Sore feet, good advice

[Robse]

A little good advice. I have occasionally struggled with getting sore feet on longer trips (+40 miles without breaks)

I have experimented with different ways to place my feet on the pedals,even including riding a little on "one feet" at a time.

It helps, but still not always enough. At one point I had used the Kingsong app, and without noticing it, moved a little on

the pedal tilt slider, so this was at 1.5 degrees forward tilt.  I did not really notice it because my trips always start a little uphill.

But the great thing is that if I have the pedals tilted just 1 - 1.5 degrees down towards the front, then I do not get sore feet at all.

The only drawback is that the light from the wheel is also tilted slightly downwards, and does not light up as far forward. And of course it also requires that it is a feature you can adjust on your wheel.  Maybe this can help you too if you get sore feet.

[mrelwood]

Good tip! Switching to a softer mode can also help. Many riders seem to think as if the medium mode were somehow worse than hard, and don’t even try it. In reality it requires less effort to accelerate, and can indeed help your feet go on for longer. It even gets a slightly longer range.

Edited April 12, 2022 by mrelwood

[Funky]

I was riding "hard" mode all the time. And at level (0) position my feet hurt.. A ALOT.. But rising front of the wheel upwards by 2 degree it fixed that. (The front of whole euc was upwards more, less lean forwards needed to speed up - less strain on feet.)

Just happens today i was playing with "riding modes" Middle/Soft mode removes feet pain. At "hard" mode my feet always felt "stiff". And got sore fast, because of leaning forwards all the time..

Edited April 12, 2022 by Funky

[Esash]

Great tips guys thanks. Anybody know if suspension wheel helps with foot soreness?

I just bought a Begode Hero in large part because I hoped suspension plus good seated riding will help with foot soreness. I'll also be trying out all these tips here and between them all I should be really set.

[Funky]

3 minutes ago, Esash said:

Great tips guys thanks. Anybody know if suspension wheel helps with foot soreness?

I just bought a Begode Hero in large part because I hoped suspension plus good seated riding will help with foot soreness. I'll also be trying out all these tips here and between them all I should be really set.

Definitely suspension will help, because suspension will eat up most road buzz and all small/medium bumps. But in my case most of pain was from "leaning forwards" for long time.

[alcatraz]

I filed down my pedals to get the angle a bit better.

Also I think that it would help to swap pedals alltogether. The feet need to be fully supported. On the original I'm hanging outside a lot.

Also I think it helps if you get power pads and set the pedal angle almost flat. Without powerpads I understand you need to toe-up the pads to feel safe.

Wear comfy shoes and ride as low a tire pressure as you can. Some tires can't be run at a low tire pressure, like the Chaoyang H5012 (for me). After going to a lighter tire (thinner) like the C1488, I could drop the pressure a lot more and not get any negative side effects handling wise. Still watch out not to dent your rim. I ride carefully over uneven surfaces, and I don't jump.

[InfiniteWheelie]

I was getting extremely sore feet (basically the feeling of cramping) to the point I could barely ride. I had my wheel tilted back about 3-4 degrees at the time. Switching back to 0 degrees fixed the problem. Now I ride with 1-2 degrees back and my feet are fine. So I guess too far back for me causes pain and strain.

Edited April 15, 2022 by InfiniteWheelie

[FlyingWigs]

I found that a stiff sole boot helps me to keep from curling my toes, which helps my feet from getting sore. 

[.....]

I found medium mode on my 18XL, to be easier on the joints and feet than hard. I also have big pedals that helped me learn to not curl my toes. I still have that bad habit on my mten, but im breaking it one mile at a time. I ride low pressures and soft/thin soled shoes. Typically k-mart (getting hard to find), or cheap skate shoes. I didnt notice any tilt settings make much a difference in my feet, but it does on my ankles and posture. I'm pretty sure I ride the 18xl at level or negative a tiny bit. Too much negative and downhill becomes tough. ANY positive and I simply feel like ima lean right off the front. My larger wheel runs a bit more negative, as I prefer not bouncing off the front. My pads don't really help with feet, tho they do assist when I brake or hard accel. Perhaps tired feet are a culmintation of small posture details and conditioning as well.

[Tawpie]

3 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Typically k-mart (getting hard to find)

Haha! Back in the day, I had a roommate that would wait until the k-mart 'sneakers' went on blue light special for $3.69 a pair, then he'd buy 6 pairs. He called them "shoe substitutes", and would wear them for a few months until they wore out and then responsibly recycle them (in the landfill of course, he didn't just leave them on the street).

[.....]

1 minute ago, Tawpie said:

Haha! Back in the day, I had a roommate that would wait until the k-mart 'sneakers' went on blue light special for $3.69 a pair, then he'd buy 6 pairs. He called them "shoe substitutes", and would wear them for a few months until they wore out and then responsibly recycle them (in the landfill of course, he didn't just leave them on the street).

