I'm relatively new to unicycling, and new to this list. I thought I'd start with a question about foot placement on pedals:
I went off a half-metre drop earlier this week, and hurt my ankle enough to limp for a few days. When my wheel hit the ground, my heel slumped way down with it, but the front of my foot was still gripping the pedal (ouch). The problem - I think - was that I ride with the balls of my feet on the pedals, but this might not be safe for landings.
I searched previous threads, and noticed that riding with the balls of the feet on pedals is recommended for at least some unicycling, but what do people normally do for street and trials?
The medical term is "dorsiflexion", and it's one you should get used to, because it happens all the time on drops. Definitely need to have the middle of your foot on the pedal for drops. Probably want some kind of ankle protection, too.
Joints don't "get used to" being abused. They fail. If you're worried about ankle strength, there are specific exercises which can help with that; landing awkwardly after jumping several feet with momentum is not one of them.
Joints do get stronger, a 3 feet drop on a unicycle is the same as a 3 feet drop without a unicycle, humans have been able to do that since before the wheel was invented, I don't see why we should start wearing ankle guards now? I do have some 661 ankle braces here, I've wrecked my ankles on a 6-7 foot drop pretty bad, high drops are stupid. We're talking drops under 5 feet here, which the human body can easily take.
