Foot cramps

How's your seat height? If properly adjusted, your legs will be most of
the way straight when at the bottom of the pedal stroke. The preferred
part of the foot to have on the pedal is the ball of the foot. What
kind of footwear are you wearing? If your feet are involuntarily
scrunching up, this could be the cause, which might just take more
practice to get your feet to relax. Or maybe a tighter shoe?

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I'm not sure, it seems like the right length keeps changing. :p Not sure
what that signifies either. Probably inconsistant foot position or some
such.

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After the trials comp at California Muni Weekend my feet and hand kept
cramping up. It was annoying, every time I got on the uni it felt like
my foot got smashed up.
It hasn't happened since and not really before that either, maybe just
a lot of riding messed my feet up.

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maxisback said:

yeh i kill ppl for a living

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In deed you better ride with the ball of you feet above the axe of your
pedal.
But riding with you heels -or too high seat- would usually cause cramp
behind you knees. And so I wonder;

- Do you dehydrate too much?
- Do you drink enough?
if you experience cramp DON'T drink (cherry)coke, 7up, mountain-dew,
coffee, thee or any alike drinks, drink water!
- Aren't your shoe-soles not too flexible?
- Are you riding not relaxed, with tention on your muscles, and too
much 'weight on your pedals' non-stop?
- Do you do stretch excersices for you legs regular?
- Do you have a bad blood circulation?
- Is your blood OK?

What I do to stimulate blood circulation to my feet is:
- stand on one leg
- raise the other like 10" sideways.
- pendle the other with a heavy speed back and forth but in half
relaxed condition (by only using the muscles in the upperleg). The
amplitude is only about 5", and the speed pretty high.
Also I make kind of sideways karate-like kicks (again with the foot and
lower-leg in relaxed condition).

One other advice I got to stimulate blood-circulation in the feet was
rolling a coke-bottle (of glass -that use to have profile-) underneath
you desk with you feet. Later I saw there are special props with a much
better profile for this. Whatever the cause is of your cramp I
recommend you find one of these, and try them.

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When learning, and while getting better at general riding, there can be
a tendency to tense up. That can mean tensing up the legs, and in some
people can mean tensing up the feet. Tense feet can mean trying to
wrap or curl your toes around the pedals in a futile attempt to get
more grip and control on the pedals. Are your toes curling under as
your ride?

As you get better at general riding you learn to relax. It takes time,
and some will get to that stage faster than others.

Are your pedals very slippery? Do your shoes have a sole that will
stay on the pedals without slipping too much? Maybe your pedals or
shoes are very slippery and that is causing you to tense your feet up
in an attempt to better grip the pedals?

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Quoted message said:

- Do you dehydrate too much?
- Do you drink enough?
if you experience cramp DON'T drink (cherry)coke, 7up, mountain-dew,
coffee, thee or any alike drinks, drink water!

I -try- to drink enough - don't know if I succeed though. I hate soda,
and I don't drink caffiene - juice or water. About 2-5 liters a day.

Quoted message said:

- Are you riding not relaxed, with tention on your muscles, and too much
'weight on your pedals' non-stop?

Hard to say. The load on the pedals changes a bit, sometimes I have to
make myself ease off, but I have had quite a few UPD's when my feet
came off the pedals from lack of pressure too.

Quoted message said:

Tense feet can mean trying to wrap or curl your toes around the pedals
in a futile attempt to get more grip and control on the pedals. Are
your toes curling under as your ride?

No, though I do feel a bit of pressure to try to keep contact with the
pedals. That seems hard for some reason.

Quoted message said:

- Aren't your shoe-soles not too flexible?

Quoted message said:

Are your pedals very slippery?

UDC 24" learner with the rounded plastic stock pedals. They don't seem
exceptionally slippery to me..

Quoted message said:

Do your shoes have a sole that will stay on the pedals without slipping
too much?

Possible; I don't know how high profile of a sole would be necessary to
not be "slippery". I'm using either a pair of New Balance 853's - fair
condition - or a walking shoe, good condition. Usually the NB's.

Quoted message said:

- Do you stretch? Do you have a bad blood circulation? Is your blood OK?

I stretch some. Everything else should be passable at least.