Rotten feet destroy my shoes LONG before even the $5 bogo shoes fall apart. $5 shoes and a tube of shoegoo, hard to beat. I tend to buy 3-4 pairs at a time as well. Slim picking tho, and walmart must be using diff recycled trash, as they dont ever fit right...

[Bridgeboy]

I learned this over a year ago and have been riding with 1° or 2° forward tilt ever since. I can accelerate better and it is very noticeable how much more endurance I have before feet and/or calves get sore. It could also be a combination with more and more experience my feet start getting more and more used to riding as well. Been riding a little over two years now.

I also wear orthopedic insoles which help too.

[BlueCrow]

On 4/12/2022 at 6:33 AM, Funky said:

I was riding "hard" mode all the time. And at level (0) position my feet hurt.. A ALOT.. But rising front of the wheel upwards by 2 degree it fixed that. (The front of whole euc was upwards more, less lean forwards needed to speed up - less strain on feet.)

That's my logic too for raising the front of the EUC slightly. Sometimes though, I feel it's putting more pressure back up the front half of the feet. I have to place my feet at just the right place forward/back on the pedals.

But from what I'm understanding the OP and some other people tilt the front of EUC down. I find that that does put less stress on the feet as well but you're more prone to slip forward when turning and leaning to accelerate hard.

[LanghamP]

1 hour ago, BlueCrow said:

That's my logic too for raising the front of the EUC slightly. Sometimes though, I feel it's putting more pressure back up the front half of the feet. I have to place my feet at just the right place forward/back on the pedals.

But from what I'm understanding the OP and some other people tilt the front of EUC down. I find that that does put less stress on the feet as well but you're more prone to slip forward when turning and leaning to accelerate hard.

I give my EUCs a slight tilt so they slow down instead of speeding up after a crash. That is, there is a small but significant chance a wheel will continue forward without its rider after a crash, and so the wheel should be tilted in whatever direction slows it down. Bad horizontal calibration results in a wheel that continues accelerating forward until it reaches equilibrium (the air pressure on the top of the wheel is enough to tilt the wheel back but that might happen as some ungodly speed).

Finding if your wheel is a dangerous dipper versus a timid tilter is easy; place wheel on flat surface and see which way it moves. Adjust horizontal calibration until it becomes a timid tilter.

 

[mrelwood]

5 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I give my EUCs a slight tilt so they slow down instead of speeding up after a crash.

That’s an interesting approach. Although, I haven’t heard of a single crash where the wheel runs alone far enough that a tilt would’ve mattered at all.

[TantasStarke]

6 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I give my EUCs a slight tilt so they slow down instead of speeding up after a crash. That is, there is a small but significant chance a wheel will continue forward without its rider after a crash, and so the wheel should be tilted in whatever direction slows it down. Bad horizontal calibration results in a wheel that continues accelerating forward until it reaches equilibrium (the air pressure on the top of the wheel is enough to tilt the wheel back but that might happen as some ungodly speed).

Finding if your wheel is a dangerous dipper versus a timid tilter is easy; place wheel on flat surface and see which way it moves. Adjust horizontal calibration until it becomes a timid tilter.

 

At that point why not just wear a tether? If you fall off at speed and the wheel stays upright it'll go flying until tipping over or hitting something long before it got real slow by the tilt

---

As for the topic at hand I've been dealing with sore feet for all of my riding, I can still put in 30+ miles a day but every few miles I gotta take a 1 minute break or so. Gonna try getting some new shoes and some orthopedic insoles and see if that helps

[LightWave]

On 4/12/2022 at 7:02 AM, Esash said:

Great tips guys thanks. Anybody know if suspension wheel helps with foot soreness?

I just bought a Begode Hero in large part because I hoped suspension plus good seated riding will help with foot soreness. I'll also be trying out all these tips here and between them all I should be really set.

It seems the "Begode Hero" is basically the best Suspension wheels on the market right now? Suspension wheels could to be the future of EUC

[Esash]

5 hours ago, ElectronxCycles said:

It seems the "Begode Hero" is basically the best Suspension wheels on the market right now? Suspension wheels could to be the future of EUC

Q & A with Marty Backe:

Marty can you compare the comfort of the Hero Vs the Master? Hero has lower pedals and narrower width, I think. Thanks

 

Highlighted reply

ElectricUnicycles

10 hours ago

Hopefully I'll compare them. As I had expected, the Master is the superior wheel by far. The Hero is also a very nice wheel and it's primary advantage is that you can buy and ride one NOW. The Master and S20 will take a couple of months to get.

[LanghamP]

6 hours ago, mrelwood said:

That’s an interesting approach. Although, I haven’t heard of a single crash where the wheel runs alone far enough that a tilt would’ve mattered at all.

