Anyone alway drive barefoot (or most of the time)?

I destroyed 100% of the cartilage at the most important foot joint (1'st metatarso-phangial) bilaterally from decades of regular cycling in rigid narrow Italian tight fitting expensive shoes cleated in. Joints were in an unatural position and undergoing exact same repetitive motion. Along with the Hallux Limitis came bone spurring. Now I sacrifice crash protection and some peddling efficiency and ride exclusively barefoot on Pyramid Barefoot Pedals. With more than a dozen bikes in the family fleet and one that has 10 crank arms it's fine that these pedals are as crummy as they come bearing wise since I've purchased a few dozen pair at less than $10 per unit. Diane and I rode to breakfast, lunch, dinner, dance bar, and late night snack barefoot yesterday. It's nice to be on vacation! She rides 300 miles in three days every summer and several additional centuries in sandals since they ride in packs and crashes are common . I don't ride like that anymore, and also eliminated the large chainring on several of my bikes so that the chain is always protecting my feet from the teeth. I realized that too often the big ring's teeth were just waiting for action , now I'm forced to spin better as a result. Off to ride barefoot to breakfast again! We ran three times barefoot yesterday as well.

Very interesting. I prefer the feel of being clipped in. Maybe I can devise a way to attach the cleat to the bottom of my foot, ha. Pretty hilly around here, so staying in the big ring would be tough. I've long considered doing a (careful) barefoot commute just to experience it at least once. I'll have to temporarily replace the eggbeater pedals with Pyramids or similar. I've gotten questions about the cycling sandals from other cyclists, including a few in passing cars. I wonder what comments/stares riding barefoot on a carbon fiber drop bar road bike in traffic would bring.
 
Hey folks, been awhile since I posted here! :D

Always drive barefoot, except when driving the company car to a meeting. I wear my Stems at work with no-show socks (feet get too sweaty without socks) and I'm not going to deal with taking all that off just to have to put it back on again at my destination. But outside of work and all weekend I always drive barefoot.

I have tried cycling barefoot and just can't do it. I normally ride clipped in with Bontrager MTB shoes and SPD cleats/pedals, and the width isn't terrible. The only option, it seems, for cycling shoes with a more anatomical design (wide toe box, etc) are Bont shoes, and those are quite pricy.
 
I destroyed 100% of the cartilage at the most important foot joint (1'st metatarso-phangial) bilaterally from decades of regular cycling in rigid narrow Italian tight fitting expensive shoes cleated in. Joints were in an unatural position and undergoing exact same repetitive motion. Along with the Hallux Limitis came bone spurring. Now I sacrifice crash protection and some peddling efficiency and ride exclusively barefoot on Pyramid Barefoot Pedals. With more than a dozen bikes in the family fleet and one that has 10 crank arms it's fine that these pedals are as crummy as they come bearing wise since I've purchased a few dozen pair at less than $10 per unit. Diane and I rode to breakfast, lunch, dinner, dance bar, and late night snack barefoot yesterday. It's nice to be on vacation! She rides 300 miles in three days every summer and several additional centuries in sandals since they ride in packs and crashes are common . I don't ride like that anymore, and also eliminated the large chainring on several of my bikes so that the chain is always protecting my feet from the teeth. I realized that too often the big ring's teeth were just waiting for action , now I'm forced to spin better as a result. Off to ride barefoot to breakfast again! We ran three times barefoot yesterday as well.

Oh hey, I actually have a pair of those barefoot pedals on the shelf in the garage. Aside from them having the most horrible bearings I've ever felt on pedals (felt like I was always in the next higher gear), the platform size seemed totally inadequate for my size 13 paws. I used them once almost 2 years ago, threw them on the shelf and said "never again". They were extremely uncomfortable for me. I actually didn't even make it a mile with them. I brought along my flip flops in my son's trailer on that particular ride, and had to stop and put them on, that's how bad those pedals felt.
 
Agreed! That's why I buy my work boots width wider than normal to make room for my toes. I want maximum protection, they have to be CSA approved in order to be deemed suitable for the jobsite. Company policy.
That's smart of you; although it's not as ideal as a proper-fitting shoe with an anatomical toebox, I'm sure buying the boots wider must help a lot!
I ride almost daily and wear cycling sandals year round (with socks when below about 60 degrees).
Adequate protection, reasonably stiff, good airflow and saves on sock washing!

