Foot position on pedals

[aequanim]

Hey all

I'm relatively new to unicycling, and new to this list. I thought I'd start with a question about foot placement on pedals:

I went off a half-metre drop earlier this week, and hurt my ankle enough to limp for a few days. When my wheel hit the ground, my heel slumped way down with it, but the front of my foot was still gripping the pedal (ouch). The problem - I think - was that I ride with the balls of my feet on the pedals, but this might not be safe for landings.

I searched previous threads, and noticed that riding with the balls of the feet on pedals is recommended for at least some unicycling, but what do people normally do for street and trials?

[unirox13]

hey and welcome to the forums.
when i ride no matter what type of riding i'm doing i use the middle of my foot, especially for trials and street. it helps prevent the hyperextension that u were talking about, and it'll allow you to have more control over the uni for trials riding. i've seen a lot of videos where people ride with the balls of their feet though. i guess it all just boils down to personal prefference.

[tholub]

Originally Posted by aequanim

Hey all

I'm relatively new to unicycling, and new to this list. I thought I'd start with a question about foot placement on pedals:

I went off a half-metre drop earlier this week, and hurt my ankle enough to limp for a few days. When my wheel hit the ground, my heel slumped way down with it, but the front of my foot was still gripping the pedal (ouch). The problem - I think - was that I ride with the balls of my feet on the pedals, but this might not be safe for landings.

I searched previous threads, and noticed that riding with the balls of the feet on pedals is recommended for at least some unicycling, but what do people normally do for street and trials?

The medical term is "dorsiflexion", and it's one you should get used to, because it happens all the time on drops. Definitely need to have the middle of your foot on the pedal for drops. Probably want some kind of ankle protection, too.

[Joe2005]

For hops and drops I use the middle of my foot for the power and strength. but when i'm riding skinnies or one foot or for that matter just riding I usually go to the balls of my foot because you have more fine adjustment control there.

[DustinSchaap]

Agreeing with most things said above, foot placement on trials should be about the middle of your foot. It allows you more power for hops and less flex when you land a drop. I disagree with using ankle protection, your ankles will get used to the abuse of landing a series of drops, using ankle protection your ankle won't strengthen and might even weaken. You won't hear me whining if you're using ankle protection for a single high drop (competition, video, playing dare-devil) though.

Cheers,

Dustin

[tholub]

Originally Posted by DustinSchaap

Agreeing with most things said above, foot placement on trials should be about the middle of your foot. It allows you more power for hops and less flex when you land a drop. I disagree with using ankle protection, your ankles will get used to the abuse of landing a series of drops, using ankle protection your ankle won't strengthen and might even weaken.

Joints don't "get used to" being abused. They fail. If you're worried about ankle strength, there are specific exercises which can help with that; landing awkwardly after jumping several feet with momentum is not one of them.

[DustinSchaap]

Originally Posted by tholub

Joints don't "get used to" being abused. They fail. If you're worried about ankle strength, there are specific exercises which can help with that; landing awkwardly after jumping several feet with momentum is not one of them.

Joints do get stronger, a 3 feet drop on a unicycle is the same as a 3 feet drop without a unicycle, humans have been able to do that since before the wheel was invented, I don't see why we should start wearing ankle guards now? I do have some 661 ankle braces here, I've wrecked my ankles on a 6-7 foot drop pretty bad, high drops are stupid. We're talking drops under 5 feet here, which the human body can easily take.

Cheers,

Dustin

[tholub]

Originally Posted by DustinSchaap

Joints do get stronger, a 3 feet drop on a unicycle is the same as a 3 feet drop without a unicycle, humans have been able to do that since before the wheel was invented, I don't see why we should start wearing ankle guards now? I do have some 661 ankle braces here, I've wrecked my ankles on a 6-7 foot drop pretty bad, high drops are stupid. We're talking drops under 5 feet here, which the human body can easily take.

I have a friend who was a competitive volleyball player. Volleyball players don't take big drops, but their ankles get totally trashed; he now has to wear Active Ankles all day, every day, because his ankles will roll just stepping off a curb.

Ankle pain indicates an injured ligament or tendon (or, less often, bone). Ligaments and tendons don't get stronger by being injured. If you're lucky, they heal back to be as good as they were before; for severe injuries, it is more common that they develop scar tissue, which leads to loss of flexibility, greater likelihood of future injury, and issues like bone spurs which can cause chronic pain. And I won't get into arthritis.

If you wear whatever equipment is necessary to prevent your ankles from being hurt, your ankles will be healthier, longer.

[skilewis74]

Originally Posted by tholub

If you wear whatever equipment is necessary to prevent your ankles from being hurt, your ankles will be healthier, longer.

Here here.

[markf]

i feel weird pedaling with anything other than the balls of my feet over the pedal axles. that said, for big drops i try to move a little forward on the pedals, i also wear stiff soled shoes to help prevent too much flex.

[aequanim]

Originally Posted by tholub

Definitely need to have the middle of your foot on the pedal for drops. Probably want some kind of ankle protection, too.

What kind of protection are we talking about? Some kind of brace?

[tholub]

Originally Posted by aequanim

What kind of protection are we talking about? Some kind of brace?

Some people use Active Ankles, which protect against rolling but not against dorsiflexion. You can get braces or wraps which will provide support to your ankle. You can wear high-top shoes. Anything's better than low-top skate shoes without inserts.

[Borgschulze]

Would just like to revive this thread.

I have recently switched my riding from middle of the foot to the balls of my feet.

I feel rolling hops are easier this way, as well as riding in general.

But on a bike, I can't ride on the balls of my feet because I can't get the same grip on the pedals on a bike for some reason. I guess on the unicycle, I can pull the pedal pins into my shoes, on a bike you kind of just push and smear your foot on the pedal to beg for grip.

[Bruce Dawson]

I've been doing some distance riding with my daughter lately and she says that her calf muscles are getting sore, and her thighs aren't getting at all tired. This seems wrong -- distance riding, especially hills, should be primarily a thigh workout.

Watching her ride I notice that she has the arch of her foot on the pedals, which looks very odd to me. I've always ridden with the ball of my foot on the pedals. Given that this is the only obvious difference between our riding styles I'm wondering if this is likely to be the cause, or might otherwise be a problem.

So, any thoughts on 'proper' foot positioning for distance riding?

She's on a 29" with 125mm cranks, for what it's worth. She's generally a solid rider, but she's only got about 60 km of riding on the 29" wheel so she's still adjusting to it. It may just be that she has weak calf muscles, in which case this problem should go away as she puts in more distance.

[Mikefule]

When riding it from A to B like a bicycle, balls of the feet on the pedals.

When putting heavy stresses through the feet (steep climbs and descents, exceptionally rough ground, and especially if the loads are sudden (eg. drops)) use the insteps, to avoid folding your feet backwards and hurting your ankles.