Feet and pedals

[Cyclesome]

I cannot keep my feet in the correct position while riding my bicycle. The most comfortable spot is in the middle of my foot. Sometimes I am riding on my heels. Is my bicycle to small? I just bought a Cannondale Hybrid Feminine S and am 5'5''. I have 139 miles on her so far. I have the seat pushed back as far as it will go. I believe the seat height is adjusted correctly also. When I first rode my bike, my feet would not stay on the pedals. That has gotten better. When I look in magazines, I see cyclists riding on the soles of their feet. What am I doin wrong?

[doc]

You are clearly not riding clipless pedals which will keep your feet in the exact correct position at all times. I suggest you search "clipless" on this website to get more info about it than you ever believed possible.

Your description also suggests that you are not using toe clips either. I suggest you search that too. However, clipless pedals are so superior to toe clips in so many respects I do not suggest starting with toe clips and "graduating" to clipless (which is a common but not great idea).

The proper position is to have the ball of the foot in contact with the pedal.

Welcome!

[GreenLady]

If it's uncomfortable to keep the balls of your feet on the pedals, perhaps the bike doesn't have the right geometry for your body... Did you get it at a bike shop, and did they do any kind of fitting?

[Dogmama]

Yup, clipless is the way to go. You should be making contact with the ball of your foot. You will have stiff road shoes which will enable you to push with your entire foot. That is important because pushing with different parts of your foot engage difference muscles - e.g. - pushing with your heels engages the glute muscles & makes it easier to go uphill.

Another bonus is that you can pull back (engaging the hamstrings) and thus be pedaling in a circle. You can avoid mashing the pedals, overusing your quads and possibly inviting knee problems.

I really recommend moving to this as soon as possible so that you will teach your legs muscles how to properly pedal a bike. Muscle memory is a powerful thing and you don't want to be a masher!

[Cyclesome]

I did get the bike at a bike shop. I had to sit on the bike and he positioned the seat so I would not see the front axle. He said it was the correct fit is I was unable to see the axle. The saddle seems fine on long rides and I have no wrist pain. But how can you really know a bike is a good fit by circling their parking lot for 5 minutes? It seemed fine. After riding it on a few long trips, I feel kind of scrunched. I am an average sized woman5'5" 146 lbs. fairly good shape, inseam 30 inches. The Ladies version was a great deal and only came in S or L. They only had the S and told be the L would be way too big. I just bought this bike in April!

The clipless pedals sounds like a good idea. But I have read people have a horrible time getting out of them before they come to a stop. A bit scary!

[FreshNewbie]

Cyclesome, there is much more to a bike fit than not seeing front axle. However, when I first started riding my road bike i had flat pedals on without straps or cages and I never had a problem with not being able to keep my foot on them. Going clipless might be a good choice, and there are plenty of choices when it comes to pedals and shoes. You might need time to adjust to them or maybe you will be naturally good. First and foremost you should do what you feel comfortable with. I went clipless after a couple of rides on my bike and had to practice stops and starts, clipping in and out. But, all that being said; the fact that you have flat pedalls might not be the reason you are not comfortable. Good luck!

[Kathi]

I'm having the same issue. Only one foot though.

Because I had ACL surgery 3 mos ago my ortho will not let me use clipless pedals, nor am I allowed to use toe clips. Speedplay makes a neat platform pedal that clips over the X pedals. With the uninjured leg the foot naturally aligns on the ball of the foot but my injured leg aligns in the middle of the foot.

Is it a strength issue in that leg? My PT doesn't know either. BTW, the bike fits me very well.

[Geonz]

I think that if your feet don't want to go to the right position, they won't want to go to the right position with clipless pedals (or toe clips), either. It sounds like the geometry is wrong -- but it's very possible that an adjustment could fix that, say, tweaking the seat back a titch or up or forward... I would be afraid that if I went clipless and sort of *forced* my feet to be in the right spot, I'd end up with some part of my anatomy complaining about it over time.

However, of *all* the cyclists I know, only *one* didn't fairly quickly learn how to get out of them. Yes, it's a learning thing. Most of us also fell down when we were learning to ride the silly things - but that doesn't mean we didn't ever give up our training wheels!

(Full disclosure: I don't have clipless - but only 'cause I'm TOO CHEAP.)

[liksani]

I actually never kept my feet in the right position when I had platform pedals either.. This was actually fixed somewhat when I went to toe clips because the clip only allowed my foot to go so far :P But it was much better after I went to clipless since I had to clip into the correct position. Oh i managed to fall down 3 times in the two weeks I had my pedals..but I'm particularly klutzy and none of the falls were bad. They were all the slow motion topple over while cars stare at me type. :p Getting in and out of the clips was actually pretty easy when I remembered to do it. Darn me and my short term memory ;) But it's all good now clipless is a lot better than platform pedals and toe clips. :)