Anyone who's ridden a mountain bike, BMX bike or dirt jumper knows the pain of pedal pins against skin. Anything from puncture wounds to long gashes that need stitches.

A few years ago, our founder Luke was out riding the trails with some friends when he badly cut his leg on his pedal (despite wearing knee and shin guards). For the first time, Luke wondered why pedals had to be this dangerous, and wondered if there was a safer alternative. One option is to use clipless (clip-in) pedals, but being locked to the bike has its own risks.

Luke decided to see if any safer flat pedals were out there in the market, and while he did find a few, they were designed for city use and commuting, and didn't provide the high grip or durability needed for mountain bike use.

As a product designer, Luke realized that he needed to create his own pedal. This marked the beginning of a long journey to create a flat pedal that wouldn't cut a riders legs, while also maintaining grip on the rider's shoes.

After two years, 16 design iterations and 12 prototypes, Terminal Grip was born.