Tadpole/ foot safety

Joined
Apr 25, 2020
Messages
12
For those who build tadpoles....do you worry about feet falling from pedals? Do you 'lock on' to the pedals?
My wife did not grow up bicycling and wants a tadpole for 'comfort/stability'. I worry about her feet falling off a pedal
and a leg going under. How do you keep that from happening? From being on an 'upright' bike, I am not fond of
the idea of 'locking on'. ?
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,980
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
Clipped pedals and SPD footwear or heel-straps are the standard fare of "bents".
rat-traps & toe-straps are another option but harder to get in/out of.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
I've never even remotely thought my feet would leave the pedal. I've occasionally lost the pedal on an upright as I've shifted my weight about but not on a taddy.
 
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Messages
2,054
Location
Washington state
I had it happen once and have considered straps or ?
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2017
Messages
424
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba
It happened to me on the Warrior. I was heading home from a friends place, took a quieter side street to avoid car traffic and hit a real bumpy section and my left foot slipped off the pedal. When my foot hit the ground it got sucked back and hit the outrigger for the left front wheel. At first i thought the ankle was broken and it was painful. Fortunately it was wasn't broken so I headed home and built a set of heel straps. Used aluminum flat bar bent in a shape that would my EEE wide shoes and drilled them so as to be able to bolt to the pedals then cut and pop riveted straps from and old ratchet strap. The material was a bit floppy so they got some fibreglass resin brushed on to stiffen them. Worked like a charm, still have then only now they are mounted on the Aurora delta trike.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2020
Messages
12
It happened to me on the Warrior. I was heading home from a friends place, took a quieter side street to avoid car traffic and hit a real bumpy section and my left foot slipped off the pedal. When my foot hit the ground it got sucked back and hit the outrigger for the left front wheel. At first i thought the ankle was broken and it was painful. Fortunately it was wasn't broken so I headed home and built a set of heel straps. Used aluminum flat bar bent in a shape that would my EEE wide shoes and drilled them so as to be able to bolt to the pedals then cut and pop riveted straps from and old ratchet strap. The material was a bit floppy so they got some fibreglass resin brushed on to stiffen them. Worked like a charm, still have then only now they are mounted on the Aurora delta trike.
Thanks, Hugh !!
Clipped pedals and SPD footwear or heel-straps are the standard fare of "bents".
rat-traps & toe-straps are another option but harder to get in/out of.
Clipped pedals and SPD footwear or heel-straps are the standard fare of "bents".
rat-traps & toe-straps are another option but harder to get in/out of.
Thanks, Danny. I'd never heard of 'heel straps' before this.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2020
Messages
12
It happened to me on the Warrior. I was heading home from a friends place, took a quieter side street to avoid car traffic and hit a real bumpy section and my left foot slipped off the pedal. When my foot hit the ground it got sucked back and hit the outrigger for the left front wheel. At first i thought the ankle was broken and it was painful. Fortunately it was wasn't broken so I headed home and built a set of heel straps. Used aluminum flat bar bent in a shape that would my EEE wide shoes and drilled them so as to be able to bolt to the pedals then cut and pop riveted straps from and old ratchet strap. The material was a bit floppy so they got some fibreglass resin brushed on to stiffen them. Worked like a charm, still have then only now they are mounted on the Aurora delta trike.
Thanks, Hugh !! That makes me feel more confident about trying to build a tad like my wife wants. I'll have to figure out something.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
I don't know of other people's flexibility but there's no way I could reach to strap my feet in once ensconced in a recumbent taddy seat. I appreciate not everyone is as old / fat / decrepit as me.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Messages
869
Location
Axedale, Victoria, Australia
Website
axerail.coffeecup.com
I rode many kilometres on my Warrior wearing runners and normal pedals without any real consideration or thought for anything else. However, this immediately changed when I was following someone else going down a sealed incline when he "lost a foot" and received a very painful injury as his leg was forced back under the chassis. I quickly bought the appropriate hardware and riding shoes and was amazed at how much better it was.

A year or so later I found myself on a ride having forgotten to pack the riding shoes. What an annoying ride. I was continuously having to adjust my feet on the pedals as bumps kept dislodging them. This annoyed me for the whole ride. Unless held in position, either mechanically or physically, your feet will move during riding as gravity continually trys to pull them down towards the ground - and you don't want that to happen.

As a minimum I would suggest at least a heel "loop" of some sort if you didn't want to go the riding shoes route.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2020
Messages
12
My kids stopped to adjust some 'cargo' they were carrying on a ride. A group of about 6 people kindly stopped to ask if they needed help. 'No, thankyou, though'....and the 6 were off. My kids caught up with them and one had accidentally gone off the trail, not gotten her foot unlocked from the pedal and had a second 'ankle' with bone sticking out of it. I haven't been inclined to 'lock on', but on a tad, ?!! I think it would seem necessary, but I will have to learn how to manage that. ? You can't 'fall' with a tad, so locking on seems safer than not locking on. What would be 'wrong' with locking on a tad? Anyone had problems with That? and Thanks for your replies !!
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
1,352
Location
Netherlands
I have pedals with one side where I can click in my mountain bike shoes and one side use normal shoes. For a short trip, I use normal shoes but for long trips I prefer to lock in.
I didn't had the feeling that my feed would come of the pedals, even without the lock system, but it depends on the pedals and the shoes.
Still I prefer to lock in. It feels better for me.
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2017
Messages
424
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba

You can see one of my my homemade heel straps in this picture. A piece of flat aluminum bent so my shoe fits inside. One benefit is the weight meant when getting on the pedal was always sitting in an easy position for my foot. Disregard the coroplast, it was me just fooling around with different ideas. The straps are not perfect but they worked very well at preventing heel strike.
 
Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
2
Wow! So glad I read y'alls posts I'm just starting my builds on my wife's and mine. Streetfox tadpole, never would have thought of such
a situation. Sounds so painful, and something that could happen here in San Antonio, Great information. Big TX salute!
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
712
Location
Vilvoorde / Flanders / Belgium
Surprised myself, to reappear after years of absence.

For bent riding, some foot support is not an option for people that don't need to eat their bodyweight twice a day.
But finding SPD pedals ain't that difficult anymore, and a cheap SPD add on fitted into a comfy shoe is just another project.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
1,352
Location
Netherlands
Surprised myself, to reappear after years of absence.

For bent riding, some foot support is not an option for people that don't need to eat their bodyweight twice a day.
But finding SPD pedals ain't that difficult anymore, and a cheap SPD add on fitted into a comfy shoe is just another project.
I was thinking to put spd's under my army boots.
I am interested in how you do it.
 
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