sandyrtt

Hello,

I'm new to recumbents. I just had a Rans Tailwind that I bought on e bay assembled this past Saturday and took it for a ride. It's great! However, I noticed that my forefoot gets numb and tingly and sometimes my knee hurts. I read somewhere that it takes awhile for the knees to get used to the new position.

How long? and what about the feet? I've been riding 10 to 12 miles each day since I've had it to break in easy, mostly on flats (had to push it up a hill because of my knee burning.) I have some mountain bike clipless pedals and shoes that I will put on once I get used to the bike and worry less about falling.

Any advice appreciated!
Thanks,
Sandy

jeff-o

Try placing the pedals closer to the middle of your feet, rather than towards your toes.

LRtrike

I've had to start taking Glucosamine Chondroitin for my knees. It takes a while for it to get into your system, but well worth using.

megaman

Bents could be hard on your knees since you're new to them. Spin, don't mash.

sandyrtt

Thanks!

ppc

Regarding your knees: don't assume it'll get better, it won't. Your knees are painful because they're telling you there's a mechanical problem somewhere, and knees are actually very fragile and easy to upset. Here's what I suggest:

Locate your pain: if you hurt just a little bit above the kneecap, in the muscle, take it easy, your muscles are breaking in. Don't over do it though. If you hurt somewhere on the kneecap, near the top, or "under" it, trying extending the boom so the pedals are further from the seat. If you hurt on the sides of your knees, try rotating the cleats a little left or right, so as to align your knee properly into the pedalling plane. Do all that by trial and error. It's long, since you have to make the adjustment before going for a ride, when your knees are rested, and go ride to measure if/how long the pain takes to reappear. Do stick to it, your knee pains MUST go, these aren't warnings to ignore.

Concerning hot/numb feet: I have been battling with that since I started recumbenting. Here are my tricks:

- Slide your cleat all the way back (toward the heel), so it pushes at the back of the ball of your feet. This usually brings a good improvement.

- Try sliding (not rotating) your cleats outward, or inward. In my case, I found that sliding my cleats inward (therefore moving my feet outward) makes the cleat push on an "emptier" section of my shoes, thereby distributing the pressure on more of the hard pedal soles. Hard to describe, but it can improve things a bit, such as giving you 10 more miles before you have to rest.

- Lace your shoes VERY loose from the middle of your feet down to your toes. This will help blood circulate.

- When you ride, learn to pedal "round", and not just push. When walking, feet are meant to be pressed against the ground, then leave the ground alternatively to create a sort of natural pump that pushes the blood back into the leg veins. When you bike, if you just push, your blood stagnates. Therefore, pedalling round, and especially pulling with one foot when you push with the other, restores this blood pumping action.

- when the hot/numb feeling comes, every 2 or 3 minutes, curl your toes hard and pedal 10 or 15 seconds on the tips of your toes. Again, this relieves the pressure on the ball of your feet momentarily and restore blood circulation, or liberates the plantar nerve, whichever the reason for hot feet might truly be.

- If you really really hurt, but you also really really have no time to rest (like, it's getting dark and you do need to find the camping ground before the lobby closes), unclip one foot while riding, let your foot dangle for 5/10 seconds close to the ground, reclip, uncip the other foot, do that again, reclip and you're good to go for another 5 minutes. Personally, it's my last resort strategy.

If you're very prone to this symptom, all this will help you extend the range you can ride without resting. If you're only mildly affected, like it sounds you are, most likely shifting and adjusting your cleats, and lacing your shoes loosely will simply cure the problem.

Good luck!

scarry

All of the above and, I recomend the Shimono SPD sandles. I've been riding with them for 8 years and am sooooo comfortable. I also have custom orthodics in them. Cleats well back. Wool socks when cool.
Barefoot when very hot.

ppc

Scarry, your experience interests me:

- Can you safely pull with the Shimano sandals? are they solid enough not to get ripped apart after 10km? Also, are the cleats recessed or do you walk on them when you're off the bike? Do they relieve hot feet much compared to closed shoes?

- What are your custom orthopedics? did you get them made specifically to solve hot feet?

