Cycling: Toe Strap Doublers

Table of Contents

Introduction

Toe strap doublers: a solution to improve performance of traditional clips-and-straps pedal setups, using either double straps or two sets of single straps. This is something I used to make back in the early 2000s and am now revisiting, in the interest of improving the product design for better performance and easier fabrication.

In time, I will be fabricating and selling these in leather and synthetic versions. Regardless of that, you can always download the patterns and make your own (this won’t change when I offer them for sale). 

Once the design and assembly instructions are more mature, I’ll also make a video showing how to make these. 

Page last updated 2025-08-13

May Contain Affiliate Links

If I get organized enough, there will likely be some affiliate links for tools and materials on this page, probably for Amazon (yes, yes, I know). These cost you nothing to use, and they help cover my hosting and software costs.

Benefits of Doublers

  • Keeps your straps in place.
    • Keeps straps from snagging on your shoes and moving when getting into your clips.
  • Makes getting into your pedals easier.
    • Provides a smooth surface that slides easily over the top of your shoe.
  • Enables use of two sets of single straps with pedals/clips intended for one set of straps.
    • Compatible with double-strap clips/pedals, but not dependent on them.
    • Keeps the second strap in place on top of the pedal.
    • Optional under-pedal doubler also holds the second strap in place on pedals designed for single straps. 
  • Improved comfort when pulling up, especially when skidding on a fixed gear bike
    • Double-layer of material between the straps and your foot helps even out pressure a bit. It won’t be as even as with wide nylon/velcro straps (Hold Fast, etc), but an improvement over standard straps alone.

Symmetrical vs Asymmetrical Designs

With version 2 of the toe strap doublers, I’ve introduced a second, asymmetrical design for riders with smaller feet who want to use double straps. 

In addition to the buckles, double straps have a section where the two straps are joined by a bridge of material, which prevents positioning the buckles closer to the pedal body. If you’ve wear shoes of US size 9 or smaller and want to run double straps, you’ll probably want the asymmetrical doublers, which are shorter on one side than the other to better accommodate the offset created with double straps. Overall performance is not affected.

If you’re running two sets of single straps or have larger feet, you’ll probably want to go with the original, symmetrical design.

The Secondary Doubler

Some pedals are slotted to accommodate two straps in the pedal body. If your pedals are only set up for one strap, not to worry. With just a little more material and about ten more minutes, you can also make a secondary doubler that goes under the pedal to hold the second strap in place there. 

Impromptu version of the secondary doubler from a couple years ago, yours will come out looking better than this.

Free for personal use

You are free to download these patterns and use them for your own non-commercial purposes. If you want to make and sell them, get in touch and we can probably work something out. Just don’t sell these without my permission or I’ll have to send threatening legal letters.

Support this project with a donation

Download Patterns

Below, you can download patterns for symmetrical and asymmetrical designs, as well as for the secondary doubler. All patterns available for printing on either A4 or US Letter size paper. 

All patterns include a 4cm square that you can use to ensure your pattern has printed to the correct size. Measure across any side of the square and, if necessary, adjust the scale of your print until the square measures as close to exactly 4cm as you can get it. 

PLEASE NOTE: I have designed these around regular leather straps. If you’re using laminated straps, which are thicker, the existing templates may not provide adequate space for them. I will try to address this in future versions, once I’ve got laminated straps on hand to test with. 

All patterns are for Doublers v2 as of August 2025. 

Patterns for A4

Symmetrical Doubler A4
Asymmetrical Doubler A4
Seondary Doubler A4

Patterns for US Letter

Symmetrical Doubler US
Asymmetrical Doubler US
Secondary Doubler US

Instructions

In the sections below, you’ll find information regarding the tools and materials you’ll need, as well as how to go about putting things together. 

If you run into any problems, have questions, or have suggestions for how the instructions could be improved, please email me at davidrmunson@gmail.com

NB: I have done my best to make these designs and templates as well as I can, but it’s possible I’ve made some mistakes along the way. These instructions are provided as a free service and no guarantee is made as to the accuracy of the information provided or the function or safety of the finished product. If you find that the dimensions seem off, please get in touch with details. Not responsible for your materials. 

Tools

Below is a list of the tools I use in making my own doublers. You can probably get by without some of them, such as substituting good scissors for the straightedge, craft knife, and cutting mat. However, some things (hole punch, rivet set) are hard to get by without.

