My heels keep hitting cranks



O

oldfatboy

Guest
Is this just because of the way my feet are naturally, or do I need to
adjust the seat height?
When I am sitting on the wheel, I make sure my feet are pointed
straight, but after a little while, the heels (mainly right heel) starts
hitting the crank on the downward action of the pedal.
I do this on both the 20 and 24" wheels. I have tried different shoes to
see if that would help but it doesn't.
It sure makes it hard while trying to learn. Hitting the crank and
thinking my foot is coming off the pedal does funny things to the mind
;)
Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanks.


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oldfatboy - user name says it all ;)

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i would just get big pedals, at least for your 24" and bigger, and put
your feet more near the edge of the pedals, so even if your feet go
naturally outward, they will have enough room at the heels.


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unick 8133 - tartar sauce

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My (few) mastered skillz:

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I get that problem as well. My feet (in fact the right one more than
the left) seem to naturally end up pointing just slightly heel inwards.
I've tried to train myself to pedal with heels slightly outwards, but
they always work their way back when I'm not thinking about it. I'm
thinking about trying some cranks with a bit of Q - the ones I've got
now are absolutely straight. The boots I wear for muni are quite big
and make it more noticeable. Putting your feet nearer the outside of
the pedal would of course work, but I feel a bit insecure doing that on
rough ground.


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rob.northcott - Speed Freak (apparently)

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Thanks everybody :)
Rob, I'm like you. I put my feet out toward the end of the pedal and I
feel like I'm going to brake the pedal off. It feels *spongy* to me.
I will just keep practicing and working on it because if I don't my son
will be calling and giving me a bad time about how far ahead of me he is
;)


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oldfatboy - user name says it all ;)

"I got to get me one of these!"

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I had the same problem but recently decided to put the arch of my foot
in the center of the pedal versus the ball of my foot (the way I ride a
b*cycle). Seems to work for me and makes freemounting work out better
too for some reason--maybe it is the carefully placed and more secure
status of my first foot on.

Carey


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Carey
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I've always had the trouble with heels hitting the cranks. It is less
with bigger pedals. I assumed it is because I tend to walk with my toes
out and my heals in.

With the Coker I had this problem, but when I changed it from 150 to
170mm cranks the problem went away. Even though the new cranks have a
higher Q factor. (Q factor being the distance from wheel to the pedal,
higher is wider.) Overall I don't like the higher Q, it's about an inch
wider, but it's nice not having my heels hitting the cranks. I mention
this because I would have expected a lower Q (thinner between) pedals to
help not have the heel knocking. It could be the longer cranks.


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Chrashing - Unicycles are flying machines!

Regards,
Ken
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Thanks again everybody.
I ride my Trek with the balls of my feet on the pedals (and also use
clips). I have been practicing the uni with the arch of my foot on the
pedal, but didn't know if that would be starting a *bad habit*, but I
think right now I would rather be riding with a bad habit (if it is)
than not riding.
Thanks UniTyler for that link. Those may solve the problem.


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oldfatboy - user name says it all ;)

"I got to get me one of these!"

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I would agree with you that riding with arches of feet on the pedals is
certainly a bad habit (on a bike or uni). It leads to very inefficient
pedalling.


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rob.northcott - Speed Freak (apparently)

You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to
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oldfatboy wrote:
> *Thanks again everybody.
> I ride my Trek with the balls of my feet on the pedals (and also use
> clips). I have been practicing the uni with the arch of my foot on the
> pedal, but didn't know if that would be starting a *bad habit*, but I
> think right now I would rather be riding with a bad habit (if it is)
> than not riding.
> Thanks UniTyler for that link. Those may solve the problem. *

I had that problem when I started... Once you get more comfortable,
it'll go away.


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DK - getting rude again

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dr. zaius, dr. zaius, whats your monkey diagnosis
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