Originally Posted by
3alarmer
...first, unless your left leg is both your dominant one, and there is a significant difference in how much downward pressure you can exert with each leg, I don't get why always the left crank arm.
Because the left arm is a separate piece attached to the spindle with bolts. The right arm/chainrings are all one piece with the spindle. Or welded maybe.
Third, I'm not certain what you mean when you mention your out-tuned feet" ? If you are pedaling your bicycle like this (heels pointed significantly inward, toes out), you will eventually cripple yourself if you ride far enough regularly. There is this whole art and science to adapting your own unique foot anatomy to the pedals that connect you to the bike. Pedal extenders are not the way you want to do this, except as a last resort. They can be used successfully to widen the Q factor everyone is always talking about, for people with wider pelvic structures and a natural spread between the feets that is on the wider side.
That's exactly it. When I stand with kneecaps forward, my toes point out. If I twist my feet so they point forward, my kneecaps point in. Before I got pedal extenders, I nearly crippled myself trying to ride with my feet rotated in, had to drop out of a group ride and hobble home pedaling with just one foot the pain was so bad. (Fortunately a couple days rest and some IT band work got me back with no permanent damage).
However, I have read in the book
Supple Leopard, that for most people, out-turned feet is not an inborn, inherent trait, but a symptom of a lifetime of lazy posture and incorrect body mechanics. I do not doubt that at all, and if you have links for 'this whole art and science to adapting your own unique foot anatomy to the pedals that connect you to the bike' I would love to read about it.