Topic: Weird question

[SurfinBird]

Warning: Non mechanical question

I've had a shooting pain in my left ankle for a few months, it comes and goes. Never really thought about it. I was talking to my sister, a physical therapist, and she asked me to show her the range of motion when it hurt. The first thing she said was "your bike". It made sense, I've only had the pain the past few months, i've been riding my bike since August of this year. It would seem shifting might be the culprit. It feels like what I would imagine carpal tunnel feels like in your wrists.

Anyone else experience this?

[Gordon]

What are you wearing on your feet when you ride?

[Hush]

No but any new single movement by the body like say a new job can have an effect upon the body like this, I know that when I had drop bars on my bike the altered riding position gave me sore wrists and an aching back, removed the drop bars and pain gone.

[SurfinBird]

I've been wearing padded boots lately, but low top sneakers before.

I haven't been doing any new activities out of the ordinary.

[Gordon]

I'm no doctor or physical therapist, but I think the choice of footwear makes a big difference in this respect.  I normally wear tough leather boots when riding, but the few times I have ridden wearing sneakers I notice it requires a lot more effort of my toes to up-shift because the shoe doesn't take any of the strain.  With heavy boots I just tilt my foot up with no extra effort needed from the toes. 

Also, in what position do you keep your left foot when just riding and not shifting?  Above the shift lever or below it?   

[lone*X]

Also, how the shift lever is clocked on its spline will affect the angle of your foot during shifting.  It can have a great affect on comfort/strain.  I also agree with Gordon, I wear leather boots 95% of the time when riding and shifts are much more precise and less work on the foot and toes.  If I wear soft topped shoes I feel like I am trying to wrap my toes around the shifter backwards.

[SurfinBird]

I usually back it off an put the balls of my foot on the peg.

[camelman]

So, a couple things about foot position from someone who recently crushed his ankle...don't settle on just one. 

As mentioned, I crushed an ankle. My doctor was expecting to remove my foot, but it somehow survived. Since recovering, what I have discovered for confort and handling is that you really need to position levers exactly where your relaxed appendage will just contact them when you put aforementioned appendage in place. Otherwise, get that foot out of there if it isn't shifting or braking at that exact instant. Your foot should be positioned with the ball of your foot on the peg...NOT your heel. This keeps your foot from being captured and broken during turns and also allows easy weight transfer for handling. Additionally, it allows you to flex your ankles while riding so that your muscles don't get stiff.

Another thing to keep in mind is that your shifting shoe should provide instant contact with the shift lever for both down and upshifts. If you are flexing your foot a lot to reach the shifter, then you are unnecessarily straining your ankle muscles. Sneakers would create a situation like this.

Experiment to find what is most comfortable...and keep your HEELS OFF the pegs unless you are actively shifting or braking.

Regarding stiff wrists, you should not have any weight on your hands while riding. Resting on your hands screws up your handling abilities and is the primary reason for endoing when losing traction during heavy front braking (the wheel won't turn if you aren't leaning on handlebars). Instead, you should hold the motorcycle with your legs (the real reason for grippy tank pads - contact points for your knees) and maintain your posture with your stomach and back.

Knowing how to sit on the bike is just as important as knowing how to ride it.

Regards,
Camelman

[SurfinBird]

Looks like i need to reposition the shift lever. I think its a bit low, i feel like i have to point my toe down a bit to hook the shift.

[Hush]

One tooth will make a huge difference on the spline so maybe this is your problem!

[Gordon]

Looks like i need to reposition the shift lever. I think its a bit low, i feel like i have to point my toe down a bit to hook the shift.

IME, the toes should be pointing down some to get under the shift lever.  If they're not then when you shift you're forcing your foot to bend farther up than is normally comfortable.  The setting will be different depending on the rider and shoe sizes, but I position my shift levers so they're about level with the bottom half of the corresponding foot peg.  Any higher and shifting is uncomfortable.  Any lower and it's difficult to get my toe under the lever with my heel still comfortably on the peg. 

[Really?]

I'm no doctor or physical therapist, but I think the choice of footwear makes a big difference in this respect.  I normally wear tough leather boots when riding, but the few times I have ridden wearing sneakers I notice it requires a lot more effort of my toes to up-shift because the shoe doesn't take any of the strain.  With heavy boots I just tilt my foot up with no extra effort needed from the toes. 

Also, in what position do you keep your left foot when just riding and not shifting?  Above the shift lever or below it?   

Footwear can make a huge difference.  I had worn only Doc Martens for about 17 years, up until about a year ago.  I would get a shooting pain in my foot that felt like two of my toe bones were gonna shoot out through the skin as if there were a slingshot involved.  Since about a year ago I started wearing tennis shoes again.  I have not had that pain since.

Surprising is that Docs are supposed to be good for the feet, from what I understand.  Since they only come in half sizes, I had to get them a half inch too big.  I had noticed my feet actually grew that half inch and noticed they got wider too.  I am at a loss as I loved wearing docs and most other boots won't fit because of my high arch thing on top of my foot.