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.[4] In 2013 Alan Nordin, former president of Fallbrook Technologies' bicycle division, joined the company as an executive advisor.[5]
In 2011, Slidepad Technologies formed an agreement with a Taiwanese manufacturer to build a Slidepad braking system for OEM distribution.[6] Jamis Bicycles was the first bike-manufacturer to specify the technology on their 2013 models.[7]Stanford University and Jamis Bicycles currently use Slidepad technology.[6][8]
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.[7]
In 2014 the company rebranded from SlidePad to SureStop.[9]
On April 14, 2017, the product was on Season 8 Episode 21 of Shark Tank. Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen, another founder, accepted a deal with Mark Cuban.[10]
Description
SureStop is a system for bicycles aimed at making the correct application of braking force easier for novice or casual cyclists. It integrates into V-brake systems to provide single-lever braking for front and rear brakes.[5] 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][11] 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.[7][12]
