Fifteen years ago, I was told by a cycling podiatrist (Bill Petersen) that pedal float would be good for my knees (which I was having problems with at the time), so I switched to Time pedals.
Recently, I was told by another cycling podiatrist (Douglas Ehrenberg) that pedal float is bad for my achilles tendon (which I'm having problems with now), so I am re-evaluating my pedal choice.
Is this really a no-win situation? I would like to get the facts and some advice from additional experts to help me decide whether to use float. Anecdotes might help, but science would be better. Can anyone suggest some resources?
Fifteen years ago, I was told by a cycling podiatrist (Bill Petersen) that pedal float would be good for my knees (which I was having problems with at the time), so I switched to Time pedals.
Quoted message said:
Recently, I was told by another cycling podiatrist (Douglas Ehrenberg) that pedal float is bad for my achilles tendon (which I'm having problems with now), so I am re-evaluating my pedal choice.
Well, I'm no doctor or expert. But, I really don't see how float would affect achilles tendon problems. That's usually, caused by pedaling with your toes (cleats too far forward on the shoe).
Art> Well, I'm no doctor or expert. But, I really don't see Art> how float would affect achilles tendon problems.
Dr. Ehrenberg's opinion was that the muscles that must be exercised to stabilize the foot cause pressures and frictions against the tendon that don't happen when the sideways forces are balanced by a rigid pedal. I don't know whether this opinion has any merit.
Art> That's usually, caused by pedaling with your toes Art> (cleats too far forward on the shoe).
I got this when my cleat was set all the way *back*. On that ride, the only way for me to reduce the pain enough to make it the rest of the way home was by pointing my foot down as far as possible.
I'm not a doctor, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn once. So, sounds like your current situation is that you are using pedals that allow float, but now you are developing achilles problems. My solution, try what Dr. E is telling you and try fixed cleats. I mean, its only like 10 bucks. If that doesn't work and you've tried both float and fixed cleats, then perhaps your achilles injury isn't pedal related. Or, it may be a combination of some things.
You may want to try Speedplay pedals. Unlike most (all?) other pedals, the Speedplay pedals do not apply pressure to force your foot back to a central position. I had some different problems because my heel likes to rotate out a bit on every pedal stroke. My Look and Shimano pedals resisted that motion and caused some cramping in weird places on long rides. When I changed to Speedplay, the problem went away.
Good Luck, Randy "David Wuertele" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Fifteen years ago, I was told by a cycling podiatrist (Bill Petersen) that pedal float would be good for my knees (which I was having problems with at the time), so I switched to Time pedals.
Recently, I was told by another cycling podiatrist (Douglas Ehrenberg) that pedal float is bad for my achilles tendon (which I'm having problems with now), so I am re-evaluating my pedal choice.
Is this really a no-win situation? I would like to get the facts and some advice from additional experts to help me decide whether to use float. Anecdotes might help, but science would be better. Can anyone suggest some resources?
