A very rare set of racing pedals. Technically and commercially a disaster, so these pedals disappeared from the market very quickly.
First, only 1 set of shoes fit these pedals and vice versa. No compatibility at all.
Next to that, there is no safety release function like "Look" clipless pedals (and clones) have.
The pedals have small levers, which have to be operated by hand.
The system works similar to Cinelli M71, but it has a different lock and release system. Besides that, there are no cleats to be mounted under the shoes, but the proprietary shoes have grooves at both sides of the soles and some kind of square hole in the centre.
The shoes slide into the "rails" at the sides of the pedals. A spring loaded cam in each pedal finds its way into the square hole and locks the shoe.
The pedals can be set into 3 different positions by moving the small lever in the (1) backward position, (2) middle position or (3) upward position.
Position 1 (lever backward) lets you slide the shoes into and out off the pedals. The cam is completely sunken into the pedal surface and doesn't lock the shoe. So, nice for doing a small ride, e.g. from the dressing room towards the start.
Position 3 (lever upward) is the "race" mode. The cams protrude from the pedal surfaces, but can be pushed back in. So, you can slide the shoes into the pedals and your feet are really locked. Even when you crash, you pedals (as well as the rest of the bike) remain attached to your feet. Not good for you ankles and other body parts.
By moving the levers into the backward position, you can take your feet from the pedals safely.
Position 2 is an intermediate position. It's very tight, but if you twist you feet (with high force), you may be able to click out off the pedals. I did a few in-house tests. I managed to release my feet, but I needed serious force. I will try to find out how that works under race conditions.
Since no cleats have to be attached to the soles of the shoes, there must be another adjustment system. The upper platforms of the pedals have been attached to the pedals bodies with 3 screws on each pedal. So, instead of adjusting the cleats, the angle and forward/backward positions of the pedal platforms can be adjusted.
Successor of this shoe and pedals system, but no success either:
Podio.
These pedals from the same inventor (Mr. Lilian Christol) as the Adidas Systeme 3 pedals work with cleats that basically can be mounted to each pair of racing shoes, but the unique bolt pattern prevents that.
