For more than 20 years I was cycling and had foot pain. When I searched for help the solutions were: shoe fit, insoles, wedges (correcting angles). I felt strongly that I was simply not pedaling properly - biomechanics, kinesiology; I was pedaling more like a piston engine than with a smooth rotary motion.
Eventually I built a sensor to show pedaling foot angle (among other things). What I found is that for me the angle of my foot during the pedal rotation made a significant difference not only eliminating foot pain, but improving speed and endurance. Correcting my years-long pedal inefficiency is ongoing, and I continue tracking my performance.
I do not yet have independent verification of my device accuracy, but I’ve done much to self test it. What I’m wondering now is whether this device might help others. I have an old blog post (April 2022) which I can update if others are interested.
SOUNDS INTERESTING. Do you have any pictures? Marc
Super interesting. I have a connective tissue disorder that predisposes me to tears. I have had five orthopaedic surgeries thus far, though not on ankles yet (very close though). To train with my bike stand I need to use KT tape and an ASO on each ankle because of the partial tears in my peroneus brevis tendons, plus braces on my knees.
Positioning is critical. People with my medical issue have more flexibility than others and this extended range works against us in high force and repetitive situations. If I had had support (KT tape) and better positioning all along I perhaps could have prolonged the quality of my tendons. And now, if I had feedback from a device maybe I could train more, train more safely, and one day return to some intermittent, longer rides. AND when I finally have surgery (needing cadaver tissue from a healthy donor) and make that long road to recovery, a product like this could mean I wouldn’t re-tear again badly or quickly or maybe not at all.
Thanks for sharing. Would love to hear more.
Sensor…
If you are a Strava user there are more pictures associated with my bike rides which I think you can see by following me: Bryan Striemer (I think I’m the only person with this name)
As for surgical recovery, physical therapy, injury avoidance, I can describe the use scenarios I’ve currently explored, and hopefully someone with medical experience can weigh in on how it might help.
One phone app shows real-time display of angles, and will change color if you are out-of-range (any angle ranges can be specified). Cadence is also displayed. Foot tilt and rotation is captured, but not currently displayed in real-time. The averages can be displayed, saved and reset. (This app was intended for bike fitters to try different bike parameter adjustments.) The saved data can be emailed - in the scenario when a cycling customer wanted a record of pedal angles associated with bike physical adjustments.
There are many other things to view. Another example is to overlay cadence with each (of the four) pedal angle waveforms to see the affects of pedal rotation speed. (I’ve read bike fitters describe knee/hip issues showing up in foot angles at various rotation speeds.)
My blog posts are extremely out of date, but looking at them (and maybe my Strava data) will lead to the issues of most interest. And hey, thanks for the questions! -Bryan
In the case where you want to train in specific ankle ranges my prototype can show each of four foot locations in the pedal cycle. If you are outside a specified range the display will change color. I have always planned to add a (phone) vibrate feature for when you don’t want to be watching the phone (riding outdoors).
