Barefoot cycling - what pedals to use?

Why not wear a helmet driving your car, or everywhere for that matter if thats how freaked out you are about getting a brain injury?

Those pathetic little bike helmets aren't going to protect you from shit except the most low-speed impact, they cannot protect against 'brain-slap'
where your brain slops around, bashing against the inside of your skull.
It can happen with impacts at speeds as low as 10 mph

A big problem is now-a-days people are so goddam freaked out they never learned how to properly 'get off' a bike thats going down, how to put it into a controlled slide, what to do if you find yourself going over the bars...A little skill goes a long ways my friends

Sure, bike helmets may be a good idea for 6 and under or the developmentally disabled, I have this little thing called skill and confidence in said skill to stay upright and not run into things.
I also don't ride in traffic if at all possible, I take the safer, albeit longer routes when available. And I don't ride trail, thats for motorcycles.
For instance in my younger days I competed in a 100 mile mountain enduro race in which I wore a full-face helmet of course, when I rode motorcycle on the street I only wore a helmet where legally required and on the highway (only because it cuts the noise level).

 

Lol, not to mention they are ergonomically incorrect...the balls of you feet should be directly over the pedal axis, one should never pedal flat-footed.
Those pedals are obviously for looks only, the reason there is only the right foot is because those things were originally for pimpin' your Woodys gas pedal. :sunny:

Hey look, I found a left! lol too small and not enough toes though...(obviously for the dimmer switch)

 

Again, it's a matter of potential risks (severity and likelyhood), to potential benefits.

There's no benefit to not wearing a helmet, but there's huge risk that can be eleminated by doing it. I haven't fallen off a bike in a way where I hit my head....... ever? but I've been riding bikes, and wearing helmets 99.99% of the time, since I was about three.

It looks funny.... meh. Modern helmets are well ventilated and very light, and greatly reduce your chances of becoming a veggie when a car turns without looking, or you mis-judge a surface, or whatever.

 

Again, they only help prevent busting your skull, they don't prevent brain slap... and to that point I would say it's false security.
Full face helmet if you are really worried about it. They don't prevent brain slap either, but they do help from bashing your face in...

 

Those "foot shaped pedals" are not actually bike pedals. They are meant for use in your car to bolt onto the gas pedal for certain older models. They look clever on the bike, but are not practical apart from maybe riding along the beach. I wouldn't ride barefoot unless there is a strap to keep my foot from sliding off the pedal.

Riding barefoot does certainly increase the risk factor. I'm a competitive bicycle racer and I would never do any serious riding barefoot, even though I can track stand at a red light and ride for hours without ever putting my foot down. For more aggressive riding, I have some SPD sandals that I really like.

The only time I would ride barefoot would be short trips over safe clean routes at low speed. Nothing vigorous for sure.

Regarding helmets, I pretty much always wear one, but if I'm riding slow and easy enough to ride barefoot, then I feel comfortable enough with my riding skills to skip the helmet on occasion. When not wearing the helmet though I feel like I'm setting a bad example for younger riders, even though I made it through my own youth just fine without ever wearing a helmet despite lots of carefree city riding.

Always be safe and sensible with your feet and your entire body!

 

old school rubber


search ebay for "vintage bicycle pedals"








or if youre a kinky masochist go for the vintage rat trap model

 

These are the pedals I decided to go with. They look like they have a soft strap that is easy to adjust when switching between riding with shoes and riding barefoot. They cost $49 plus shipping, but that is actually cheap compared to the carbon pedals I race on that cost over $200. I'll post a follow-up once I've actually tried them out barefoot.

​

 

I used to have these in my '77 Dodge Sportsman Van!

 

The helmet provides a crumple zone, much like the front end of a car is. Just like in the event of a high speed car crash, that zone means that you stop in, maybe, a third of a second, instead of literally instantly. As such, you have a MUCH greater chance of survival.

Likewise, with a helmet, it protects your skull because it distributes force and reduces impact, by giving your head more time to decelerate. This is very important for the health of your brain. Less impact on your skull directly means there's less slappin' that can happin' to your brain.

The lower half of your face can absorb such damage that it would not be recognisable as a face, without being life threatening. The upper half is protected by your helmet's overhang. As such, there's basically no reason for a face guard in terms of protecting life and health, and so it's done away with in the name of weight and comfort. It could also have perception-limiting drawbacks. Back to weighing potential negatives against potential positives.

 

those look great


id prefer if they had a toe guard on the front though...i remember peeling my toes a few times on pavement....and then there was that one time i opened the convenience store door and it caught my big toe nail and took it right off

 

^^^Ouch!
My worst bicycle related foot injury was from a bike I wasn't even riding! lol

I had my road bike parked in the hall by my bedroom and stumbled out in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom... somehow I managed to swing my foot into the trap-pedal in such a way as to get my pinky toe caught in the pedal. I fell to the ground writhing in pain, further twisting and ultimately breaking the toe.
I couldn't walk on that foot for two days and actually lost work because of it.

 

I don't often like to agree with the 'sensible' majority but cycling without proper kit and clothing is knarly.
I've suffered scuffed toes and grazed ankles from cycling barefoot. I use those beach-cruiser style pedals but they're crap in the wet and I slide off if I'm not careful.
My helmet does'nt fit very well due to my dreadlocks being a bit chunky these days, and oh the other day I even trapped my skirt in the drivechain! I'm beginning to think cycling sucks

 

Have you ever needed that helmet while cycling?

 

LOL big chunky dreads might be just as effective as a bike helmet!

 

LOL what is this the BikeForums.net Advocacy and Safety forum??

I bought some "barefoot pedals" last summer, used them once and then tossed them on the spare parts shelf. They were way too small, and the bearings were just about the worst I've ever felt.

I used pinned platform pedals on my MTB, and often ride it around the park and neighborhood with stiff-soled flip flops. I also wear a helmet most of the time, but I don't get my nuts in a wad when I see someone who chooses not to. I sometimes don't wear mine if it's literally like around the block or whatever.

On my road bike I used SPD pedals/cleats and shoes. I hate walking in them, though, so I'm usually barefoot right up to when I start riding, and immediately thereafter.

But as for helmets, I never used one growing up in the 80's and 90's. I pretty much quit riding a bike when I started driving in 1996, and didn't even own a helmet until 2007 when I bought my MTB.

 

I commute daily on a road bike and have thought about riding barefoot once in a while but decided it was a little too risky at speed.

I wear Nashbar Ragster cycling-specific sandals, which are drilled to take a cleat for clip-less pedals. I cut the toe caps off for better airflow. I think they provide reasonable protection even without the caps. I wear them year round, sans socks most of the time, with socks when it gets below mid-50s. I use them with Crankbrothers Eggbeaters pedals and they have been working well for several thousand miles.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_169948_-1___

 

I've been cycling bf for many years without any problems.
I use wide plastic pedals with short blunt spikes that keep my feet on without irritating them.
I have fallen off a few times, it was my upper body that hit the ground, while my feet went up in the air!

 

I don't know how in the hell I survived my youth, mid 60's to yearly 70's, riding my bike barefoot and no helmet. It is sensible to be proactive in safety, I suppose many factors should be taken into consideration when biking barefoot, jaunts around the neighborhood should be fine barefoot

 

I saw some in a bike shop not too long ago that were made specifically for barefoot cycling and were made from a soft rubber and were pretty cheap, like less than $20. I'll get the name of them next time I go there.

 

my reasoning for wanting people to wear a helmet is completely selfish - we have a tax-payer funded healthcare system here and i don't want to pay to put someones head back together when they could have lessened or negated the damage by wearing a $20 helmet.