Recreational & Family - What about no shoes?

Hey Bikers,

What do you think about seeing kids ride without shoes? Growing up, my Mother would stroke out if Sis and I were caught bike riding without shoes. My younger cousin nearly lost his big toe on a bike chain while riding. (Cousin was a holy terror so we laughed about it at the time.)

Anyho,,does anyone have a problem with kid a riding bare foot? And FTR, my DS always were sneakers while riding.

Thank you,
Heather

You have to admit it's a terrible idea, and I wouldn't have let my (now grown) kids do it. On the other hand, I rode all over hell that way 50 years ago (got six stitches in my big toe to show for it), and ... hell, I don't know. I didn't wear a helmet until I was in my 30s, either, and now I feel naked if I go down the driveway without one. Sometimes I wonder if we're taking all this too seriously.

Parent's choice. What do I think about it.....none of my business.

Almost universally I want mine to ride with shoes but there are times I know I wouldn't bother to correct them.

Other kids? Not my problem.

I used to ride without shoes quite a lot - by the beach normally. Of course, you tend to not ride to far or fast because pedals are uncomfortable :-) I ride in clipless sandals now, and they don't have that much protection.

Well...

That's life in the country. Kids wear shoes on Sundays or when otherwise in public. Also when riding on the road by tag-a-long etc.

Some of my best memories are of riding barefoot down to the Pomparaug River swimming hole on a beautiful summer afternoon. I'm all for it, as well as bikes that are easy and pleasant to ride barefoot.

Paul

When I was a kid, the neighbors across the street, were well.....trash. The kids were basically unsupervised, dirty, and wild. It was quite common to see the little one(4-5ish) riding his bigwheel down the middle of the street in the winter in only a diaper.

Barefoot biking isn't that big of a deal. But all it will take is grinding the skin off of his toes once to learn to start wearing shoes. Natural and logical consequences work wonders.

I don 't let my kids ride without tennis shoes. Barefoot is just asking for damage.

The big downside for me of upgrading from bmx or whatever bike to huffy santa fe (10 spd) was switching from rubber platform pedals to toothy metal ones so that I had to bike in shoes.

My 5 year old rides barefoot all the time. I hassle him a little about it, but he prefers no shoes. I've ridden my egg beater-equipped bike with no shoes. I don't recommend it.

My 5 year old rides barefoot all the time. I hassle him a little about it, but he prefers no shoes.

Seems the 5 year old is in charge.

Well...

That's life in the country. Kids wear shoes on Sundays or when otherwise in public. Also when riding on the road by tag-a-long etc.

Your children are adorable!!!

Seems the 5 year old is in charge.

Yep

I don't remember shoe-wearing, or the lack there of being an issue when I was younger, but if it was, it shouldn't have been near as concerning as the way I rode my bike. I was quite the tomboy and from riding without hands on the bars to pedalling as hard as I could and then standing on my banana seat, my mom was glad I just came home in one piece. DH and I have just started riding bikes and it is the first time in my forty-four years that I have worn a helmet. I wish helmets had been encouraged when I was young. I took a hard tumble over the handlebars of my ten-speed once and my little brother helped me up and pulled me home in his wagon.

Things have changed. Heck, when I was growing up we used to fight over who got to lie in the back window of the car on long trip. Seat belts weren't really popular then, nor were bike helmets. We also enjoyed riding in the back of my dad's pickup truck, but when I see anyone of any age in the bed of a truck these days, I am concerned. There are more vehicles on the road, the speed limits have increased, and there are a lot of idiots on the road. I'm embarrassed to say that in the early 80's, a friend came to visit hubby and me and said, "Hey, want to see what my godparents gave me for my birthday?" He pulled out a bike helmet and we all laughed hysterically. We were ignorant then. Several years ago, one of the patients I was caring for (I'm a nurse) at the hospital was one of our doctors. He had been hit by a car while riding his bike and when he showed me his helmet, it made a huge impact on me. There was a very large chunk missing from his helmet. Had he not been wearing a helmet, I feel sure he wouldn't have been with us. I digress ... this started out as a post related to shoe-wearing and quickly went the helmet route.

I was brought up to never ride my bike with without proper shoes. Not even sandles are allowed. It's for the same reason as a helmet. If there is a serious fall, you could lose a toe. Good habits start early.

When I was around 9 I got my big toe caught under my pedal. I don't know how I did it but it ground the top of the toe into the pavement and scraped off most of the skin. I cried a lot. I never rode barefoot again. I never let my own kids ride barefoot, or any of the kids in my charge (I'm a 6th grade teacher and take my class on a bike ride each year.)

