TIPI-TOE MANEUVER
There is a zone in the crank circle where there is no power; because when your foot reaches the end of the push stroke the opposite foot is a quarter turn from the right place to push. To help your foot reach the right spot the foot at the end of the push must swipe threw and pull back, with recumbent cycles this is mostly just helping gravity. If you don’t wait until the foot is in the right space, you can push up your kneecap up, causing the infamous knee pain.
There are several mechanisms invented for stand up bikes to help your foot through this dead zone. Clipless pedals (cleats) or straps, and now a very expensive Rotor crank that eliminates the dead zone (rotorcranks.com).
Pedaling my 400lb sport utility vehicle (RCN #89 USX trike) gave me such pain in my knees that I had to back off from pedaling hard and try short cranks, which gave temporary relief, but soon led me to damaging my knee-caps again. As I was thinking about spending around $200 on clippless pedals and shoes, I reinvented a maneuver that places my foot at about 80 or 90 degrees to the crank arms at the beginning of the push stroke.
I push my toes forward as much as I can with out pain (it can’t be done with boots on) positioning my bones in such a way that keeps from pushing my kneecaps up. It’s amazing how much harder I can push now with out creating pain
At the end of the forward push I push down “swiping threw” and pulling back with my foot still on top of the pedal.
I don’t need clipless pedals with this maneuver but I do use BMX pedals and place the top of my foot arch on the pedal rather than the ball of my foot.
Short crank arms are not needed but they can help the foot reach the right position. One person told me that using this maneuver on his “stand on the pedals” mountain bike felt like running on his tippi toes.
Apparently some people can experience toe numbness from “anterior tunnel syndrome”. So don’t force your feet into this position.
I think the primary cause of knee pain is simply pushing before the right spot is reached. That’s why it is still possible for me to damage my knee with this maneuver.
I did move the seat closer to the crank to get more power to the pedals, but still there is a limit to how hard I can push with out lifting my kneecaps. And of course if I could lower the gear-inches below 10.5, I wouldn’t need to crank so hard, but it wouldn’t give me more power.
Then a faster cadence would be possible for most people. I can’t pedal as fast as some because of my large leg muscles. I believe that Power Saver pedal pendulums can help with cadence speed, but no one in America sells them.
I don’t think that the crank placement affects this maneuver but for comparison my crank is 4” lower than the seat.
