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Does feet pain go away?


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I actually found that when the wheel wasn't balancing quite right, like after a sharp corner, that the peddles being tilted slightly back helped a lot. I think part of it is just the similarity in foot position to on a bicycle, but also that learning forward is leveling the feet more than tilting. The inmotion app has a tilt setting so maybe play around with that a bit.

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4 minutes ago, Obly said:

I would venture to say there are no hard and fast rules in this area; you really do need to experiment and find what works best for you. The advice about wearing hard sole shoes makes sense from an anatomical perspective, but I thought it might be worth sharing that it didn't work for me personally.

I have largish feet (US men's 12 and a bit on the wide side) and very low arches, nearly flat. So I've suffered chronic foot pain my entire life. I started riding a EUC about a year ago, and--no surprise--would get awful pains in my feet requiring me to stop and rest them constantly.

I tried just about every pair of shoes in my closet to see what would help, and, for me, hard sole shoes made the pain worse. I have a pair of high-quality, custom-made sports orthotics (prescribed by a podiatrist) that are comfortable while walking, but wearing them while riding made the pain way worse.

What finally helped for me was focusing on shock absorption instead of arch support. I bought a pair of sneakers with the thickest memory foam insoles I could find, and I only wear them for riding, in order to keep the insole resilient. And I tend to wear padded socks. I also prefer loose-fitting slip-on shoes with lots of ventilation, since hot, cramped feet will start hurting a lot sooner. I can now ride for well over an hour before I need to stop and rest my feet.

My lay theory behind this, FWIW, is (like folks have been saying) there's just too much mismatch between the tiny Asian-made pedals (I ride a KS-14C) and my big Western feet. The ideal pedal would provide equal, level support under both the heel and balls of my feet (the two points of your foot that support the body weight), allowing the arches to act as the natural shock absorber they're meant to.

But the pedals are too small to allow this. I need to keep my heels entirely on the back of the pedal (centered under the vertical axis of my frame and the line of gravity) to keep proper control of the wheel, and that leaves the balls hanging partially off the front edge, so they can't act as a proper brace. So my weight gets shifted to an improper part of the foot behind the ball. If my feet naturally had good arches, hard soled shoes or arch support might help maintain the healthy shape, but because they don't, wearing them was like a jackhammer to the bottom of my feet while riding.

All this is to say, try the hard soled shoes and orthotics, but if they don't work, try a thick memory foam insole instead. For me, the memory foam absorbs a lot of the shocks of the road and lets my feet tolerate the bad positioning for a lot longer.

Here are a few other assorted thoughts I hadn't seen mentioned yet:

As you get better at riding, you'll find you don't need to keep your feet locked in place. For instance, you'll be able to control your lean with one foot at a time. That lets you shift the other foot around and give it a chance to relax, which will let you ride for longer without needing to stop.

The owner of a new EUC doesn't want to hear this, but that 14" wheel isn't doing your feet any favors (just like mine isn't helping me). Your feet aren't just supporting your body weight from above, but taking a lot of the shock from bumps in the road from below. A larger tire would absorb more of those shocks, so less force is transferred to your feet. You don't need to sell off your V5F... just something to remember for next time. I'm shopping for a larger wheel (with larger pedals!) right now.

More tough love: the best remedy for foot pain is to put less weight on them. I could certainly stand to lose a few pounds. <_< I don't know your situation, but if you're able to shed some weight, your feet will hurt less.

Good luck!

I'd say that about 20-30 pounds of my weight is just flab. Anyone wants it? You can have it if you pay for the liposuction. :D 

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I have been riding for 2 years (pretty much every day) and for me the discomfort has never gone away completely. Whether I am doing tricks or going on long (3 battery change) rides I adopt an active stance on the foot pedals, so that I "listen" or "feel" the surface and am able to react to it - the downside to this stance is that it is uncomfortable for long periods of time. For this I wear flat and thin soled shoes. I do sometimes adopt a more comfortable stance where the surface is very smooth and predictable but the downside to this is I have less control.  

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I took my EUC out today after getting new insoles, I wore the insoles for 3 days before and really like them! However, they don't help much on the EUC... I still get feet pain after just a couple minutes of riding which is so annoying. I'm beginning to think if this pain doesn't start to get better I'm going to have to sell... It's leginimantly frustrating 

Edited by Joshua 'JD' Schwarzenbach
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1 hour ago, Joshua 'JD' Schwarzenbach said:

I took my EUC out today after getting new insoles, I wore the insoles for 3 days before and really like them! However, they don't help much on the EUC... I still get feet pain after just a couple minutes of riding which is so annoying. I'm beginning to think if this pain doesn't start to get better I'm going to have to sell... It's leginimantly frustrating 

Wow that would be a shame.  Have you gone through every solution you can think of?  

I was thinking that even if nothing helps on your pedals ... there are people posting in the DIY section here that they modified their pedals, making them longer, wider, or both.  And some have even used pedals from different machines -- people seem to like the MSuper pedals a lot, probably because they're so big.  Some pedals look tiny!

