Pedals and shoes and coffee
Martin Phillips
A new record distance for me of 6.5 km on the 20" ensued, and I still
felt fairly fit (if very thirsty) at the end. Only eight or ten UPDs, a
couple in places where I'd expect to, the rest mainly caused by my feet
slipping on the pedals into an irrecoverable position. The weather was
damp going on very wet at times.
I was wearing my usual walking shoes, with hard rubber soles, and the
pedals are basic BMX style with stubby little studs (about 2 mm high x 2
mm diameter). Now, I don't want to change the pedals because they're
fine with those shoes in the dry. Has anyone any thoughts on how to make
them grippier in the wet? I was wondering if flat-soled shoes with a
softer base might be better. Someone in another thread mentioned shoes
with heels to aid positive placement. One doesn't see such things much
nowadays outside of business footwear.
On another topic, does anyone else find it much harder to cycle after
drinking coffee? A couple of strong cups and I'm tense and wobbling all
over the place. A couple of beers and I'm relaxed and cool!
Martin/
--
Martin E Phillips nb Boden, Splatt Bridge
http://www.g4cio.demon.co.uk martin/at/g4cio/dot/demon/dot/co/dot/uk
Homebrewing, black pudding, boats, morris dancing, ham radio and more!
The Gloucester-Sharpness canal page http://www.glos-sharpness.org.uk
kington99
I can't comment on the beer/coffe thing because i drink neither but i
will try and help with the footwear. The positive placement of a heel
does help, i wear light walking books when i ride trials, Muni or long
distance, the heavy step sits over the back of the pedal and means that
my feet never slip forward off the pedal. Shoes that have a moderate
tread cut in to them will allow the pins on your pedals to get lodged
in them, this gives much more grip than relying on the pins actually
penetrating the smooth soles of your shoes, again light walking boots
or trainers will help here. If the pedals have a large flat area on
them as some BMX pedals do then you could try glueng a section of grip
tape on to it, I think it would have to be quite a large area to make a
difference though. There are some pedals on the market that give better
grip without ripping shoes apart or requiring the wearing of leg
armour, most noteably these:http://tinyurl.com/e47qr
--
kington99
Dave
- what a thoroughly post-modern subversion of the cycling genre -
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Mikefule
Last things first: coffee. I saw a mug for sale yesterday with the
slogan: "Drink coffee, do stupid things faster with more energy." I've
read Plato, Seneca, Sartre and Popper, but I'm taking my life's
philosophy from that mug! If it's affecting your riding, maybe take
more whisky with it or something.
BMX style pedals - with moulded studs? The beter pedals are almost the
same, but the studs are screwed into place, and are cut rather than
moulded, so they grip better. The really good ones have hollow studs,
which grip shoes very well, and shins excellently.
Soft-soled flat tennis shoes are good for riding. Big chunky moulded
boot soles are bad.
6.5 km on a 20's respectable. Keep up the good work. I usually find
it helps to describe the odd heron or duck. Did you see any?
--
Mikefule
So, do you ride with a club?
No, but I carry a heavy spanner.
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joemarshall
kington99 Wrote:
> I can't comment on the beer/coffe thing because i drink neither but i
> will try and help with the footwear. The positive placement of a heel
> does help, i wear light walking books when i ride trials, Muni or long
> distance, the heavy step sits over the back of the pedal and means that
> my feet never slip forward off the pedal. Shoes that have a moderate
> tread cut in to them will allow the pins on your pedals to get lodged
> in them, this gives much more grip than relying on the pins actually
> penetrating the smooth soles of your shoes, again light walking boots
> or trainers will help here. If the pedals have a large flat area on
> them as some BMX pedals do then you could try glueng a section of grip
> tape on to it, I think it would have to be quite a large area to make a
> difference though. There are some pedals on the market that give better
> grip without ripping shoes apart or requiring the wearing of leg
> armour, most noteably these:http://tinyurl.com/e47qr
Personally I'd say exactly the opposite. I find hiking style treads are
weird because they're much less predictable than Vans or other flat
soled skate shoes. Heels are okay, but they tempt you to use a weird
foot position, even if it isn't best for you. Skate shoes / tennis
shoes or something with a very fine tread on the bottom is a good
thing. A lot of people swear by the Vans shoes with a 'waffle' tread on
the bottom, they seem to work well for me. If you've got grippy pedals
then flatter shoes are much better.
