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Efficency in cycling shoes
Ok its an obvious question here but.
Why do you get more efficiency in a pair of hard sold shoes vs a pair of shoes that flex? After all your leg is pushing downwards motion right? Is energy lost in the flexing of the shoe?? How does the energy transfer work and what's the physics behind it??
I just bought a pair of carbon soled MTB shoes (Diadora Ergo MTB shoes) my old pair was a pair of Cannondales, they flexed a lot especially when you stood up in the pedals. But when I stood up for the first time in the carbon soled shoes - geez the energy transfer was awesome!
Don't get me wrong I'm sold on the carbon shoes but they are more difficult to walk in though.
Lorrie
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Warning: just yr12 physics here......which i did like 8yrs ago!
Something to do with the conservation of energy.
Say your power output is fixed. If you spend energy flexing the shoe then there is less energy going into the pedals. Thats about it really.
Pushing a heavy object with something solid like a broom & do the same test with a stick of bamboo (the tapered end)...
push a stool with a broom handle!!(crack!that was the sound of the starter pistol stuart)
Applicable in that context too... i.e. something flexible would be more comfortable, it if you want to get the job done right, you need something stiff and rigid...
be alot of physics and stool pushing going on tomorrow night!
as oppose to walking on the pavement, the extra give that the sand has = less efficiency(spell check?) which means you cant walk as fast as on the pavement and you get tired quicker. maybe use the 'sloppy' shoes for training and the 'stiff' ones for racing? please, no one else mention, sloppy, stiff, pushing stools etc again in this thread!!!
that was your comment, Matt
I thought it was Stuart
Enjoy your stool pushing at the MG
Too late
I already replied
sorry guys,that comment was by me. im on kath's pc and she didnt log out and i went on without logging in!!!
im not going-seen one youve seen em em.'less the dykes on bikes are riding pushies this year-sans seats!?!
I've always found that when I am pedalling in non-clip shoes (e.g. at the gym in my trainers) that I get a lot of flex. When you switch to a hard sole, you realise that you can push down with your whole foot, and harder.
With flexy shoes, it is difficult to apply as much pressure.
As always, Sheldon Brown has a great answer. Read the last sentence under the first topic, 'Achilles Heel';
The other reason for pedaling on the ball of the feet is if you are riding in soft-soled shoes, the ball of the foot is better able to bear weight than the arch is. However, with rigid-soled shoes this is a non-issue. For short distance, low intensity riding even with soft-soled shoes this is not generally a problem in practice.
.... and the 4th topic, 'Feet'
Foot discomfort is often the result of inappropriate footwear, specifically shoes with soft soles that concentrate the pedal pressure on isolated parts of the foot. It can also be related to riding in a too-high gear, which results in more pressure of the foot against the pedal.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/pain.html
you push the pedal with the ball of your foot. if you have soft/flexy shoes, you need to keep your foot tensed in order to transfer the power from your leg/ankle to the ball of your foot. If you have stiff soles, the shoes do that power transfer for you.
I also find if im using street shoes that i tend to move my foot further forward on the pedal (more to the arch than the ball) so i'm effectively reducing the length of my lever (my leg and foot) so getting less power down.