contact with your foot/toes, so it sticks and therefore responds better! I completely get it! Nice mod! :)
 
Great-looking modification to your contraption!

EDIT: The more I think about it, the more I like it. I'm not sure that this is something that I need/want, but maybe? I like the idea of having control over the upstroke of the kick and hat. Hmmmm...
 
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This is one of those things that I would make fun of, and then I would try it and love it.

I'm glad this is working for you!! I'd be game to try something like this.
 
PorkPieGuy said:
This is one of those things that I would make fun of, and then I would try it and love it.

I'm glad this is working for you!! I'd be game to try something like this.
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That's a common line I hear on Shark Tank just before they say "Let me make you an offer". Thanks!
 
bermuda said:
1) I love that you also put grip trap on your footboard! :) Smartest $5 I ever invested at K-Mart years ago!

2) And I love the concept of keeping the footboard in intimate contact with your foot/toes, so it sticks and therefore responds better! I completely get it! Nice mod! :)
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Thanks. Coming from you, my mod gets instant credibility.
 
If a few of you want to try it, I'll make one for you and send it. They're not spiffy looking I just cut the toe clip bottom off and then drill a hole. Just let me know. USA only.

Also if anyone makes one on their own, let me know how it goes. Note I add a washer (see pic).
 
calan said:
How would this compare and contrast to something like Tama's Cobra Coil?
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Interesting you bring the Cobra Coil up. With my KickKlip mod, its just the subtle force of your foot moving upward that adds the speed. It's your force it's not mechanical. Same action as when used on a bicycle you pull your leg up with toe clip. The Cobra Coil is just another spring adding additional mechanical artificial force. With the KickKlip it's your own foot adding the additional force. It's not artificial. Plus the KickKlip has the additional benefit of keeping your toe from creeping forward towards chain or strap (my original purpose), which is something you don't get with the Cobra Coil.
 
Some comments I pulled about the Cobra Coil.

"Unless you're playing at insane speeds I don't think it's noticable. It probably helps with fatigue in that sense. But, most people say they don't notice it or end up removing it because they don't like the pushback."

"You have to put energy into compressing the spring in order get some of the energy to return on the expansion, so I don't see how it really provides any significant benefit (the energy exchange isn't equal or free!). Seems counterintuitive to having a really nice main/drive spring in the first place."

"One issue I had is that with the coil I could never play up closer to the chain because it had no action. My foot has to stay down low."

I think my KickKlip overcomes all of the issues above because it's natural. And it does two things the upward force plus the toe stop.
 
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