CYCLING AND
PEDORTHICS
As our population grows older, bicycle riding is an
excellent option for people looking for an easy way to
maintain cardiovascular and joint health. Many sports
are great for you, but are not easily attainable. Come
on, everybody knows how to ride a bike. High quality,
fun exercise is waiting for you right in your garage. As
the blending of recreation and health meet, there can
be a seamless union where fun meets attainable exer-
cise. necessary with this type of rider- comfort easily out-
Modern bicycles have come a long way since that old
red Schwinn you and your brother delivered newspa-
pers on as a kid. Space age materials like carbon fiber,
super light alloys, puncture resistant tires and comfort-
able frame designs have brought the newest technology
to the masses while steel and heavy chrome are rel-
egated to memory. Back to the down stroke, these rotations occur thou-
Every cyclist need to think about stance. How aggres-
sively a rider is over the handlebars is key. A dead give-
away is, how vertical is the seat tube? If it's vertical it's
going to be a very harsh and performance stance—far
too uncomfortable for a casual rider. Generally, the
more vertical the seat tube is the more responsive and
powerful the pedal stroke. A “crank forward” stance
involves the pedals being forward of the saddle posi-
tion creating a more casual riding position. The need
for advanced fitting situations and stance control is not
weighs performance.
The rotations of the cyclist's foot is like a clock. From
1:00 to 5:00 is referred to the down stroke. Even the
most casual bicycle rider recognizes this phase. This is
where all the power comes from. 5:00 to 7:00 is known
as the pull back stage. This is where plantar flexors give
way to dorsiflexion and the tibialis anterior takes over.
sands of times in an afternoon ride.
Cadence refers to the number of revolutions per min-
ute. Most recreational cyclists will have a cadence
around 60-80 pedal rotations per minute. Racers and
performance minded cyclists have a faster and more
powerful pedal stroke and cadence, around 90 rotations
per minute.
In the cycling world, there are spinners—riders who
put less force on the pedals and use a higher cadence.
Pushers will typically have more force on the pedals
with a lower cadence. Higher pedal pressure coupled
with lower cadence speeds can lead to knee pain and
meniscus damage. It is accepted that lighter pedal pres-
Photo caption #1:
Clockwise from top left: downhill bicycle show with cleat, cross country MTB
"Talk with your vendor about what you want to do.
shoe with
ratchet closure,
road cycling shoe
with carbon
fiber events
sole, comfort
Manufacturer
representatives
understand
these
cycling shoe with laces. and can help guide you."
34
Pedorthic Footcare Association www.pedorthics.org