Question about biking barefoot

I biked about 7 miles today barefoot, and my feet were a bit sore afterwards because of the sharp metal on the pedals. I am wondering if there is any kind of covering I can get for my pedals so that it's more comfortable to bike barefoot. Thanks much for any help!

Alex

 

Wrap the pedals with duct tape, cause duct tape fixes everything. Or you could use a file and file all the little points off.

 

Most bike shops will sell rubber pedals that are much more suited to barefeet!

 

you might check at Home Depot or Lowes, etc. and see if they have that black foam pipe insulation. It is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and even thicker I believe. you'll prolly need to cut it in half to get it over the pedals, then you can tape it in place. it works great and feels good under foot, barefoot that is. ;-)

peace out,
bob

 

I just applied for membership. How long did it take when you applied before they let you in?

Alex

 

I applied 2 years ago and never heard back. I e-mailed the owner and he said he missed my e-mail somehow but found it and passed it on to be processed and that was 4 months ago. Still have not heard back

 

i would just put socks over the pedals.....

 

My bike gets painful after a while 2 if im riding barefoot. Sad thing is I had a bike with comfy pedals but that bike was rotted out really bad and I totaled it (long story). After that I used it for parts but couldnt get the pedals off or the pegs. All I really got off that thing were tires then I junked it. O well.

 

I've begun taking real rides barefoot this year (not just the 'round town errands types like I did before) I'm doing better with it than I ever imagined! The spikey things on the pedals get a little irritating sometimes, but nothing like I thought. This is so cool! I mountain bike, so this works so far on the few roads I do, and on the carriage road system around here, logging roads, and some trails. Serious mtn biking, altho' never extreme for me, might require a bit of help for my feet. While they're tough, I still have the feeling that I "ought" to have something on the pedals, or new pedals entirely, if I want to continue barefoot biking. I'm going to check one of the two bike shops we have locally.

 

I remember a teacher who got her toe cut off by the chain, riding barefoot when she was little...
That's why biking is one of the few things I wouldn't do barefoot, unless I got a chainless bicycle.

 

I rode a bike barefoot almost everyday for like 12 years in a row. Never got my toes caught in the chain or any other problem. I like jumping off the bike going fast and landing my bare feet into loose gravel.

 

i love to bike barefoot... i have cushy pedals that don't bother me a bit.

hehe, sometime i haven't tried... biking in the nude

 

I have done so many things in the nude, but not that, not biking yet! And I have no excuse---our camp is so far out in the woods I could probably go a long way on the logging roads, at least in the evening, and our own 5 acres has our own tiny little "system" of bike paths. I'm nude out there a lot. Why didn't I think of this before---after the insect season settles down.

 

Never had laces get caught. Never thought of that. Even when I don't go bf I bike in sandals or flops, (even those are frowned on by the biking community) My tiny bit of winter biking does involve low running shoes, I suppose.

What I worry about is having toes come in contact with ground if I slip off (unlikely, but an awful thought) or if a problem with shifting causing slipping (more likely) I do have some slipping while shifting thru the middle gears. Makes a bad sound, but I've stayed on---

 

I ride my bicycle over 20 miles almost every morning, barefoot, with "barefoot pedals" by a company called Pyramid. No comfort problems at all.

 

I've ridden my bicycle barefoot for a long time too, never had a problem or a dangerous situation really. I may've slipped off the pedals once or twice in these past eight+ years but if anything less than before when it happened fairly regularly with the chinese slippers, flipflops and other loose & semi-loose footwear I used to wear. And I remember hitting the ground at least once when my shoelaces caught wearing sneakers, plus a few close calls (no major injuries fortunately so I don't even remember exactly if I actually fell down more than once). I suppose wearing solid, closed, non-slip and non-lace shoes may be safest of all, but since bicycles are a normal method of transportation here in the Netherlands (not just for recreation) hardly anyone wears special clothing when biking. I certainly never did before I started to go barefoot, even after any of those minor incidents slipping off the pedals or having my laces caught the thought to put other footwear on next time I went out never even occured to me.

And about protective gear in general, I don't think I've seen anyone wearing a helmet or other protective gear for riding regular city bicycles in regular traffic here in the Netherlands, those are used only when racing and such. I've never seen biking in the Netherlands as more dangerous than walking, but I guess it does make a difference we're used to bicycles on the street; I once tried to go feed my horse in Dallas TX on a bicycle when my car was in the shop and I would've liked to have worn a helmet there! No room for bicycles, cars everywhere, that was pretty scary.

 

Sadly, very few places here are bike friendly (US) or barefoot friendly either, but together we're wearing them down.