LanghamP Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Foot position is not something I want to experiment with because I have only had my wheel for two weeks, and constantly feel like I am one tiny mistake from crashing (again). Wheel: Inmotion VF5+. Shoes size: 9.5 extra extra wide. Usually use boots, all shoes I use have about a one inch heel in the back, and maybe a 1/4 inch in the front. Angle set: 0 degrees. Eyeballing it the footpads do indeed seem to be set at 0. Problem: the front of my feet hurt, and my heels have little to no weight on them, yet standing up straighter or moving more forward does not work as 1. I slow down, 2. my fore portion of my foot is already hanging off the footpads to an alarming degree. I suspect I should have more weight on my heels but I can't seem to be able to do that. I suspect I need to do something with the angle but I'm extremely reluctant to experiment. My feet hurt a lot, I mean goddamn it, they go numb. Please help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houseofjob Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Sorry to hear. It's both a product of being new to EUC and your foot size in relation the the V5 pedals, which aren't the smallest, but not the biggest (Gotway MSuper3 / ACM-Monster pedals hold that title). Only solutions are making DIY larger pedals, like some on the forums have done (bolting longer pedals on top of the existing ones), or getting your foot or feet closer to the heels. some thoughts: I know many recommend boots, but personally, I prefer less rigid (but semi-rigid), non-squishy cushion skate or old-school sneakers, like classic Nikes (Jordan 1, Dunks, etc.) or adidas (Superstar, Stan Smith). You get more "board feel" (as the skateboarders term it), while still maintaining a degree of rigidity. Either way, if you stay primarily on your forefoot, it's not really gonna matter, you'll still experience pain. as you progress, you might try a "mixed style" which I've been recently going with, where one foot is more towards the forefoot on one pedal, while the other is more towards the heel on the other pedal. This requires a relative degree of comfortability on an EUC though, I imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpong Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I haven't ridden with shoes that have heels. Could be part of the problem. I won't speak to specifics, but generally my experience was that yes, my feet were very uncomfortable, especially in the early days. Numbness was normal. Over time that lessened quite a bit --- maybe my feet got tougher. But also I learned to move my feet around a little bit while riding to keep the numbness at bay a while longer. It might be a good idea to experiment with shoes that are fairly rigid but do not have a heel. Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpong Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Oh yes, I forgot. My experience was that I needed to place my foot a little further forward than was intuitive. Place ankle so that it is at the center of the wheel (front to back). This means more of the front of the foot hangs off the pedal than one would initially think. Anyway, this is my experience of what works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 35 minutes ago, dpong said: Oh yes, I forgot. My experience was that I needed to place my foot a little further forward than was intuitive. Place ankle so that it is at the center of the wheel (front to back). This means more of the front of the foot hangs off the pedal than one would initially think. Anyway, this is my experience of what works for me. I noticed that also, the front of the foot hangs way over the front of the pedal. Now that you reminded me, that has been one of the number one things that bother me about my wheel. Why can't the pedals be bigger than even large feet? I have seen pedal mods with extensions and have thought about doing it myself, briefly, but I'm too lazy, since I can ride pretty good with the stock pedals. But it's always in the back of my mind, why can't the pedals be larger, and have a mark on them where the ankle should line up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0dder1024 Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I had the similar problems, your problem seems more severe. Mostly I was wearing sneakers. Heavy hiking boots helped a lot. Always on a knifes edge between wanting to shift foot around and crashing. Eventually, after probably 100 km the pain went away. I can now easily do 6 miles without pain. Basically it's the small muscles in the foot not use to getting worked. Listen to your body and rest if needed. No shame in taking breaks as your foot muscles start to develop. New snowboard, skiers go through the same thing. I was doing all sort of weird things to make the pain go away like hanging foot over the front pedals, surfer stance. But settled on normal stance over the middle, this is also the safest stance for me, to make quick hard stops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frode Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Hurting/numb feet is a typical problem for most of us in the beginning. At least I have been there, and it hurted so much I had to dismount the wheel and walk for a bit. It will most probably go away gradually as you gain experience and milage. Could it also be that you are bending your torso forward. This will put pressure on your forefoot, just like when you do it standing on a floor. Try focusing on standing relaxed and straight without bending in your heaps. It might feel somewhat unstable in the beginning, but as you learn to trust your wheel, this will become natural. If you are bending your torso forward, and you strighten it up, you will most probably also have to move your feet forward on the boards. My experience is that they shall be placed more forward than feels natural in the beginning. Remember to always bend a little in the knees to avoid the knees locking when you hit a dump (only a very smaal bend so you avoid fatigue). Also, try to move your feet a little while mounted on your EUC, lessen the pressure on one foot at a time. It will help a lot against feet hurting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frode Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 12 hours ago, steve454 said: Why can't the pedals be bigger than even large feet? On problem is that they will start scraping the ground when turning, especially when hitting dumps while cornering and for sharp corners with slow speed. At least that is my experience (King Song KS-16). Larger ground clearance might be a solution though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Matos Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I purchased one of these to help with my foot discomfort: https://www.amazon.com/North-American-Healthcare-Foot-Rocker/dp/B002PT52WK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1489067611&sr=8-3&keywords=foot+rocker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I can confirm what other people say here. The position of your primary (first on the pedal) foot is crucial, if it's good you'll ride relaxed forever , if it's bad it's immediately uncomfortable und you never feel fully in control. And it's frustratingly hard to get the right position. Just work on it until is right, everytime you start riding. Always put your feet further to the front than you would do when looking. Naturally you'll put your toes at the front of the pedal, but try to put you heel at the back of the pedal. An asymmetric stance is often better (aka 2nd foot more to the front than 1st) Don't look at how you stand, just do what's comfortable without looking down I wish pedals were much larger (especially wider). A suspension would be nice too. At least for me, pedals are the weak points of EUCs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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