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Feet swell: diamond frame vs recumbent

I ride a recumbent, and would like to ask other recumbent riders if their feet swell. Mine don’t. In fact, I have to tighten my shoes as they loosen after the first five miles or so.

The reason I ask, is because a couple of diamond frame riders recently told me their feet swell after riding a while. They have to loosen their shoes a bit into the ride to relieve the pressure. Does blood collect in the feet since that is the low point?

I am wondering if this doesn’t happen to me because my feet are at the same height as my heart. I would like input from both ‘bent riders and upright riders. Do your feet swell? Thanks!

10 Replies

Sandaltan ., October 10, 2015 at 10:29 pm

Recumbent rider here, nope, feet don’t swell.

RIDE RIGHT

#1106373

Stephen Paine, October 12, 2015 at 2:24 pm

Perhaps one of those little blue pills would help divert the blood flow.

#1106387

Sandaltan ., October 12, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Do you put the pills between your toes?

RIDE RIGHT………..snicker snicker

#1106388

Iceman, October 13, 2015 at 8:59 am

ST, yeah between your toes, but only for rides that last less than 4 hours.

#1106391

Sandaltan ., October 13, 2015 at 12:31 pm

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…………the four hour rule!!

RIDE RIGHT

#1106393

KenH, October 14, 2015 at 7:40 am

I ride an upright bike and I have never had any trouble with swollen feet. This year’s ride ended up being 540 miles for me which, curiously, is the exact same total a woman I talked to on the trail last weekend got as well. I rode the gravel loop, her crew did not. She and her husband rode to dinner a lot, I took the shuttle buses.

#1106399

SFC JKL 2, October 14, 2015 at 11:26 pm

I have every foot ailment known to man and my feet have never swollen from riding, I have 2 recumbents and 3 diamond frames. Eat broccoli and I’ll be limping the next day. Ride 100 miles, nothing wrong.
Maybe it’s something with the shoes?

#1106407

Stephen Paine, October 16, 2015 at 2:17 pm

This thread has gone wayyyyy downhill.

#1106419

Jack Eaton, December 29, 2015 at 4:39 pm

Bent & df rider here. No foot issues.
However after riding the df a blue pill is needed (from Aleve) bottle that is.

It’s all about comfort. Use sandals all year round. This allows for layering socks and covering with booties for winter riding. Add hand warmers on top of my sock covered toes and under the booties and toes stay warm for hours. http://www.rei.com/product/885400/heat-factory-hand-warmers-bonus-12-pack
No tight fitting road shoes for me.

Ride safe everyone,

#1114209

Jason Stoller, January 18, 2016 at 10:39 pm

I ride a recumbent trike but have also ridden a two wheeler in the past. While my feet do not swell, I can tell you it is very important to have a proper fit in your biking shoes. I use biking shoes that have plenty of airflow through them. It is also important to have the clip for your clip in pedals in the right place on your shoes. I found that I had to change the position of mine when I moved from a two wheeler to a trike to prevent hotfoot.

Jason

#1118505

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