Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Clearance looks low. I can see it getting grounded on speed bumps or gravel
Kickbikes :Ø)
- Thread starter steveindenmark
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
EckyH
It wasn't me!
- Location
- Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia
Therefore there are dropouts for the rear wheel in different heights on the Race Max 28 and the Trexx. The lower droputs are there to get the footboard higher of the ground. That makes riding a bit more exhausting, because the leg on the footboard must be more flexed.
There are techniques to avoid getting grounded, eg. to lift the front wheel.
E.
404 Not Found Anywhere
Über Member
Mine are both set up with the minimum height - and despite riding for the last 7 years on road and off I haven’t found grounding to be an issue. They are designed to take the occasional hit anyway. One of the Czech manufacturers says that if the paint on the bottom hasn’t been rubbed off, then you’re neglecting it!
I got my Racemax a year after the Trexx (which was my first). It’s really good for longer stuff and you do get a bit more mph with the bigger wheels. I bought it as a frame only because, as a cyclist of many years, I had most of the necessary components anyway.
Along the way I also picked up an ex-demo Yedoo Dragstr (20/20 like your Kostka) which is ridiculously light yet very capable off road with some fat tyres.
I got my Racemax a year after the Trexx (which was my first). It’s really good for longer stuff and you do get a bit more mph with the bigger wheels. I bought it as a frame only because, as a cyclist of many years, I had most of the necessary components anyway.
Along the way I also picked up an ex-demo Yedoo Dragstr (20/20 like your Kostka) which is ridiculously light yet very capable off road with some fat tyres.
OP
OP
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
I am tempted but worried I would mince my toes in the rear wheel. 😁
EckyH
It wasn't me!
- Location
- Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia
EckyH
It wasn't me!
- Location
- Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia
Do you have recommendations which kind of bib shorts are more suitable for footbiking than padded shorts for cycling? Plan B is to remove the pad of a cycling bib...
For shoes it isn't that simple. Which type(s) of shoes are good choices in the sense of damping and grip and possibly other criteria I don't know yet for footbiking mostly on tarmac?
Thanks,
E.
For shoes it isn't that simple. Which type(s) of shoes are good choices in the sense of damping and grip and possibly other criteria I don't know yet for footbiking mostly on tarmac?
Thanks,
E.
Last edited:
404 Not Found Anywhere
Über Member
I’m a runner much of the time and just use my running gear - I get hot and sweaty and can really push up my heart rate kickbiking, I find it next best thing to running. I think I am constitutionally unable to “take it easy”! Running shoes work well and I think most kickbikers use them, you don’t really need that much cushioning as you should not be thumping the road with your feet. I tend to favour zero-drop trail shoes from the likes of Inov-8 but that reflects my running preferences too.
Interestingly in the Czech Republic where kickbiking is really big, cycling gear plus running shoes seems the order of the day.
If you use F*ceb**k (its the only thing I use it for), there are several German and Czech groups as well as “Kick scooters in UK” that are friendly and welcoming with no trolling.
Interestingly in the Czech Republic where kickbiking is really big, cycling gear plus running shoes seems the order of the day.
If you use F*ceb**k (its the only thing I use it for), there are several German and Czech groups as well as “Kick scooters in UK” that are friendly and welcoming with no trolling.
Keep Smiling Adventures on YouTube did JOGLE on a kick scooter. It took him 16 days I think.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BGu5PiQ2Ws&list=PLWlIhD2zEcrJZNH12CRLoX5LQmwWIl0Gr
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BGu5PiQ2Ws&list=PLWlIhD2zEcrJZNH12CRLoX5LQmwWIl0Gr
numbnuts
Squire
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
I love this one
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Widnes
Ah - that explains it
always thought they made sense for some things
I have seen folding versions that are far easier to get in cars and trains and the like
EckyH
It wasn't me!
- Location
- Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia
Fettled a bit on the footbike - roughly 700g lighter now and the new tyres with TPU inner tubes are way more supple and faster. Average 17.9kph today on my 7.5km standard round trip instead of 15.9kph on Monday.
The new stem and handlebar don't lower the hand position as much as expected. I'm considering to shorten the steerer, because there is still a 50mm spacer, it costs nothing and it would shave a few grams...
Before:
After:
E.
The new stem and handlebar don't lower the hand position as much as expected. I'm considering to shorten the steerer, because there is still a 50mm spacer, it costs nothing and it would shave a few grams...
Before:
After:
E.
EckyH
It wasn't me!
- Location
- Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia
Decided otherwise and bought a stem with 20° instead of the 45° version on the photograph. That's better.
Today was the sixth ride with Sabinchen (Sa 🐝 nchen): 17.2 kilometres in one hour. That footbike bug has a powerful bite.
A very powerful bite. Therefore I'm fairly excited and I'm feverishly looking forward to friday.
E.
