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Shiftcush - Martin Gelder of Realclassic.co.uk puts a pillow between his foot and the gear pedal

The 'Shiftcush' gear pedal cushion - a picture is worth a thousand words I have a friend who goes to London's Ideal Home Show every year. You can chart a history of her visits by looking at the gadgets gathering dust around her house. Last year it was the special feather duster for cleaning Venetian blinds, the year before an extended shoe horn that avoided all that awkward bending down that goes with footwear, the year before that a width-adjustable bread slicer… or maybe a tin of special polish for pvc window frames; I forget.

Anyway. My friend also rides a motorbike, and she would love the Shiftcush. It fits on the peg of your bike's gear change lever to avoid your expensive shoes getting scuffed and to prevent the big-toe-soreness that goes with a clunky gearbox. One look at it and you know exactly what it does. I can almost hear my friend muttering, "Why didn't I think of that?" as she rushes home in her scuffed expensive shoes to rest her aching big toe before fitting a Shiftcush.

Let's hope she has the right kind of bike. Shiftcush claims to fit "any round 8mm shifter peg including; Aprilla (sic), Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha & any other metric bikes!"

I have six bikes in my shed, all of them 'metric'. One is a scooter (an Aprilia, with an "i") with an automatic transmission, so that's out. Another is fitted with a heel-and-toe gear change pedal, so that wouldn't need a Shiftcush either. Of the remaining four, one is a trail bike with a folding tip gear change pedal which the Shiftcush won't fit and another has aftermarket rearsets which have a peg too big for the Shiftcush. Out of six bikes, we're down to two.

Pre Shiftcush - note the foot position Post Shiftcush - check the difference in foot angle, it feels much bigger

In the interests of science and investigative journalism, I fitted the Shiftcush to my Fazer and went for a ride. You'll see from the photos that the thickness of the Shiftcush's "cush" forces you to stretch your foot down to a steeper angle to fit under the peg, and this is really noticeable on the move. I could have adjusted the position of the peg so that it wasn't such a stretch down, but that would have meant having to lift my toe higher to get it above the peg to change down; an equally noticeable inconvenience. The thickness of the Shiftcush also means that it removes vital feel from the gear changing process, rather than making it "a pleasure" as the makers claim.

You'll notice something else from the photos. Yes, I'm wearing bike boots. Bike boots with a gear change pad on the toe. Bike boots with a gear change pad on the toe, with big protective bits for my ankles, with shin protectors… I'm wearing bike boots for all the reasons I don't wear expensive shoes to ride my bike. Bike boots are perfect for the job. They don't get scuffed by the gear change peg, and they're stiff enough to avoid big-toe-soreness.

Verdict:

Wear the right footwear and you don't need a Shiftcush.

Editor's Additional Verdict:

The makers say that Shiftcush fills a gap in the market - the problem is, I'm not sure it is a gap that needed filling. If you don't like/can't get on with wearing boots, then possibly the Shitcush will make your life easier - but I wouldn't like to say an £8.50 cushion will last as well as a pair of boots and it certainly won't protect your ankles and feet.

If you think the Shiftcush would make your riding experience better, then visit the Shiftcush site

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