Planetpapi Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I am finding it hard to ride my wheel more than 10 minutes due to pain in the foot. I'm trying to reason what causes it. My wheel has classic "split" pedal design. Is this design that bad compared to flat pedals? I have no experience with flat pedals so I couldn't conclude if the pain is from the pedal design. It's not both feet just one foot, I think it was the left foot. Some of you have several wheels with different pedals. Do you ever feel comfortable when you switch to flat pedal after riding the split pedal wheel? In any case, I'm inclined to buy my next wheel which has flat pedal only. Hope Gotway makes something like that. If not, Firewheel or Ninebot are in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EUC Extreme Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I have some similar problems. But a little stretching and a short walk out when the pain starts to feel. Rockwheel 16" cause I have the most pain. Also Gotway 14" to some extent. Also Firewheel slightly. But Gotway 18" is really pleasant for the feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerpentineGX Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Have you tried different shoes? When cruised with my Vans (low-top, canvas) my feet felt flat-footed and fatigued. Same with my Puma Cats (driving shoes, leather). My Diadora's (mid-top, suede) gave/give me proper arch support, cover my ankles, and let me go further distances in more comfort. Try various shoes and see if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuts Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Maybe your foot positioning. the way I ride nowadays is to have my toes completely protruding out of the front of the pedals. This is the most comfortable position for me. Try it yourself if you don't do so already. In terms for having your feet completely pain free I don't think it is possible. Even if you where to stand still on the ground for about 10 minutes your feet would start to hurt as the blood will start to drain from them. Only thing I could suggest is to wiggle your toes from time to time to keep the blood flowing. Or to do small bounces on your EU... big enough to relieve the pressure a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Any decent pair of solid shoes or boots should have some form of arch support. Just think of traditional shoes with a separate heel and the middle instep section never makes contact with the ground. I have both split pedals and solid and find little difference in the comfort. The problem is standing without moving your feet for a long period. If you learn to ride one footed on both sides then you can shift your feet about a bit as your are riding long distances which will ease the pain a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Solid soles definitely help. I have a pair of TopSiders with more flexible soles and those make my feet sore after a pretty short ride, even though I have solid pedals. It doesn't happen as fast on the Firewheel because of its bigger pedals. Of course I have small feet too (8.5 US, 42 Europe). If this video is correct, I would suggest a pair of high heels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEIVwamd9pc#t=10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 I think Gimlet's and Chuts's points are valid. Shifting weight between legs. I can see it takes a long time to master on a unicycle for a newbie. Actually that explains why one foot is more sore than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuts Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Today I tried a new method of riding which again might help you. What I did was with my left foot I put more pressure to the front (ball) of the foot and with my right I put more pressure to the heel. After a while when it started to feel sore I switched the pressure around. left foot heel and right foot front (ball) As you can imagine switching this way would allow you to recover the different parts of your feet while continuing to ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 I used to suspect that the gap between the pedals is the source of foot fatigue until I tried completely flat pedals and experienced the same thing. I think it's just the way your feet muscles are a bit tensed up and stuck in the same position for an extended period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 Thanks for clearing up. I was kind of zeroing in on models with flat pedals ( not many). So I guess it doesn't matter. Ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Thanks for clearing up. I was kind of zeroing in on models with flat pedals ( not many). So I guess it doesn't matter. Ha Well that has just been my experience. Others may differ heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I don't know the reason for it but the Gotway MCM is equipped with small 170mm long pedals whilst their M10 and M18 models have pedals about 200mm long. That is a big difference and I can't really see the reason for it, if a 10" wheel can have a larger pedal then there is no mechanical reason for reducing the size on the 14" wheel. I didn't measure them but when I rode Adrian and Tobys' Airwheels, an X5 and X8 I believe, I got the impression that the pedals on those were short as well. My cheap EYU.CO 14" has larger 200mm pedals as well and I don't find the shorter pedals very comfortable for any length of time. So to me the size is more important than whether there is a gap or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StridAst Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Interesting. I wonder if the M10 or M18 pedals would fit the MCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 No the M10 & M18 are both flat pedals and the MCM is a split pedal but the fixings dimensions are exactly the same as my EYU.CO so I've swapped the pedals over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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