I wish I could ride barefoot, but fast moving metal parts and pavement makes it a bad idea.
Cycling sandals would definitely allow for better airflow, but don't cycling sandals still have arch support as well as a heel and narrower toebox? :eek:
I destroyed 100% of the cartilage at the most important foot joint (1'st metatarso-phangial) bilaterally from decades of regular cycling in rigid narrow Italian tight fitting expensive shoes cleated in. Joints were in an unatural position and undergoing exact same repetitive motion. Along with the Hallux Limitis came bone spurring. Now I sacrifice crash protection and some peddling efficiency and ride exclusively barefoot on Pyramid Barefoot Pedals. With more than a dozen bikes in the family fleet and one that has 10 crank arms it's fine that these pedals are as crummy as they come bearing wise since I've purchased a few dozen pair at less than $10 per unit. Diane and I rode to breakfast, lunch, dinner, dance bar, and late night snack barefoot yesterday. It's nice to be on vacation! She rides 300 miles in three days every summer and several additional centuries in sandals since they ride in packs and crashes are common . I don't ride like that anymore, and also eliminated the large chainring on several of my bikes so that the chain is always protecting my feet from the teeth. I realized that too often the big ring's teeth were just waiting for action , now I'm forced to spin better as a result. Off to ride barefoot to breakfast again! We ran three times barefoot yesterday as well.
I think it's all about personal risk management. As I said, with cycling shoes, a stiff sole can really be useful. But by no means does that make it mandatory for every cycler. I find it much akin to whether you cycle with a helmet. There are pros and cons to both, and ultimately it is up to the cycler himself to weigh all the options and possible risks in order to make an educated decision about what is most beneficial for him.

I think that although cycling barefoot may be the best thing for you and some others, I also would like to see cycling shoes on the market that are zero drop without arch support that have an anatomical toebox. I think that having more choices available to the consumer will benefit everyone in the long run, even if one chooses to go without cycling footwear entirely. As you said yourself, part of the problem with your Italian cycling shoes is that they were narrow and tight fitting, which definitely aided in putting joints in an unnatural position. Having a cycling shoe where the toes are free to wiggle and splay certainly wouldn't reduce much risk for repetitive use injuries, but it also wouldn't deform the foot in the same way as a narrow, tight fitting cycling shoe would. It would give cyclers who wish to use the entire foot for push-off the option to wear stiffer shoes that won't totally maim their feet, and at the same time it also wouldn't prevent you from choosing to cycle barefoot either. I really can't see any cons to it, to be honest. :)

I definitely can see many cases where foot coverings could be useful tools. For example, traditional bowling shoes have one shoe with grip and one shoe that is slippery. Bare feet have way too much grip on bowling floors to be slippery, so for a more competitive bowler I bet socks would be a good alternative. You could wear one sock without treads for slip, and one sock with treads for grip! Or you could even just wear a non-treaded sock on one foot for slip, and leave the other foot bare for grip! Now, this certainly does not mean one cannot bowl barefoot, but merely that in this case foot coverings might provide an advantage to the more competitive bowler that is compelling enough for them to want to utilize said foot coverings, even if they typically prefer to be bare. And more casual bowlers who don't mind a slight loss of efficiency could choose to bowl bare if they wished. (This is, of course, in an ideal situation where the bowling ally manager isn't a rampant member of the shoe police... :rolleyes:) I think having options is really the best possible situation, because it allows more people to find a solution that works best for them.
 
My FL bike has Avineer Barefoot pedals, much better bearings and a better platform. Not sure if they still make them though.image.jpg
 
lol bowling, I actually have been 3 times to the local alley recently (last time nearly 4 years ago) and was barefoot all 3 times. I found myself bowling better than I ever did with those nasty rented shoes!

With cycling shoes I really don't think a heel or arch support makes much difference, since you're (generally) not walking around with them. Most of the pressure is underneath the forefoot area. A wide toebox is really most important for cycling shoes, and Bont is the only manufacturer I know of who makes such shoes. I believe most or all of their models have the mold-able insole that you can heat up and mold exactly to your own feet. But I think they start above $150 and go up well over $400.
 
welcome back Pat! you must've heard me wondering where you went.

i saw an ad for some vff cycling shoes. don't know if it was real or a joke. with school back everything is now a blur.
 
not really, actually I think they would be pretty awful. Doesn't work as a cycling shoe, and sure as heck wouldn't work as any sort of minimalist shoe. Completely pointless. And yes I know it's an April Fool's prank.
 
Yeah I love driving barefoot! At first for some reason it really felt weird but now the only time I dont is if its really cold in the winter, but usually then I'll just wear slippers until the heat is going then kick em off. A couple of my friends from work are concerned I do that... I mean they know I run barefoot and come to accept it but they swear there is no way driving barefoot is safe. I'm like why on earth not? One thought it was illegal lol, the other thinks you need a stiff sole to press a pedal I guess. I don't know, with the exception of my old '78 trucks clutch all my other pedals are pretty easy to press? And you can feel the pedal and grip it so much better. I've had a few pedal pushing accidents - all with shoes. Big clunky hunting boots / rubber boots, and accidentally press the gas & brake together, or the front lip of the boot getting caught on the plastic trim under the dash... I see no advantage whatsoever wearing shoes.

