I tried to wheel walk today but my shoes are size 14 and I can only fit one
of them on the wheel at a time. I can’t one foot idle either because my
fork is not square and my shoe rubs on the wheel. Anyone else have this
problem and overcome it? Or should I look into Chinese foot binding to get
these things down to a manageable size?
I think its a tad too late for foot binding, for that was usually began before the foot was allowed to grow.
-David Kaplan
Bill-
Kaplan is wrong. It’s never to late for Chinese foot binding. It will be your statement of individuality in a world of weird hair, body piercings, and tatoos. I say go for it.
Regardless.
You would also get that oh so sssexy walk that comes with those tiny hoof-like feet.
-David Kaplan
What size wheel are you practicing on? A larger wheel would give you more room for the feet.
It would be an interesting bit of trivia to find out who has the largest feet that have wheel walked on a 20" standard uni.
Big dumb feet remedy
Foot binding will make your feet hurt, taking your mind off your saddle sores, which is a good thing, I think…
But to answer one of your real questions…
I took an old clamp-type shifter-lever bracket (I’m assuming that’s what it was) from a road bike and clamped it on my frame just above my crown. I screwed a 3/4" long hex-head bolt into the hole in the bracket. The bolt head kinda grabs (and holds) my shoe tread when I put my foot up there so my foot won’t slide down the sloping crown and it also holds it up higher than your crown would which should keep your foot off the tire.
You can use almost anything that clamps to your frame for this purpose (and you can remove it later when you get good too). Just don’t use something that’s gonna jab into your leg when you crash. Oops, did I say “crash”? I meant “unexpectedly and violently dismount”. (I must learn to watch my language.)
Most importantly, don’t give up! I learned to 1-foot idle a couple of weeks ago. It took me 1 day. I showed my brother and he learned it that day too. We also both learned to ride 1-footed that same day. Needless to say, it was a very exillarating day.
(The next day I was idling 1-footed on my 5-foot giraffe.) 
Another hint… Wear shinguards! In that one week I lost more skin than in all my 6 years off uniing.
(hmmm, maybe that’s because I was using BMX style pedals with pins.)
I’ve heard someone else say (and I agree) you’ll find 1-footed idling easier than you think and after only a little while you’ll find it easier than 2-footed idling.
Keep trying!
Art
Re: Big Dumb Feet
I have size 13 feet, and I have found the same problem when wheelwalking on a
20"…
meh, you just need to practise more…
-Dylan
Re: Big Dumb Feet
Bill,
You should be able to walk the wheel even with size 14 shoes. One of the
things that John Foss emphasizes is to maintain contact with the end of your
heel as your leg extends. You only need the edge of the back of your heel on
the tire to maintain contact and control the wheel. That should give you
plenty of room to place your foot on the tire before removing the forward
foot.
John Hooten
Bill Huff wrote:
> I tried to wheel walk today but my shoes are size 14 and I can only fit one
> of them on the wheel at a time. I can’t one foot idle either because my
> fork is not square and my shoe rubs on the wheel. Anyone else have this
> problem and overcome it? Or should I look into Chinese foot binding to get
> these things down to a manageable size?
RE: Big Dumb Feet
> It would be an interesting bit of trivia to find out who has
> the largest feet that have wheel walked on a 20" standard uni.
I think Brett Bymaster has size 14 feet, and he walks the wheel. I don’t
think he owns a 20" wheel, but that doesn’t matter. It works the same on a
20" or a 24" (with less leg bendage on the 20").
When walking the wheel, only one foot needs to be on the tire at a time. The
toe of the next foot doesn’t need to go on until the heel of the previous
foot is rolling down the front of the tire.
The fact is, unless you get into binding (and give up unicycling, walking,
etc.), you’re stuck with the feet you have. They can be an excuse, or they
can be your challenge.
Back when I was getting into unicycling, basically all we had were Schwinns.
Somehow we managed to ride one foot and do other things with our feet
clinging to that slippery frame. Some people glued on pieces of carpet, or
skateboard grip tape. Or you can put on an automotive hose clamp, with the
screw on top, which works very well.
Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com
“It takes four times the man to ride twice the half the bike.” - Scott
Kurland, on Coker unicycles
Oh…sorry. You wanted real information. I have small, 1" x 2" pieces of 1/8" rubber sheet taped to the curved crown of my Zephyr (looks like a United). I learned to one foot idle and one foot ride using those as platforms. They are plenty sticky.
I saw several unicycles owned by the Panther Pride Demo Team that had either friction tape on the crown or the adhesive traction strips to make slippery surfaces like metal or concrete steps into non-slip surfaces.
I thought about hose clamps but I get enough impact wounds and didn’t want to complicate matters by adding sharp edges.
I wear size 12 shoes … dainty little dogs, mine. I can’t wheel walk either but it’s because I’m an awkward, incompetent boob, not because I have big feet.
how much is…
Hi unifreaks,
one small question: How much is “shoe-size 12” ? Who can show me how much it is in Europe/Germany shoe-size ?
thanks
-Felix
1 have size 13 (UK) feet, and i found that i only rest my heal on my fork crown, which is rounded, and angle my foot so it doesn’t rub on the wheel when one foot idling/riding. Putting your seat higher helps to angle your foot up away from the wheel,
Hope this helps
Re: how much is…
U.S. mens’ size 12 = European size 46. All of your podiatral cross-sizing needs are met here:
thanks for the url, it’s very helpful for me !
greets
-felix
I’v got size 13 feet, and I find for 1 footed Idle-ing just press your toe against the frame. Press the part of your foot that would get in the way onto the frame, I do that and it works fine.
I ride a 24 inch torker and can 1 footed ride without my foot hitting the tire. When I was learning to put my foot onto the frame I had some trouble, but once I got over that it was OK.
ha-rumph!
dan
Re: Big Dumb Feet
in article foxx.2hywa@timelimit.unicyclist.com, foxx at
foxx.2hywa@timelimit.unicyclist.com wrote on 4/2/02 1:21 PM:
>
> Hi unifreaks,
>
> one small question: How much is “shoe-size 12” ? Who can show me how
> much it is in Europe/Germany shoe-size ?
I just happened to find a conversion chart this afternoon while looking for
cycling shoes that will fit me. According to Sidi an English 12 is about the
same as a metric 47: http://www.sidiusa.com/shoe_size.htm
-Carl
RE: Big Dumb Feet
If you are 11 or older for track at Nationals and Unicon you would be riding a
24 inch in the wheel walk race.
Barb K.