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JusticeZero said:

After about 400-500 feet or so when riding, i've discovered that my
arches cramp up something fierce. I'm dealing with it for the time
being by riding with my heels on the pedals, but that seems like it
might be fouling up other things. I'm not sure how much might have to
do with me trying to hold the uni level while riding so it doesn't
launch out without warning into a UPD, if anything.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or is it a matter of "Go out, ride 20
minutes till you can't walk, crawl home, wait till the next day,
repeat"?

I had a problem with the same kind of foot cramping about two years ago
when I was a cyclist. Someone told me it was likely due to a
deficiency with some sort of mineral (probably potasium) and that
eating bananas would help. He was right and I didn't have any problems
afterwards. I ate a couple of bananas a day for 2-3 days, and
afterwards tried to eat one per day for a while. Now, I only have one
a few of times a week.

Stiffer sneakers might help, but I think the issue with footwear is
more about whether they provide enough arch support. You might be
getting the start of a condition called plantar faciitis. Try a
sneaker that is built for correcting moderate pronation. I like the
Saucony running shoe, model "Grid Stabil", but you'll only find it at a
proper running store and it will cost around $80. Make sure that you
get properly fitted (most people buy too small of running shoes for
their feet).

Stretching will help some, but only when the underlying cause is
addressed. Otherwise, stretches can sometimes trigger more cramps.
Wallpushers and stair-drops (standing on a step with the balls of your
feet and letting your arches and calves stretch by lowering your
heels).

Good luck.

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abridged said:

..likely due to a deficiency with some sort of mineral (probably
potasium) and that eating bananas would help. I ate a couple of
bananas a day for 2-3 days, and afterwards tried to eat one per day for
a while. Now, I only have one a few of times a week.

Yikes, that's going to hurt the budget. Bananas are more expensive than
steak right now.

Quoted message said:

Try a sneaker that is built for correcting moderate pronation. I like
the Saucony running shoe...Make sure that you get properly fitted (most
people buy too small of running shoes for their feet).

That's not going to be easily possible, I already have to get specialty
shoes because a "proper fit" for me is american size 12 EEEEEE.

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JusticeZero said:

Yikes, that's going to hurt the budget. Bananas are more expensive than
steak right now.

There are potassium supplements that may be cheaper the real bannanas.
Or you can roll your own using Morton Lite Salt (half the sodium of
table salt). Morton Lite Salt contains potassium.

With your big feet you may find it better to use larger platform
pedals.

For plastic pedals the 'Odyssey Twisted PC'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=213) pedals are a
little larger and may support your foot better.

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john_childs said:

With your big feet you may find it better to use larger platform pedals.

This was my first thought. The large ones may cost more, but they'd be
worth it. I'm using a set of Profile Gas Pedals on my 26", and they
are the largest I've found so far.

I was having this issue last year with my mountain bike, and the
problem went away when I switched pedals.

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The first thing came to my mind was bananas, too. I try to eat one each
morning or at least before I do anything physical.

I refereed soccer for a couple years and I remember one game that I
reffed (about half an hour after playing another game) where my toes
cramped up so badly that I had to blow the whistle and stop the game as
I removed my socks and cleats so I could fix my toes. I refereed the
rest of the game barefoot.

(It was just a u-14 game, so nobody was too upset)

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Hmm.. I'm in AU right now. Are the DX pedals at UDC at all comparable to
the ones mentioned? The Odyssey looks like it'd be mostly shipping
($85+ for shipping, I assume in usd)

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JusticeZero said:

Hmm.. I'm in AU right now. Are the DX pedals at UDC at all comparable to
the ones mentioned? The Odyssey looks like it'd be mostly shipping
($85+ for shipping, I assume in usd)

Go to a local bike shop or a local online shop and see what they have
for larger platform pedals. It'll be cheaper than getting the pedals
ordered from the USA.

You should be able to find the plastic Odyssey Twisted PC pedals more
locally than from the USA.

Plastic pedals are better for general riding while you are learning or
developing new skills. Plastic pedals don't hurt you as much when they
hit you in the shin or calf. Metal pedals can literally leave scars.

There are certainly more choices for large platform pedals in metal.
And you'll be able to find larger platforms too in metal than in
plastic.

A DX style pedal has a pointed shape at the end (by the outside of your
foot). It's not one of the larger pedal designs.

Something that has more of a square shape than the DX shape may have
more surface area supporting your foot. That would be pedals like the
Odyssey Twisted PC (plastic), Odyssey Jim Cielencki (metal), Primo
Tenderizer (metal), Odyssey Twisted Pro (metal), and others. The
square shape will feel more secure under your foot.

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