I'm a barefoot cycler too. I don't bike much, and never liked clipping my feet in or bike shoes. I know many say they are much more efficient, but I just didnt seem to have leg strength in that motion. Maybe if I biked a lot I'd build that strength. And I'm pedaling a mountain bike, its not like I'm too concerned with efficiency until I get some super light road bike, but they just cost too much.
 
I took this photo a minute ago in Key West. As homeless-ready as the rig looks, in the basket is a toothbrush , toothpaste , floss, a towel for abs work, sunscreen, a set of Perfect push-up swivels, sun shirt, a floss threader for my self fused max lat incisor, and a bag of balls for PF stretch. Nobody would suspect any of that, and a few minutes ago a cab driver pulled next to me after he caught up from the light we were sitting at and yelled out "man I can't believe how fast you're moving. Not by real cycling standards , but for a local bum on this rig riding so upright it's unexpected performance. image.jpgthese are the Aveneer barefoot pedals. Shhhhhhh......but the lock is locked to one eye and the other eye is connected to a carabiner , looks secure but no key to bother with!
 
Just as a matter of interest the Ministry of Transport in the UK are reviewing the regulations about footwear whilst driving. Apparently there have been a spate of accidents involving drivers wearing high heels and flip flop's (thongs)?

Banning barefoot was mentioned but there was no evidence at all that it contributed to accidents in any way so it has been dropped.

Just back from the pub and a little merry but will dig out the article and add it to this post tomorrow before work.
 
Yeah I love driving barefoot! At first for some reason it really felt weird but now the only time I dont is if its really cold in the winter, but usually then I'll just wear slippers until the heat is going then kick em off. A couple of my friends from work are concerned I do that... I mean they know I run barefoot and come to accept it but they swear there is no way driving barefoot is safe. I'm like why on earth not? One thought it was illegal lol, the other thinks you need a stiff sole to press a pedal I guess. I don't know, with the exception of my old '78 trucks clutch all my other pedals are pretty easy to press? And you can feel the pedal and grip it so much better. I've had a few pedal pushing accidents - all with shoes. Big clunky hunting boots / rubber boots, and accidentally press the gas & brake together, or the front lip of the boot getting caught on the plastic trim under the dash... I see no advantage whatsoever wearing shoes.

I'm a barefoot cycler too. I don't bike much, and never liked clipping my feet in or bike shoes. I know many say they are much more efficient, but I just didnt seem to have leg strength in that motion. Maybe if I biked a lot I'd build that strength. And I'm pedaling a mountain bike, its not like I'm too concerned with efficiency until I get some super light road bike, but they just cost too much.

That's very interesting that you say that about cycling and being clipped in, being that you also run barefoot. I find that running barefoot, or minimalist, basically anything with a forefoot landing, works many of the same muscles used to pull up on the bike pedals when your feet are clipped or strapped in.
 
That's very interesting that you say that about cycling and being clipped in, being that you also run barefoot. I find that running barefoot, or minimalist, basically anything with a forefoot landing, works many of the same muscles used to pull up on the bike pedals when your feet are clipped or strapped in.

The last time I tried clips was probably 5 years before running barefoot though. Could be different know I suppose. Barefoot running certainly used muscles I hadnt really used before! But the main thing is I like the breeze and not having sweaty feet!
 
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Well yes true-dat. :) I started barefoot running for awhile, about a year or so, before getting seriously back into cycling, and about a year and a half before I tried clipless pedals (SPD) and shoes. I think you should definitely give them another try. My work commute is 31 miles round trip and I wouldn't even dream of doing that ride on platform pedals. Much too hilly, and I use the ability to pull up on the pedals way too much on those hills to use platforms.
 
My work commute is 31 miles round trip and I wouldn't even dream of doing that ride on platform pedals. Much too hilly, and I use the ability to pull up on the pedals way too much on those hills to use platforms.

Hats off :wideeyed:
 
Actually I did do that commute once on a different bike with platforms. I can confirm that it did suck.
 
Well yes true-dat. :) I started barefoot running for awhile, about a year or so, before getting seriously back into cycling, and about a year and a half before I tried clipless pedals (SPD) and shoes. I think you should definitely give them another try. My work commute is 31 miles round trip and I wouldn't even dream of doing that ride on platform pedals. Much too hilly, and I use the ability to pull up on the pedals way too much on those hills to use platforms.
That's awesome! When I lived in town, I biked to work all the time. Great way to start the day! Was out trail riding one day with a friend, when I crashed into a creek swollen with spring run off. It was freezing cold and filthy! Didn't unclip in time! My bud couldn't help as he was rolling on the ground laughing! In hind sight, it was pretty funny!
 
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