Newbie Intro and Numb Toes

[velo]

Actually, I agree with your husband. When you are in regular tennis shoes, the soles are flexible, which means with every stroke of the pedals, you are not transferring all of your power to the drive train. You have to push harder. With clipless, throughout the stroke, all 360 degrees, you are transferring power, which means that you don't have to push as hard... you are pushing with one leg and pulling with the other on opposite sides of the stroke and the stiff sole transfers the power evenly, throughout the entire 360 degrees. With your sneakers, you are probably pushing so hard that you are compressing a nerve.

Go clipless. You'll never go back. Even for a trip down the block, you'll never want platform pedals again. You'll discover that those 15 miles and 20 miles are a lot easier and you'll go further and faster, too.

Good for you to start riding. Your older friend sounds absolutely inspirational! Good luck and have fun!

[goldfinch]

I use clipless on my road bike and have no numb foot issues. I don't on my hybrid, don't want to, but have had issues on that bike with numb foot. Some shoes are worse than other shoes. Oddly, it doesn't seem to correlate with the stiffness of the shoes. I can ride 20 miles in Crocs and have no problem. But I also can ride for miles in my Keen bike sandals, which are very stiff and actually are made to take cleats and used with clipless, also with no problems. Running shoes/tennis shoes, a big problem. So who knows. I found shoes that work so I am happy.

Maybe first try a different pair of shoes?

[Catrin]

I would try a different pair of shoes first, athletic shoes just aren't stiff enough and don't provide enough support to your feet. Find a pair of shoes with stiffer soles that won't collapse so easily. You don't have to go clipless to ride, and even to ride all day long. I found Keen cycling sandals were stiff enough for me to ride my touring bike all day long without foot problems.

As with everything there are different perspectives between clipless and platform or BMX pedals. Some people love clipless when they make the move, some people found that they really preferred to not be attached to their bike. Try a different pair of shoes and take you time deciding what you want to do. Regardless of your decision, have fun!

[QueenBee]

Thanks for the advice. I intend to go clipless, but it will have to wait until after the C&O ride. If I try to switch this close to it I'll be falling for 180 miles instead of riding. There will be plenty of opportunities to stop and walk it off.

[Wahine]

Hi Queen Bee.

While I agree that switching pedals may help, it is also possible that the numbness is coming form nerve pressure in your back.

Do you have any past history of back trouble?

If you do and this seems like a possibility, I'd be happy to give you some more information on what to think about etc.

[QueenBee]

Wahine, I do not have any back problems. While I may not be in great athletic shape, I am in very good health otherwise.

roo4, the ride I am doing is mostly at your leisure pace, so stopping frequently won't be difficult to do.

[canonsue]

I also have numb toe problems. I just bought a pair of platform pedals so I can ride with a variety of shoes. I want to experiment to see what shoes or sandals may work for me. Clipless is ok, but I did not particularly care for it.