The biggest difference though is pedals, like Mike said, something with
pins that screw in as opposed to something with moulded pins that are
part of the pedal makes tons of difference. Don't worry too much about
your shins, it's usually only when you ride trials or do great big
drops and stuff that you hit your shins on the pedals. Just riding
along doesn't usually lead to shinning yourself.
Joe
--
joemarshall
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cheech
I put black sheetrock screws in all my plastic pedals. Round head screws
can also be used for more safety.Don't put them into the center
(spindle),I put one in each corner.
--
cheech
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Martin Phillips
<8892192e7d29bcfd4d2...@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyc
list.com>, Mikefule <Mike...@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com>
writes
>
>Last things first: coffee. I saw a mug for sale yesterday with the
>slogan: "Drink coffee, do stupid things faster with more energy." I've
>read Plato, Seneca, Sartre and Popper, but I'm taking my life's
>philosophy from that mug! If it's affecting your riding, maybe take
>more whisky with it or something.
More whisky with it sounds good. Moreover whiskey sounds even better.
Taking them separately is the only way, they should not be mixed until
meeting in the stomach. Unfortunately, taking the alcohol with the
morning coffee is not approved at my place of wage-slavery in the
nuclear industry, even if it does help with creative thinking and
lunchtime cycling.
>BMX style pedals - with moulded studs? The beter pedals are almost the
>same, but the studs are screwed into place, and are cut rather than
>moulded, so they grip better. The really good ones have hollow studs,
>which grip shoes very well, and shins excellently.
>
>Soft-soled flat tennis shoes are good for riding. Big chunky moulded
>boot soles are bad.
Will take a look at pedals in more detail - I hadn't realised that one
can get screw-in studs. This brings back happy memories of selecting
spike length for x-c running! I've got a seriously uncool looking pair
of flat-soled shoes on the rack, they'll be tried out at some date in
the near future when no-one's looking.
>6.5 km on a 20's respectable.
I cocked up the units (the nuclear industry doesn't let me do anything
dangerous any more) - 6.5 miles, so roughly 50% more respectable!
>Keep up the good work. I usually find
>it helps to describe the odd heron or duck. Did you see any?
No, but a rather attractive lady jogger smiled nicely at me as she
passed in both directions. She called out "You don't see many of those".
Usually this is only said when I'm b*cycling in shorts. I also nearly
ran over a squirrel. The uni is fast and silent. Nothing hears your
approach.
Mud@noemail.message.poster.at.unicyclist.com Memphis Mud
Mikefule Wrote:
> Soft-soled flat tennis shoes are good for riding. Big chunky moulded
> boot soles are bad.
very stiff sole. My foot gets tired if it wraps and bends over the
pedal. I've found lite hiking boots, cut low at the back of the ankle
and with a steel shank very good. Or stiff, hard framed Hi-tops to be
best. Your foot pushes more on a platform than just the pedal area.
--
Memphis Mud
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Mikefule
Memphis Mud Wrote:
> For freestyle riding, I'd agree. But for MUni, I prefer a shoe with a
> very stiff sole. My foot gets tired if it wraps and bends over the
> pedal. I've found lite hiking boots, cut low at the back of the ankle
> and with a steel shank very good. Or stiff, hard framed Hi-tops to be
> best. Your foot pushes more on a platform than just the pedal area.
Quite right. I expressed myself badly. I meant soft soles in the
sense of soles that will be soft enough on the bottom to grip the
pedals. I wear Shimano shoes which have flat soles like tennis shoes,
but with a stiff plate built into the sole to prevent the wrap round
effect you mentioned.
I dislike riding in chunky boots with Vibram or similar soles. They
never sit comfortably on the pedals.
It must be said, though, that you get better feedback through tennis
shoes or similar. They may be less comfortable than stiff-soled
cycling shoes, but you get a more direct feel of what the uni is doing.
--
Mikefule
So, do you ride with a club?
No, but I carry a heavy spanner.
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