Hate to start a new thread since there are such good ones currently but since counterstrike made the following statement.......
" I never put my feet down while riding (leg suck hurts on a tadpole trike, but that is another subject for another thread)."
......I have to ask......Is this really a problem? My bent riding is limited and my trike riding is ,as of today, zero. I hope to change that in the next month but without ever being on one it's hard for me to grasp. I have had leg suck on an ATV (riding one is part of my job) and it hurt big time but it was carelessness on my part and the speed was significant and so was the weight of the ATV. Regardless, it is not something I wish to repeat. Is the risk of leg suck on a trike significant enough to warrent clips? Are we talking loss of skin or more like broken bones and tendon/ligament damage? How many have had this and what were the consequences?
Oh yeah, not trying to scare anyone, as I've found that anything worthwhile and fun usually has at least some degree of risk. Just trying to determine the level of risk.
vik
03-19-07, 04:44 PM
I wouldn't ride any high BB bent without clipless pedals or some other foot retention mechanism.
karterjimm
03-19-07, 05:39 PM
I absolutely agree with vik!!! Don't take the chance. Nail your feet to the padals. If you have no experience with clipless, it doesn't matter on a trike. Don't have to put your feet down until you are at your destination! ;)
..............jim
Shaman
03-19-07, 06:34 PM
It is real and it can do serious damage. Having said that, there are levels of risk... Level high is when you like bombing down unknown trails or hit big bumps or craters. Often, your legs will give to gravity as the boom is being kicked up by road conditions. If you strike the ground with your foot, you may be in deep $hirt. I ride a relatively tame route on my commute or errands and then I use some pretty grippy shoes with proper platform pedals (never in the wet!). I also ride with the arch of the foot on the pedal instead of the ball of my foot. In this way, I virtually grip the pedals and I pay for it in efficiency as I consciously keep pressure on both feet at all times.
When I do clip in, I can fly. Properly positioned on the pedal and no worries of the foot coming off the pedals is very freeing. There are also strap options and many home made gadgets that can help you keep your feet on the pedal. Go to BentRider Online (BROL) and do a search for LegSuck... You'll see some of the grusome details.
countersTrike
03-19-07, 07:30 PM
Hate to start a new thread since there are such good ones currently but since counterstrike made the following statement.......
" I never put my feet down while riding (leg suck hurts on a tadpole trike, but that is another subject for another thread)."
......I have to ask......Is this really a problem? My bent riding is limited and my trike riding is ,as of today, zero. I hope to change that in the next month but without ever being on one it's hard for me to grasp. I have had leg suck on an ATV (riding one is part of my job) and it hurt big time but it was carelessness on my part and the speed was significant and so was the weight of the ATV. Regardless, it is not something I wish to repeat. Is the risk of leg suck on a trike significant enough to warrent clips? Are we talking loss of skin or more like broken bones and tendon/ligament damage? How many have had this and what were the consequences?
It is VERY important- especially to dummies like me! Thanks for bringing this up! I never had that problem with my delta trike, but in 1999 I got my first tadpole. First ride : I was about a block away,thought "this thing can fly!" Sadly, I found out a few seconds later; yes, it CAN fly.
I hit a small bump, my foot hit the road, and dragged under the axle- sending the trike and me flying- kind of a clumsy roll over.. About 10 - 15 feet from 17 mph to a dead stop sprained my ankle (I wear cowboy boots to protect my ankles, tuck my pant cuffs into, and the heel for a fast pedal grip) and also busted up my shoulder.
I do not like clips much, but I get those small bungie cords- maybe 7" or so- and strap my foot. I can see just the right *snap* might be a break, stretched tendon, or with the thousands of small bones and nerves in the foot- a VERY serious problem.
countersTrike
Tourezrick
03-19-07, 08:50 PM
Never had it happen myself, always ridden with clipless, has happened to my riding buddy. I wasn't with him at the time, but as he tells it, his foot slipped off the pedal (blames it on the shoes he was wearing), leg went under trike, no damage to leg, but he was pulled off seat and he ran over himself - bruised ribs. Lucky old fart! Coulda been lots worse, mostly injury to pride!
tourezrick
karterjimm
03-20-07, 07:14 AM
Again, there is no reason on this earth not to clip in while riding a trike! Now I can understand some saying they won't be able to get unclipped while riding a 2 wheeler and they will fall over, but that holds no water for a trike. For your own personal safety, go clipless! (Clipless? Isn't that an oxymoron?):p
.............jim
jeff-o
03-20-07, 10:38 AM
Trikes and clipless pedals were made for each other. And not just because of the danger of leg suck! Imagine clipping in when you leave, and unclipping when you arrive - despite having stopped a dozen times in between!
Floyd
03-20-07, 11:34 AM
I am going to have to stay away from these trike threads... makes me want one. I have recenty gone clipless but never had any problems even without clips. However I am a gentle/slow rider in comparison to a real bicyclist so that may have something to do with it. Guess my point is, the leg suck thing is not an automatic danger, however one that has to be considered, and or thought about. And I have thought about it.
megaman
03-21-07, 06:45 PM
Guess my point is, the leg suck thing is not an automatic danger, however one that has to be considered, and or thought about. And I have thought about it.
On a tadpole trike it is an automatic danger. I rode without clipless pedals for the first couple of hundred miles on my tadpole. I never had them on my Easy Sport and had no problems, so I thought I'd try it without them.
Going down a hill I hit a pot hole. My foot slipped off the pedal, but because I was so used to not using clipless, I just held my foot in the air. But it scared me enough to realize that I wouldn't have to think about always paying attention to holding my feet on the pedals.
BlazingPedals
03-21-07, 07:49 PM
I don't think leg suck in the classical sense - accidently and violently getting a leg pulled behind you, or running over your foot - happens very often. The soles of my bike shoes are actually a bit too hard for good friction with the road, so if I put a foot down it's most likely to just slide. The main reason I use clipless is that it's too much of an effort to hold my feet up on the pedals otherwise. BTW, I've heard of upright riders suffering the same or similar fates if they accidently put a foot down - they can plant a foot and run over it with their pedal. Crashes and broken bones can result.
Shaman
03-22-07, 01:51 PM
True Blaze... On mountain bikes in particular if your foot slides forward off the pedal. It hurts a lot!
I don't think leg suck in the classical sense - accidently and violently getting a leg pulled behind you, or running over your foot - happens very often. The soles of my bike shoes are actually a bit too hard for good friction with the road, so if I put a foot down it's most likely to just slide. The main reason I use clipless is that it's too much of an effort to hold my feet up on the pedals otherwise. BTW, I've heard of upright riders suffering the same or similar fates if they accidently put a foot down - they can plant a foot and run over it with their pedal. Crashes and broken bones can result.