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#1
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Legs that don't match
Hi all. I have one leg that is about 1/2 longer than the other. I can't
quite decide whether to order a bike (I'm looking seriously at the folding BikeFriday) with two different length cranks, or not. I ride a recumbent exercise bike every day and find it comfortable, but in order for it to feel right, one of my feet ends up contacting the pedals (there are straps on the pedals that do not restrict front to back foot position) in a different spot than the other foot. Any thoughts on this? |
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#2
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Legs that don't match
"Richard Greenberg" wrote in message news:Z8s6f.1635$dW6.1428@trndny09... Hi all. I have one leg that is about 1/2 longer than the other. I can't quite decide whether to order a bike (I'm looking seriously at the folding BikeFriday) with two different length cranks, or not. I ride a recumbent exercise bike every day and find it comfortable, but in order for it to feel right, one of my feet ends up contacting the pedals (there are straps on the pedals that do not restrict front to back foot position) in a different spot than the other foot. Any thoughts on this? I have a gut feeling that probably the best thing you can do is build up the pedal or the sole of the shoe for the short leg by 1/2 inch. You're going to have to deal with some sort of pedaling asymmetry no matter what you do. Jerry |
#3
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Legs that don't match
"Richard Greenberg" wrote in message news:Z8s6f.1635$dW6.1428@trndny09... : Hi all. I have one leg that is about 1/2 longer than the other. I can't : quite decide whether to order a bike (I'm looking seriously at the folding : BikeFriday) with two different length cranks, or not. I ride a recumbent : exercise bike every day and find it comfortable, but in order for it to feel : right, one of my feet ends up contacting the pedals (there are straps on the : pedals that do not restrict front to back foot position) in a different spot : than the other foot. I have a Bike Friday---the Pocket Gnu. They'll make it to fit you any way and every way they can. It's a great bike. I put it in the suitcase and took it to Ireland last month. It was so easy to do! I stayed at hostels and bought food at grocery stores to make a cheap trip. Pat in TX |
#4
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Legs that don't match
Richard Greenberg wrote: Hi all. I have one leg that is about 1/2 longer than the other. I can't quite decide whether to order a bike (I'm looking seriously at the folding BikeFriday) with two different length cranks, or not. I ride a recumbent exercise bike every day and find it comfortable, but in order for it to feel right, one of my feet ends up contacting the pedals (there are straps on the pedals that do not restrict front to back foot position) in a different spot than the other foot. Any thoughts on this? If you put a shorter crank on the same side as your shorter leg, you will compensate for the difference at maximum leg extension. HOWEVER, your shorter leg will be considerably more extended at its closest position than your longer leg. If you use clipless pedals, I would find a shoe that can accept a custom spacer between the sole and cleat to compensate for your unequal leg lengths. -- Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley |
#5
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Legs that don't match
Richard Greenberg wrote: Hi all. I have one leg that is about 1/2 longer than the other. I can't quite decide whether to order a bike (I'm looking seriously at the folding BikeFriday) with two different length cranks, or not. I ride a recumbent exercise bike every day and find it comfortable, but in order for it to feel right, one of my feet ends up contacting the pedals (there are straps on the pedals that do not restrict front to back foot position) in a different spot than the other foot. Any thoughts on this? Which leg? My right leg is half an inch shorter than my left. I haven't done anything special to compensate for it, aside from really paying attention to the cleat alignment on my SPD shoes. Adjusting the cleats so the left one is further back than the right one (they're different angle-wise, also) allows me to pedal somewhat smoothly. When I'm tired, my right leg can still spin while my left leg wants to stomp. I've heard that if you use shims to compensate for the difference, you should only compensate for about 2/3 of the difference. The muscles and joints of your legs, hips, and back have grown to match the leg-length difference, and you could create problems by forcing your body in the other direction. Unless *all* of the difference you have is in the upper leg (femur), I'd avoid using different size cranks. A general rule is to compensate for upper leg differences with the cranks, while compensating for lower leg differences by shimming cleats or pedals. One of these days I'm going to have a full bike fitting done by a local bike fitting professional. Fortunately, the guy I'd be dealing with is an expert- he's a guy that trains bicycle shop staff on fitting, all over the U.S.: http://www.bikegallery.com/content/B...D-fitting.html , and he's not recumbent-adverse. Jeff |
#6
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Legs that don't match
Yes I have the same problem. I just put a block under one cleat on my
short side. I have heard that if you upper leg is long, you should use a longer crank arm on that side. I have not tested this theory. "Richard Greenberg" wrote in message news:Z8s6f.1635$dW6.1428@trndny09... Hi all. I have one leg that is about 1/2 longer than the other. I can't quite decide whether to order a bike (I'm looking seriously at the folding BikeFriday) with two different length cranks, or not. I ride a recumbent exercise bike every day and find it comfortable, but in order for it to feel right, one of my feet ends up contacting the pedals (there are straps on the pedals that do not restrict front to back foot position) in a different spot than the other foot. Any thoughts on this? |
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