- Finally of course, where do you install the cleats when you bike barefoot? does it hurt much? know a good surgeon :-)

I've tried many shoes, and the ones that give me hot feet the less are Cannondale mixed hiking/cycling shoes, but I'm still on the lookout for even better shoes.

scarry

Try the sandals, they are sweet. I used them on the Markleeville Death Ride 6 times and numerous other long rides. The only downside would be the lack of protection in a crash, but I've crashed in them and my feet came out unscathed, maybe because I always landed on my butt. My butt came out less well, but it beats landing on your face and head. The model # is SH-SD60.

ppc

Thanks a lot. I've been thinking about getting a pair. Now I have a real incentive to do so, before sunny days are over.

N_C

First take the advice others have given you regarding your knees. But keep in mind that riding a recumbent, as you have recently found out, requires more muscle usage & strenght just above your knee. Plus riding a recumbent can put more strain on your knees. One way to deal with this is while riding up hills gear down & spin. You can not be a high gear "masher" & power your way up a hill like you did on a wedgie bike. If you do you can eventually destroy your knees in the process. I used to jam up hils in a hig gear on my road bike. The first time I tried on my recumbent I regretted it. But I sinced learned not to do that as you will too.

Regarding your feet getting numb, again follow the advice others have goven you. But keep in mind regardless of what you do it is possible that nothing will work. About 2% of the 100% of the people who ride recumbents have feet that always go numb while riding. They have tried everything they could & they have only reduced the amount of time it takes before their feet go numb or reduced the severity of the numbness. I am one of the 2%. I was told about this from an expert at a recumbent only bike shop. I have also spoken with a podiatrist about this as well & as far as I know there are no long term affects with the feet going numb when a person rides a recumbent. Especially since right after I take my feet off the pedals the numbness goes away immediately. You might luck out & after trying several things to eliminate the numbness it may never occur again.

sandyrtt

Thank you all for the advice. I have used some of the suggestions already and have seen some improvement.
Thanks again!

sandyrtt

Thanks for the very specific advice. See last post.

Those sandals do sound interesting.
S.

ppc

Okay Scarry, I got me a pair of Shimano sandals. I'll go try them when the weather turns a bit nicer. The salesman told me some people ride in sandals year round, with waterproof socks when it rains, and even woolen socks underneath in cold weather: do you do this? if so, do you have a particular brand of waterproof socks that you'd recommend?

JohnH

I rode through winter in Seattle last year using SealSkinz with smartwool liners and thick socks (I have size 10 feet but I got XL skinz). The combo was OK down to mid30's, IIRC. Sealskinz are NOT dryer safe - I got impatient and dried mine and after several times through they became only nominally waterproof, where initially they were 100%. Hang them or dry them on the no-heat setting. It might be best to have two pair if you're commuting, so one can dry while the other is worn. This year I may try neoprene socks. FWIW, I actually got the sandals last winter when shoe covers just weren't getting the job done. The sandals were much warmer than the shoes, which were too tight for warm socks.

ppc

Thanks for the info. If the sandals turn out to make hot feet better for me, I think I'll try your solution to tour in the winter. I have yet to find time to put them to the test though :-(

scarry

I use them year round, but try to avoid using them in the rain simply because I don't want to ruin them, and have a pair of cheapo's for that. Any good wool socks will keep your feet warm, layer to keep even warmer. I think my feet stay warmer with the sandals because shoes trap the sweat inside, but sandals with wool keep feet warm and dry.

ppc

The sandals look entirely made of plastic and waterproof to me, and obviously they won't trap water and turn rancid in 24h. I'd be surprised if they were ruined by water, even if you were to walk in a stream with them. The only thing I can think of is the screws holding the cleats rusting solid into the plates, but that can be taken care of with a dab of thick grease before installing the screws, or regular application of a little WD40.

BentriderMtl

Sandy, I agree with Jeff-o...plus, I found that getting stiffer bike shoes that fit better with a good insole helped alot. I ended up with the Sidi Mega Dominator 4's, and added the Body Geometry performance footbeds (fancy name for insoles).

About the knee burning...make sure you're gearing down (i.e., spinning faster). 'Bents can really burn your knees if you crank in a high gear, especially on hills. I try to spin always at 80 rpm or faster. I have a problem knee (old ski injury...torn meniscus, some osteoarthritis, that I finally had surgery on last Feb.) I found that my SPD clipless system with the spring return to center was too hard on my knee - even on the loosest setting. After reading a lot of commentary on here, I went out and splurged on some Speedplay Frogs...have used them for the last two seasons, and boy, what a difference. After I got used to the initial "pedalling on ice" feeling, having all that float with no spring took a load off my knees, and makes for fast pedal exits with more confidence that I'll get out before falling over.

Enjoy!