Archive for the ‘Pedals and Shoes’ Category
Power Grip Pedal Set – Good Price
If my previous posts have persuaded you to try Power Grips, you can find them at a much better price than on the Power Grips website. Give BikeWagon.com a try, their price is $69.93 with free shipping for the pedal set with High Performance Pedal and XL Power Grip (for those of us with size 11 or bigger feet). The price at the Power Grips site is $82.95.
Follow on – Knee Savers/Pedal Extenders
Crank clearance with pedal Extenders
Follow on to Knee Savers First Impressions
I have been riding a few months now with Knee Savers and Shorter Cranks and have to say that the results have so far been all positive.
The Knee Savers/Pedal Extenders keep my feet from rubbing the crank arms and give me more ways to position my feet while riding. They also allow a lot more toe out which I seem to need for my right foot.
Keen Commuter Sandal – First Impressions
My Keen Commuter Sandals arrived today from REI. I have been hearing people rave about them and despite price decided to buy a pair.
These are very nice looking sandals with a comfortable foot bed. Unfortunately for me they have a shallow toe box that crushes my Hobbit toes. I was not able to put the sandal on and walk in them because of the pressure on the toe nail of my big toe.
If you have thinner toes these might be just the sandals for you. They look very nice but unfortunately don’t work for me so I will have to leave further comments to others. I am glad I purchased from REI, who is great on returns.
So far the Ragster from Nashbar are the only cleated sandals that fit comfortably on my feet.
Resources:
Best Cleated Bicycling Sandal Yet
Best Cleated Bicycling Sandal Yet
Follow on from an earlier post: Another Cycling Sandal – Nashbar Ragster
Update 4/24/08 -It ha s been unseasonably warm this week and I have been wearing the Ragsters without socks. Not so good without socks, as expected the foot bed is pretty rough on bare feet. It is too bad that they couldn’t have made these sandals just a little better, but that seems to be typical of Nashbar clothing. These are still the only cleated sandal I can wear but I wouldn’t recommend riding with out socks.
I wasn’t expecting much from the Bike Nashbar Ragster Bicycling Sandal but I have been very pleasantly surprised. They don’t look as impressive as the Shamino or Lake Sandals but they work on my feet. This is the first cleated sandal that I can wear comfortably and they are also a lot less expensive than the others I have tried.
The reason these sandals work for me is simple, they have an adjustment strap at the back of the foot that adjusts where the foot falls onto the foot bed. These is a key adjustment for me or anyone else that has problems with the toe grip on the foot bed hitting the nerve at the base of my toes. They also have an open toe area so my Hobbit toes can self actualize without being crushed.
These sandal are as good as any cycling sandal I have tried for walking, not great but more than acceptable. On the bike they really grip the pedals, almost too well.
The bad news is that they don’t seem to be available right now. I bought them on sale and am just getting around to trying them out. But Nashbaar may bring them back as summer gets a little closer.
These aren’t fancy but they work. This is the first time I have been able to say that about a bicycling sandal that accepts cleats. However, the quality just isn’t there. I can only call these sandals acceptable barely.
I will be trying the Keen Commuter Sandal from REI that is getting raves later in the Spring.
Note: I have only used these sandals without cleats but I expect good performance with cleats. However, I don’t plan to be using cleats this year.
KneeSavers: First Impressions
When you first put your foot on the pedal after installing KneeSavers, things feel quite different. You can feel the wider spacing and it feels awkward. After riding a few miles that feeling diminishes.
Read the rest of this entry »
My 2008 Cycling Sandals
In 2008, I am trying to do everything I can to eliminate the hip problem that kept me off of the bike for most of 2007. Here’s my plan:
1. Go back to Power Grips
2. Shorter Cranks – my new cranks are 153MM versus the 170MM I was using.
3. I am going back to the traditional sandal that I used for 10 years before switching to shores with cleats for clipless pedals.
For years I have used PowerGrips and the Birkenstock Milano with great comfort. The cork soles on the Milano have given me more comfort while riding than any other sandal I have used. They are very firm but also protect and protect your feet from the pedals.
No Clipless Pedals for Me This Year
This is a sadder but wiser update of my 2006 post: Why I don’t use Clipless Pedals.
I am back to Power Grips this year. I don’t know it for sure but I feel that using Clipless Pedals in 2006 contributed to the hip problem that have kept me off of my bicycle for the last year. All I can say is that I had no problems for years with PowerGrips but after 6 months with Clipless Pedals, I had to stop riding because of hip pain. This is not proof but I don’t think I can ignore this strong feeling.
Another Cycling Sandal – Nashbar Ragster
Follow on 4/16/08 – Best Cleated Sandal Yet
Update: 7/28/08
The more I wear these sandals the less I like them. They are serviceable with socks but that is about it. It is too bad that the well made sandals from Shimano and Lake hurt my feet.
Update 4/24/08 -It has been unseasonably warm this week and I have been wearing the Ragsters without socks. Not so good without socks, as expected the foot bed is pretty rough on bare feet. It is too bad that they couldn’t have made these sandals just a little better, but that seems to be typical of Nashbar clothing. These are still the only cleated sandal I can wear but I wouldn’t recommend riding with out socks.
I don’t wear anything but sandals even in the Winter in NH and have tried all kinds of sandals. So far I haven’t found a comfortable cycling sandal that accepts cycling cleats. The big disappointments have been the Shamino and Lake sandals. The both share the same problem, they do not allow the wearer to adjust the position of the foot front to back in the sandal. The result is that the toe ridge presses on a nerve in my foot making them unwearable for me. Both are nicely make, the Shimano looking particularity good.
I am now checking other brands’ last winter I bought a pair of Nashbar cycling sandals with provisions for cleats. These sandals are lowest priced scandals I have tried and like most Nashbar brand goods pretty shoddy looking, But surprisingly they do allow adjustment of the forward to aft foot position. They feel OK and offer some hope of finding a cleated cycling sandal I can wear.
I will do a follow up after some road testing. I am hopeful but suspect I will have to replace the foot pad to make them really usable.
The Nahbar Ragster Sandals are currently on sale at Nashbar for $49.99. N.B., these shoes run small and narrow, expect to order a size larger that your Birkenstock’s.
Cleat Positioning – Follow Up
Follow up on previous post Positioning Cleats
I have moved my cleats back as far as possible as suggested in the previous post and agree that seems to be a better position as suggested in the linked discussions.
I have taken the next step and gotten the trusty Dremel Tool out and lengthened the slots in my Kato shoes. As soon as the Monsoon ends I’ll give you an update on how moving the cleats even further back works out.
6/6/07 update
Moving the cleats back an additional 1/4 using a Dremel Tool helped significantly on the right foot but left foot still needs to move further back.
Cleat Positioning for Recumbents with Clipless Pedals
I ran across some interesting discussions of cleat position and thought they might be useful to other recumbent riders also.