You will need: 

  • Cutting mat
  • Straightedge (preferably steel)
  • Craft/utility knife
  • Leather punch
    • Make sure to select a punch that corresponds to the shaft size of your rivets. Too small and assembly will be difficult, too big and the assembly won’t be as strong.
    • I recommend using a single-size punch with a hammer. The leather punches that operate like pliers with a rotating wheel of different size punches probably won’t work, as you likely won’t be able to reach to make the holes in the center of the pattern.
  • Hammer
  • Rivet set
    • Ensure it’s of an appropriate size for your rivets
    • If it’s larger than it should be (still usable), just be careful you keep it upright when setting rivets to avoid marking your material
  • Plastic block for use with punch (optional)
  • Rubber mallet (optional)

Materials

So far, I have made these out of both leather and synthetic materials (hypalon coated nylon). You can use anything you like, just be aware that most readily available synthetic leathers (such as those meant for upholstery) aren’t going to hold up especially well. If you find a good synthetic option, please let me know what you’ve used, as I’m looking for better materials. Bonus points if it’s available in Japan.

You will need: 

  • Printed pattern, one page per set of doublers and secondary doublers (download PDF above, ensuring you download the right pattern for the desired paper size, and ensure your print has come out the right size)
  • Leather or synthetic material of your choice (something sturdy)
  • Rivets
    • You will need to determine the proper length of your rivets, based on the thickness of the material you choose. Each rivet will need to pass through four layers of your chosen material
    • Be careful to select rivets that aren’t too wide. Rivets in the pattern are spaced 1cm center-to-center, so make sure the heads of your rivets are smaller than that (pref. 5-6mm).
    • Each set of doublers (symmetrical or asymmetrical) requires a total of 16 rivets
    • Each set of secondary doublers (optional, depends on your pedals) requires a total of 6 rivets.
    • If you make both the doublers and secondary doublers, you’ll need 22 rivets overall, not accounting for possible damaged rivets
  • Contact cement (optional but recommended)
  • Double-sided tape or temporary spray adhesive (for securing pattern to material while cutting and punching holes)

Support this project with a donation

Fabrication

PLEASE READ THROUGH ALL STEPS BEFORE BEGINNING so as to familiarize yourself with the process. 

(images coming as soon as I make another set)

1. Print your pattern(s), ensuring you’ve selected the right file for your paper size (A4 or US Letter), also ensuring that the printer hasn’t enlarged or shrunk your pattern. Measure the 4cm square on your printout to see if you need to scale up or down. You will need one printed page per set of doublers. 

2. Cut around the OUTSIDE of the pattern. Don’t cut out the individual pieces yet, unless you’re dealing with an irregularly shaped piece of material (leather scraps, etc) and need to place them individually. 

3. Affix the pattern to your material, using either double-sided tape or temporary spray adhesive (apply spray adhesive to the paper only). 

If you’re using leather, I recommend applying the pattern to the suede side to avoid marking up the smooth side. Also, if using leather, try to place your pattern such as to ensure that the thickness of the leather is as consistent as possible throughout.

4. Cut out your material around the outside of the pattern. It’s probably easiest to use a straightedge and a sharp knife on a cutting mat, but you can probably get by with sharp scissors, assuming they’re strong enough to handle the material

Again, don’t cut out the individual pieces just yet. Leaving it as one piece for now makes the next step easier. 

5. Using your leather punch, make a hole at the center of each cross/plus mark on the pattern. Be careful to center the punch on the mark as best you can—the more accurate you are with your hole-punching, the more easily the final assembly will go.

Be sure to put something under the leather when punching your holes, either your cutting mat or a block of hard rubber or plastic (available for this purpose), so that you won’t mess up your table or your punch.

Each set of doublers requires punching a total of 64 holes. Each set of secondary doublers requires punching a total of 18 holes. If you get tired, take a break. Better to slow down than to let accuracy suffer. 

6. Check the opposite side to make sure all holes have been made all the way through the material. Once you’ve verified this, use your knife/straightedge combo or your scissors to cut out the individual pieces. 

On the doublers, one section is shaded in. Cut this piece out and discard. 

Once the pieces are cut out, you can remove the paper pattern from the material.

7. At this point, you should have four cut pieces of your material. The next step is to bond the smaller and larger pieces together. This is optional but recommended.

