The purity of riding in sandals....

[mdogbucket]

I see people riding with a ton of gear; helmets, boots, knee pads, elbow pads, etc...(probably smart) and I think about how much I enjoy riding my EUC with nothing but sandals, shorts and a t-shirt.  I felt connected to every movement of my wheel in a way that I no longer do now that the weather has gotten a bit colder here and I have been wearing  shoes instead of sandals, jeans instead of shorts, and more layers of clothing.   There is a big difference in "feel" riding with sandals as compared to riding with shoes.  Does anyone else experience this or is it just me?

For the record, I don't feel the need to ride as fast when wearing sandals, shorts and a t-shirt.  I tend to ride slower and take sidewalks instead of streets.  Is it possible that the numbness of riding with shoes or boots and all kinds of gear makes one crave more speed?  Just curious about what others have experienced.

Edited September 26, 2018 by mdogbucket

[Mono]

4 hours ago, mdogbucket said:

Is it possible that the numbness of riding with shoes or boots and all kinds of gear makes one crave more speed?

I also suspect that speeding is one of the negative side effects of gearing up and I can see several reasons why this may be so, e.g. change of speed perception, sense of safety...

Edited September 26, 2018 by Mono

[Christophe Vidal]

I love to ride with my tongs  just to feel the wind between my toes

btw i also go way slower this way.

[RockyTop]

Flip plops, thongs, sandals, ......Sounds dangerous  I just ride barefoot and let my toes hang over the edge   .........   It takes a stubbed toe to an all new level 

Edited September 26, 2018 by RockyTop

[Blunzn]

barefoot shoes 

[Arbolest]

45 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

Flip plops, thongs, sandals, ......Sounds dangerous  I just ride barefoot and let my toes hang over the edge   .........   It takes a stubbed toe to an all new level 

...eep...

*shudder*

[Circuitmage]

That's why people ride motorcycles that way too.

Feels great...until something happens.

I must admit, the longer I have a wheel, the more difficult it is to put on gear. Methinks that's a bad habit though.

BTW, it feels equally good when you have a bad fall and realize your armor protected you against a very bad day.

[RockyTop]

I stubbed my toe on a foot stool while riding barefoot from the couch to the bathroom. That was possibly the laziest statement I have ever made but true. My wife won’t let me ride in the house anymore.

I am a strong supporter of proper gear. Stay safe. 

[LanghamP]

I often ride using Vibram Five-Finger shoes; you get better protection than sandals and of course the sole is far thinner.

In practice, I usually ride one of my 14 or 16 inchers, as under 8 mph, with frequent stops and meanderings, with no protection whatsoever, and with lots of crashes if I'm riding my Seqway S1. It's almost insane how much I crash my S1 because a $300 wheel doesn't financially hurt that much (it's still a lot of money).

From my extensive experience of crashing, I would say catching a pedal on anything = I wish I was wearing my gear.

[Blunzn]

long long time ago  

 

[mdogbucket]

Man Blunzn, the tops of your feet look they they took some pretty bad hits.  Ouch.

[Blunzn]

not euc related, just some abrasions from a surfboard. and with the v-max of the ninebot driving barefoot wasn't too dangerous.

[yourtoys7]

It all comes down to speed, my mcm3 never put any gear and pushed hard... till 1st fall (my own fall). If you can control speed 10-15km/h, sure, you can probably run off that speed, but when you pushing 35, 45km/h or higher, very, very different story with sandals.

[mrelwood]

I rode a few times to my car with good strapped walking sandals in the summer, and I didn’t want to pass even 10km/h, and wouldn’t have ridden even a curb, up or down. Sandals can’t keep my feet stationary, especially for anything sudden, so the wheel control is bad. If I take a tumble, the sandals could easily catch a pedal edge or the ground in a way that would cause a bent ankle and a lot of other hurt.

With good shoes I get no numbing effect. Quite the opposite, the control is much more precise, and I can ride over hugely more challenging obstacles without my feet moving at all.

A local newbie was learning to ride on sandals, but as his feet didn’t get proper support he had adjusted his foot positioning to hug the wheel too closely, making turning difficult and learning slower.