I know why we have runaway wheels; generally when riders bail they take one foot off before the other which destabilizes the wheel, but a significant minority bail by jumping off with both feet at the same time, and so in those cases the wheel runs off by itself.

But don't take my word for it; simply get on your unicycle then run it up to a very low speed, and jump off it. See what happens.

5 hours ago, TantasStarke said:

At that point why not just wear a tether? If you fall off at speed and the wheel stays upright it'll go flying until tipping over or hitting something long before it got real slow by the tilt

You don't need a tether if you destabilize the wheel during your crash. And don't ride near water.

[Esash]

I'll concur with the poster who said hard sole shoes/boots are better for minimizing foot cramps, after my ride today. And the suspension definitely helped tons.

I'll add another suggestion: If your feet hurt really bad on a long ride, find a place where you can lie down and elevate your feet, like against a tree or a picnic table or a cement parking barrier block.

If you can elevate your feet for even 2 minutes, it will make your feet feel a lot better.

https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/a774030/why-should-i-elevate-my-legs-after-running/

Edited April 24, 2022 by Esash

[Scottie]

5 hours ago, LanghamP said:

But don't take my word for it; simply get on your unicycle then run it up to a very low speed, and jump off it. See what happens.

Wrong Way would just hop back on easy peasy. If I tried that, it would be suicide.

[Bridgeboy]

23 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I give my EUCs a slight tilt so they slow down instead of speeding up after a crash. That is, there is a small but significant chance a wheel will continue forward without its rider after a crash, and so the wheel should be tilted in whatever direction slows it down. Bad horizontal calibration results in a wheel that continues accelerating forward until it reaches equilibrium (the air pressure on the top of the wheel is enough to tilt the wheel back but that might happen as some ungodly speed).

Finding if your wheel is a dangerous dipper versus a timid tilter is easy; place wheel on flat surface and see which way it moves. Adjust horizontal calibration until it becomes a timid tilter.

 

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're confused. Pedal tilt and horizontal calibration are two entirely different things.

Pedal tilt has zero affect on the wheel moving. The wheel still knows which way is up. This is evident by the fact that when you adjust your pedal tilt the wheel still stays still. Tilting forward or backward does not make the wheel start moving forward or backward.

Now, if you (un)calibrate your wheel to not know which way is up, but have it thinking backwards is up (out of calibration) then it will constantly try to move backwards to right itself when you're just trolleying it about. That sounds like an extremely bad idea to me. (EDIT: after thinking about this some more I don't even think it's possible to do this....the wheel always thinks it stable without moving...it's just a matter of what angle you have the pedals set to when it's stable).

Edited April 25, 2022 by Bridgeboy

[Bridgeboy]

On 4/23/2022 at 5:54 PM, BlueCrow said:

That's my logic too for raising the front of the EUC slightly. Sometimes though, I feel it's putting more pressure back up the front half of the feet. I have to place my feet at just the right place forward/back on the pedals.

But from what I'm understanding the OP and some other people tilt the front of EUC down. I find that that does put less stress on the feet as well but you're more prone to slip forward when turning and leaning to accelerate hard.

I just rode my KingSong 18XL after ages of not riding it. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a pedal tilt option for some godforsaken unknown reason; so, the pedals are level. After 30-minute my feet and calves ached.

This happened after riding my Sherman for 44-miles today with pedals tilted forward with no feet issues whatsoever. I also have over 5,000 total miles riding EUCs. Pedals tilted forward is the best for me. Also, I never slip off...all my wheels have coarse grit grippy tape surfaces and my shoes stick to them. I don't even have pedal spikes like a lot of people do, but the coarse grippy tape works perfect. I can even ride BMX tracks without issue of slipping off.

[LanghamP]

3 minutes ago, Bridgeboy said:

This is evident by the fact that when you adjust your pedal tilt the wheel still stays still. Tilting forward or backward does not make the wheel start moving forward or backward.

Some wheels are top heavy. Some are bottom heavy. Very few are perfectly balanced. If you have a top or bottom heavy wheel, and you change the horizontal calibration at all, then the wheel will be unbalanced towards the front or the back.

Try it; grab you wheel, turn it on, place it on a flat surface, and see if it rolls forward or back.

Interestingly, the human body seems to be attuned to that very tiny difference. On a group ride, invariably there'll be a rider who tries to ride his symmetrical wheel "backwards" by mistake. That should make any difference on a perfectly horizontal symmetrical wheel, but riders will instantly know they're on wrong.

[LanghamP]

3 minutes ago, Bridgeboy said:

I just rode my KingSong 18XL after ages of not riding it. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a pedal tilt option for some godforsaken unknown reason; so, the pedals are level. After 30-minute my feet and calves ached.

The pedal tilt option isn't there, true, but you CAN recalibrate the 18xl to tilt or down under the first menu in the gear menu => horizontal calibration option. The instructions say to put the wheel level but you can tip the wheel forward and it will keep that angle.