I just was never one to go barefoot outside.

I had a friend who was very accident prone. On one occasion is bare foot slipped off the pedal and he got his toe stuck in the spokes. OW! That was enough for me.

I did not allow my children to ride a bike without shoes. On a motorcycle they must wear protective shoes that cover their ankles.

Safety first!

I'd say if the kid was cordinated, not too wild and a good rider and did not ride around a lot of gravel that it would be ok to ride barefoot. I prefere that my daughters wear socks and shoes and gloves and of course a helmet. Though they do ride with clogs, sandals and yes on occasion even barefoot.

I rode barefoot as a kid, but my brothers and I ran around barefoot all the time back then. Ignoring the admonishings of Mom to, "Wear Shoes!!"

Something I learned early on is proper foot location on the pedals. Not only does getting the feet too far forward on the pedals reduce power, but it's also a good way to remove skin from the tips of the toes. Can also remove toenails.

My kids never wear shoes outside. But I do enforce a shoes on when riding the bike rule. For the same reason I don't let them eat popsicles while they ride their bikes, it's safety.....Of course they don't always listen, but that doesn't mean I'm going to allow it.

When I was little and visiting grandparents in the village for the summer, I basically spent the whole summer barefoot. If you were a kid wearing shoes, you looked weird and out of place.

Once my brother and I decided to ride our bikes to a town some 5 km away. And so we did, but once there we were very embarassed, because it was an urban area and shoes were mandatory if you didn't want to look like a homeless bum. So we just turned around and rode back very quickly. :)

It's funny just how little I remember of that and other trips around there except the rides around the village itself... What kinds of roads were there, how much traffic, were there sidewalks for most of the way or not, what part of the road did we ride on?... I think we did stick to the right out of habit,
even on roads through the village that were lucky to see ten cars a day. Ah, nostalgia... that's my excuse for going off topic... :D

My little sister was about 12 years old, just riding around on our cement driveway. Her big toe his the cement just right, and the entire toenail came off. Lots of blood. Shoe = helmet for your foot.

Barefoot biking isn't that big of a deal. But all it will take is grinding the skin off of his toes once to learn to start wearing shoes.

...i Know someone with only 9 fingers; If an adult can manage to get his finger between the chain and the ring, then I can certainly forsee a child getting a toe in there.

speaking as a (former) child: Its fine. I dont think I rode with shoes at all between the ages of 10 and 17. As the poster obove implied, its not uncommon in beach communities. Speaking as a (current) father: NO WAY.

No shoes = no bike riding

No helmet = no bike riding

If you let yours ride barefoot is your problem.

I used to do it when I was a little kid...living in rural Arkansas...where we didn't wear shoes a lot during the summer time any way...and then I ended up getting cuts and stubbed toes all the time...after which I learned to start wearing shoes.

As a kid, I wore shoes for serious riding and went barefoot while cruising and hangin out. As an adult I wear shoes for serious riding and go barefoot while cruising and haning out. I never let my kids see me do it though and I always tell them to wear shoes but don't get too uptight about it if they take them off or forget.

I'm 21 and I am a proud barefooter. I've been barefoot as much as possible for as long as I can remember and I grew up in the suburbs. From the time I was 8-16 I would wear shoes whenever I was jumping, sliding, or riding hard and barefoot was ok for a cruise around the block. I got a cheapo mountain bike around age 16 with sharp spikes on the pedals and quit barefooting it.
I would never go barefoot on my road bike, that's just asking for trouble.
My brother and I used to have competitions to see who could walk over gravel with the least amount of facial expression and we had barefot foot races on gravel roads. By June my feet were usually as hard as a brick.

I do a bit of barefoot running in grass and it seems to keep my ankles very strong which helps on my Saturday trail runs.

Well...

That's life in the country. Kids wear shoes on Sundays or when otherwise in public. Also when riding on the road by tag-a-long etc.

I think that's a great picture! Those kids are enjoying themselves, and what's even better is that there are no bloody training wheels!

Ah, to be young again :(

- Wil

My brother and I used to have competitions to see who could walk over gravel with the least amount of facial expression...

lol....we did the same thing over crushed clamshells. kids are kids.

lol....we did the same thing over crushed clamshells. kids are kids.

Hehe, yep, lava rocks here.

I still have a scar where the spokes tore up my ankle and required work to get it back together!...not a good idea...