Maybe you might consider an alternative like changing your pedals instead of changing your shoes?

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I seem to have two stances that I ride in. The first is an athletic go-fast stance where the balls of my feet are like balanced on the front edge, and a feet-hurt from riding too long stance. The latter, I have my back heel lined up with the back edge of the pedal, and my toes hanging  off the front of the pedal  goofily far. After a mile or two like that I can usually switch back. I can gradually do it now without stopping too. Once you can move your feet a bit without stopping, it's a real game changer. 

Edited by kasenutty
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@Joshua 'JD' Schwarzenbach don't give up just yet, that would really be a shame. @Dingfelder's idea of changing or modifying the pedals seems to be a solution. What EUC are you using today, and is there someone who knows if the MSuper3-pedals would fit on that one. I've tried the MSuper3 once, and can attest that they're in their own league in terms of comfort.

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1 hour ago, Scatcat said:

@Joshua 'JD' Schwarzenbach don't give up just yet, that would really be a shame. @Dingfelder's idea of changing or modifying the pedals seems to be a solution. What EUC are you using today, and is there someone who knows if the MSuper3-pedals would fit on that one. I've tried the MSuper3 once, and can attest that they're in their own league in terms of comfort.

The pedals are actually a big reason I considered the MSuper.  I was very sold on the Kingsong 18 before, but the MSuper pedals got such good reviews.  

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9 hours ago, Joshua 'JD' Schwarzenbach said:

I took my EUC out today after getting new insoles, I wore the insoles for 3 days before and really like them! However, they don't help much on the EUC... I still get feet pain after just a couple minutes of riding which is so annoying.

If you're talking about rigid orthotic insoles (arch supports), I really encourage you to try memory foam (or even thick gel) insoles instead. Especially if what you're talking about here is rapid onset, shooting pain, which means foot cramps, and not normal foot fatigue. It's a sign that you're bearing your weight on the wrong part of your feet.

I have custom orthotics myself, and they're great for walking, but kill my feet on a EUC. I think it's because they're really intended to improve your stride more than anything else; that is, they're primarily meant to stop you from rolling your feet to the inside or outside while walking or running. But they don't help (me at least) standing still while contorting your feet on small pedals; in fact they make the pain worse.

The idea about changing your pedals is a good one too. But definitely give memory foam insoles a try before you throw in the towel.

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I've been using contrapposto recently. It seems to completely eliminate feet pain. I alternate feet. Also, now I can place my hands in a natural position. I do wish the pedals were longer so a true contrapposto could be used.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto

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16 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I've been using contrapposto recently. It seems to completely eliminate feet pain. I alternate feet. Also, now I can place my hands in a natural position. I do wish the pedals were longer so a true contrapposto could be used.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto

I have to do that constantly while standing, so I'm sure I'll be trying it on the EUC too.  

Any negative effects on your balance? or on braking or acceleration?

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46 minutes ago, Philip W said:

Just did a easy mod of pedal Extention. Everything can be bought in Home Depot, cost $26.

Cant wait to try this mod in weekend.

 

While it's a nice idea, I'll pass on that.  

Don't know if you've ever taken a pedal to the shin, but that would cause seriously more than a bruise.  

 

Allen

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19 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I've been using contrapposto recently. It seems to completely eliminate feet pain. I alternate feet. Also, now I can place my hands in a natural position. I do wish the pedals were longer so a true contrapposto could be used.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto

You rode like this...

009MA_Kritios.jpg

That's not very safe...

A faceplant would become a "fullbody plant" (which would hurt in all the wrong places

But then it would be very freeing... @Hunka Hunka Burning Love, I believe you ride like this - how does it rate? Safety versus exhilaration. 

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8 hours ago, abinder3 said:

While it's a nice idea, I'll pass on that.  

Don't know if you've ever taken a pedal to the shin, but that would cause seriously more than a bruise.  

 

Allen

It's a mod, that's the beauty of it. You can put whatever you want in the front or back. You can put a boxer glove there if you like.

I did took a serious injury in my shin, that's before the mod, and I still have the scar to prove it. 

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9 minutes ago, Philip W said:

It's a mod, that's the beauty of it. You can put whatever you want in the front or back. You can put a boxer glove there if you like.

I did took a serious injury in my shin, that's before the mod, and I still have the scar to prove it. 

And imagine if you took the same hit to the shin with the mod you have shown. 

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1 minute ago, abinder3 said:

And imagine if you took the same hit to the shin with the mod you have shown. 

With a boxing glove in the front? I will be just fine. In fact, I should have done this a long time ago, before that accident. That hit was nasty! 

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9 hours ago, Philip W said:

With a boxing glove in the front? I will be just fine. In fact, I should have done this a long time ago, before that accident. That hit was nasty! 

I guess you didn't read my post. 

I stated with what is shown. Boxing glove attached is not shown. 

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