NeoY2k

Hi,

I have a problem to solve: I want to ride my bicycle whatever the weather for commuting, wearing city/whatever soft-soled shoes.
Classic platform pedals will slip when wet. Rat traps will wear through soft-soled shoes and be uncomfortable/provide uneven pressure (I like thin soled "barefoot" shoes for walking).

I bought Power Grips to solve the slipping problem, and put them on classic LU954 Wellgo rat traps. The power grips add to the pressure of the cage and push very uncomfortably through the sole, but it's not the main problem.

I'm knock-kneed (genu valgum) - it's structural, my bones are bent. The Wellgo pedals just seem way too small for me (they indeed actually are on the small side). The Power Grips, due to the "twisting" way they work, add to the lateral load on my knees. The result is pain accumulated in 3 weeks of use that now kill me - I barely can walk after the 50 km I rode 2 days ago (can't ride anymore, of course. Taking some rest).

I'm thinking that Power Grips will be inadequate to my condition due to the "lateral twist" way they lock, always keeping a torsional load on my knees. I think toe clips with loose straps will offer foot retention without that drawback, yet I'm concerned these will try to put my feet too straight? Otoh, it's just stamped steel after all, nothing a pair of pliers wouldn't bend.

Next I'm wondering how to adapt to my genu valgum better.

Wedged shims seem to be commonly used with clipless, but I don't see why I couldn't make varus wedges to attach to the pedals. (of course on the toe clips side, otherwise the varus wedges would tend to make the feet slip out of the pedal!). But is it adequate? I should wear my orthotic insoles that pretty much work this way - but not on the portion of the foot that makes contact to the pedal, so they are useless for cycling.

I'm wondering how much help could bring me "knee savers" (pedal extenders). Yes, I tend to put the ball of my feet on the outside of the pedal and my heels tend to strike the crankarms/crankset. It will mimic the natural stance but put the joints less in line... I would think that the Q factor need to be the right distance according to your hips but... The optimal solution might be to use wedges to fully align the joints and reduce Q factor to natural hips width. But this will mean quite steep wedges! (I have the feet at 11:00' and 2:00'). I don't know.

I'm also concerned that genu valgum not only means angled feet but also a modified movement of the lower articulation that I don't fully know - will it make the feet want to rotate during the movement? Twist? Hard to figure out by myself...

As for the model of pedals to work from, they need to accommodate toe clips and straps.
My wellgo were not optimal - seemed too small and not comfortable.
The MKS GR-9 seem nice, but at 69mm width are even a couple mm smaller than the wellgo. Maybe with wedges will they be adequate, maybe small pedal extenders would put them at the right position. 79mm length sounds nice.
Wellgo B36 seem like they could do the trick, at 112x100mm.
Genetic Drift-R seem adequate too in a more reasonable size. But expensive.
MKS Sylvan (touring) or the like: 93mm large, 63mm deep. Don't seem as easy to mod as the GR-9, but might be more adequate? Larger, but not as deep.
MKS RMX "Sneaker" could be well suited. Would need spacers to put the toe clips, doesn't sounds like a big deal.
MKS "Grip King" or "Lambda". Would just need washers to mount the toe clips too. Ultra long, narrower.

What would you choose? Other pedals to recommend?

Depending on how good the solution will be I might use it for touring - or I might go clipless, with the same challenges still to be solved. So far I just tour on platforms.

So, what do you think of this? Any information, opinion and comment highly appreciated!

Thanks,
Nicolas