Apply contact cement uniformly to the suede side of the smaller piece. Also apply contact cement to the central portion of the larger piece, corresponding to the size of the smaller piece, also on the suede side. You don’t need to be too exacting with the application. If it’s a little messy, don’t worry, it won’t be visible on the finished product. 

Let the contact cement dry fully. 

Once dry, carefully put the glued surfaces together, ensuring to line up the holes you’ve made for the rivets. I recommend putting a few rivets through the holes in the larger piece from below to help ensure everything is aligned properly. 

Press the pieces together firmly. For an extra firm bond, remove the rivets (if used) and give some moderate taps over the entire surface of the smaller piece with a rubber mallet. 

Repeat these steps for the other two pieces, so that you have two glue-ups ready for final assembly. 

8. From this point, you can either go directly to final riveting or glue the pieces together first to make the final assembly a bit stronger. If you want to go directly to riveting, go to step 9.

NB: pictures coming soon, describing this and not illustrating it is awkward and not entirely clear. 

Apply contact cement to the center of the smaller piece of the assembly, extending a few mm on either side of the holes. Do the same on the suede side of both ends of the larger piece. Let dry.

Starting with the end that’s split into two pieces, fold towards the center. Ensuring that the holes are lined up, position each of the two pieces and press down to secure. Tap with a rubber mallet to strengthen the bond. 

Apply contact cement to the top of the piece you just secured. Let dry.

Again ensuring that the holes are lined up well, fold the other end toward the center and secure. 

9. Riveting! You’re almost done!

If you’ve glued things together, insert the longer half of a rivet up through the bottom of the assembly, one for each hole. Then add the shorter half of each rivet from the top. 

If you haven’t glued things together, insert the longer half of a rivet up through the bottom of the material, one for each hole. Fold both pieces of the split end toward the center and pass the rivets through the holes . Repeat with the other end. Then add the shorter half of each rivet from the top. 

At this point, you should have 8 rivets inserted in each assembly, one per hole, two pieces per rivet.

Using your rivet set and a hammer, firmly set each rivet. If it seems like it’s not fully set, hit it again. You don’t have to Hulk-smash it, but don’t be shy about it. Give each one a good thwack. 

In principle, you can set your rivets in any order. In practice, I’ve found it good to start with the outermost rivets and work your way towards the center (or start in the middle and work towards the outside). This helps avoid any weird binding of the material.

Once you’ve finished setting your rivets, you’re ready to install them on your bike. 

If You Need Secondary Doublers

If your pedals are only intended for use with a single strap, you can optionally add the secondary doubler, which gets installed underneath the pedal. 

I would recommend foregoing these, at least initially. If you you think they would be helpful, download the pattern for the secondary doublers and make yourself a set. The fabrication should be straightforward if you’ve already made your doublers and shouldn’t take long at all. 

Alternatively, you can use plastic cable/zip ties to secure the second strap to the bottom of your pedal. This is a less elegant solution, but effective, fast, easy, and costs pennies. 

Installation

Installation should be pretty straightforward, mostly apparent from the photos (which, again, are coming soon). 

1. Start by inserting your straps through the outside of your pedal pedal body towards the center. If not installing secondary doublers, pass your straps through the opposite side, out towards your crank arm.

If you’re installing the secondary doublers, pass your straps through both sides of the assembly before passing the rear strap out through the pedal body on the opposite side, out towards your crank arm. 

2. Insert the end of your clip into the middle of the doubler. 

3. Pass the rear strap through the first half of the doubler, through the loop at the end of the clip, and through the other half of the doubler. Insert the end of the strap into the buckle.

4. Repeat this process with the second (front) strap, making sure to pass through the second loop on your toe clip (if you have one). 

5. Repeat steps 1-4 on the other pedal. 

That’s it! You’re done! Now go out and ride. 

Alternate Fabrication Options

  • I haven’t experimented with sewing these together yet, but intend to. If you try that, or any other fabrication method, please let me know how it goes.
  • I’ve also considered using a small drill press to speed through making the holes more easily, but haven’t had the chance to test this approach yet.
  • If you have access to a laser cutter and want to try cutting the pattern that way, please get in touch and I can provide the Adobe Illustrator file. Long-term, this is likely what I’ll do for producing these for sale.Â