Conference noted::bicycle

    What kind of pedals do you have now?
    I hope you don't mind my asking, but ... why?  Is it for
    some kind of prosthetic, or is it just wide feet?

    I use quill type pedals in the summer and bmx style pedals
    in the winter.  The quill pedals work well with cleated bike
    shoes and the bmx pedals work with my hiking boots.  They allow
    the boot to hang over the outside edge.

    The flat pedals aren't more than 1cm, wider, but they allow
    much wider shoes. I think that KKT made them.


    Below is an ascii schematic. 'F' is foot, everything else is pedal.

    Quill:        BMX or ATB:

      FFFF           FFFFFF
    =|xxx/         =|XXXX

    -Jeff Bell

I don't know too much about the different types of pedals availible, but
the bicycles involved are Schwinn ATB's (City Bikes) with the standard
pedals (no clips, no straps).

The problem my wife and I have is one that most bicycle riders probably
don't have.  We are both tall and heavy.  Heavyer people have larger thighs and
legs, so it feels like we are angling our feet in to have them rest on the
pedals.

I suspect that bicycles are designed for thinner people, so we have had to
make some changes to the bikes, like higher-rise handlebars and mattress-style
saddles.  The pedal problem is the last one to solve.  Hopefully, we will
need to modify the bikes back to their original configuration, as we benifit
from the exersize ;-).

Dave
    

A word of caution; wider pedals increase the risk of hitting the 
pavement while pedalling through corners. My father also uses 
wider pedals and took a very serious spill because of hitting the 
ground with the inside pedal.

He found that the wider pedals were the ones you find on the 
cheapo bikes. Look at K-Mart or similar places to see what you 
can find.


JC

    
    As long as you're using clipless, and not desiring to change the
    separation between pedal and crank, then the width of the pedal
    shouldn't matter, should it?  The cleat and stiff sole should provide
    a rigid platform for your foot.
    
    Does that help?
    
    -john

>The problem my wife and I have is one that most bicycle riders probably
>don't have.  We are both tall and heavy.  Heavyer people have larger thighs and
>legs, so it feels like we are angling our feet in to have them rest on the
>pedals.


Dave,

I bet you have the saddle too low, and the large saddle could also be causing
some of the problem. Trying to get your legs close together with a wide nosed
saddle is very uncomfortable. Try raising your saddle to the correct height if
it isn't there already and get a cheap set of rubber pedals at any bike parts
store.  BTW - correct seat height: sit on the bike with both feet on the
pedals, pedal backwards and watch the leg on the bottom of each stoke. It
should be almost straight with your foot level on the pedal, fully extending
the leg at the bottom of the stroke should cause your heel to drop below the
axis of the pedal by only 1 inch or so at the most. Having the saddle too high
will cause back problems too see if its up to high have someone ride behind you
and check to see if your hips are rocking back and forth as you are pedaling.

Tom

Tom
    

    I've been looking for wider pedals too. (I settled for cheap ones since
    they are slightly wider.) My problem is being duckfooted. My right foot
    angles out at 45 degrees; it's the worst since it was reset after I
    broke my right leg. To keep my heel from hitting the chainwheel, I need
    to position my foot on the outer side of the pedals. Toe-clips are
    impossible of course.
    
    I was wondering if you've heard of any special hardware, such as crank
    arm that angles out, or really-wide pedals. Sloan (in his book on
    bicycle repair) describes gadgets to attach to the crank for people who
    have a short leg. What do duckfooters or pigeon-toed people do?
    
    quack, quack :-{
    -Weimin

    A noter sent me mail saying that he was looking into having a special
    pedal made. This is part of my reply:
    

    
When I was looking for wide pedals about 2 years ago, most mechanics didn't seem
to be familiar with the problem. I've thought about trying to build an extension
bolt - a cylinder that would be tapped to screw into the crank from one side
and accept a pedal from the other.

Of course there is still the problem that my foot would be slanted on the
pedal. Thus a real solution would require that the extension cylinder had
bearing so it could rotate on the crank and the pedal attached to it wouldn't
rotate. This would allow toe-clips. 

However I'm cheap and busy and without machine tools, so I remain,
duck-footed,
-Weimin


P.S. In discussing drag, I've seen a writer wish for a slight duck-footed-ness
so that his knees would point inward. However, on old my bike, the paint was
worn off the right side of the top tube by the rubbing of my right knee. 

    Weimin,
    	Runners go to foot doctors for orthotics for the same
    reason you are looking for a special pedal, which is, to
    correct an alignment problem that is unique to *you*.
    
    	I don't believe that the solution is going to be finding
    a wider pedal.  I think you should go the same person that
    would fit you for orthotics and instead have a prosthesis (sp.)
    built onto a plain pedal spindle (the round center part of 
    quill type pedals that contains the ball bearings) that will
    put your stroke into alignment with the rest of your body.
    
    	I'm not an expert on this by any means, but logically, the
    guys that do the actual building of the orthotics can/should
    be able to accomodate you.  Now, at what cost?  That may be
    the real gating factor.
    						_Jerry

    Sloan mentions adjustable 2 part pedals in the 4th 1988 edition of his
    complete bicyling book. However these pedals only adjust for 28%
    and are meant to provide a base for special shoes to lock onto.
    I'll see how they work (and how much the setup costs :-{ ). I'm just a
    poor tourer who uses running shoes with the back inner corner
    sliced-off to help clear the bottom bracket axel.
    
    Well, my duckfooted problem is much worse with cross-country ski's - I
    have trouble bending my right knee so I fall over when going down-hill.

    I remember that the Keywin (spelling?) pedals, one of the several
    clipless systems, had different length spindles to
    accomodate foot postition.  I don't know if other manufacturers
    offer similar accomodations.  You might try mountain bike pedals
    on a road bike even though it sounds strange.