404 Not Found Anywhere
Über Member
I completely neglected my bikes for a couple of years when I got my first one. I’ve now got a bit more balance but I still 💕 riding them. I do think they have made me a more relaxed and patient cyclist - no longer beating myself up about how fast I’m going (or not, as the case may be)
EckyH
It wasn't me!
- Location
- Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia
That's an interesting outcome. Do you have an explanation for this change in your cycling?
Currently I'm grappling with an impingement in my left shoulder and the physiotherapist told me that the static position for hours on a bicycle isn't good for that. So I looked around what to do instead of cycling and footbiking came to mind. Then I found the Kostka Twenty Max on a German classifieds page for a reasonable price exactly two weeks ago. It wasn't the plan to have so much fun on the footbike, but just something to be active and a vehicle for short distances, eg. to roll to the supermarket and neither have to walk nor to put on the whole cycling panoply.
At the moment footbiking is my primary training - the joy of something new is overwhelming. Probably I'll keep footbiking as one form of high intensity training and when my body is ready to ride a footbike for two hours or more, also as base aerobic training to have some variety in endurance training.
On Sunday I watched a footbike race in Dortmund and talked to some people there. Perhaps some day in the future... I'll compete for results, at least the DFL.
E.
404 Not Found Anywhere
Über Member
I’ve said this elsewhere but I came to this activity through injury as well. Neck problems had limited my upright cycling, but I had been riding recumbents for over a decade and had long been a keen runner when my knee literally “blew up” in 2009 (it swelled up overnight to the size of a watermelon after I had been making and shifting a 90kg concrete slab).
Pretty much any activity was out of the question for a few weeks and when I did manage to get back walking I found that both running and cycling made my knee swell again - I could almost see it happening as I rode along! Quite by chance, I spotted someone with a Swifty scooter and curiosity took me down this path, ultimately leading to a Yedoo Trexx and Dragstr and a Kickbike RaceMax 28.
Not only did scooting (I am cool with whatever anyone chooses to call it, it’s great fun!) scratch the exercise itch, but it also proved great rehab for my knee and improved other things such as hip flexibility, core strength and upper body strength. I find that if I’ve been away from it for too long my quads, back and shoulders complain, but they soon respond with repetition. It’s also the closest thing to running that’s not running and that is a huge positive for me.
The UK and the north of Scotland in particular are foot biking deserts, and I no longer could get myself tied in knots comparing speeds. It did seem frustrating at first to compare cycling and scooting speeds - an easy thing to do because of the apparent similarities - but when I switched my Garmin over to pace (in mins/mile) from speed (in mph) I saw myself as having a machine that took me back to my running abilities of 20 or 30 years before. Turbo running! Finally I chucked the Garmin and that has followed with the bikes as well. After all, the faster you get to where you are going, the less time you have to enjoy it.
This may also sound a bit new age-y, but one sense I have of scooting is that it - literally - connects you more with the ground you are travelling through than cycling does. No longer are you hovering a bit above the road, track, or path, but right in touch with it - and it’s so easy just to get off and walk or stop in a way that is that bit more cumbersome on a bike (well, for me anyway). And you’re going to have to walk at some point when it becomes quicker than trying to kick your way up a steep hill.
Pretty much any activity was out of the question for a few weeks and when I did manage to get back walking I found that both running and cycling made my knee swell again - I could almost see it happening as I rode along! Quite by chance, I spotted someone with a Swifty scooter and curiosity took me down this path, ultimately leading to a Yedoo Trexx and Dragstr and a Kickbike RaceMax 28.
Not only did scooting (I am cool with whatever anyone chooses to call it, it’s great fun!) scratch the exercise itch, but it also proved great rehab for my knee and improved other things such as hip flexibility, core strength and upper body strength. I find that if I’ve been away from it for too long my quads, back and shoulders complain, but they soon respond with repetition. It’s also the closest thing to running that’s not running and that is a huge positive for me.
The UK and the north of Scotland in particular are foot biking deserts, and I no longer could get myself tied in knots comparing speeds. It did seem frustrating at first to compare cycling and scooting speeds - an easy thing to do because of the apparent similarities - but when I switched my Garmin over to pace (in mins/mile) from speed (in mph) I saw myself as having a machine that took me back to my running abilities of 20 or 30 years before. Turbo running! Finally I chucked the Garmin and that has followed with the bikes as well. After all, the faster you get to where you are going, the less time you have to enjoy it.
This may also sound a bit new age-y, but one sense I have of scooting is that it - literally - connects you more with the ground you are travelling through than cycling does. No longer are you hovering a bit above the road, track, or path, but right in touch with it - and it’s so easy just to get off and walk or stop in a way that is that bit more cumbersome on a bike (well, for me anyway). And you’re going to have to walk at some point when it becomes quicker than trying to kick your way up a steep hill.