Boat Shoes on a Model D?

[PaulS]

Clogs were far better and hopefully will make a comeback.

What are clogs?

TinPusher is right, but wrong context, we are talking about rowing here.

Clogs in rowing consist of a footplate, a heel cup, and some form of adjustable way of keeping the upper part of the foot from leaving the footplate unexpectedly. If the C2 Flex Foot did not flex it would be a very simple "clog" arrangement.

[johnlvs2run]

I also couldn't just bypass the rowing shoes altogether and use cycling shoes either, since those are designed with very stiff soles, which is exactly the opposite of rowing shoes.

I always row barefoot and prefer this, but like the idea of cycling shoes/cleats.

I also couldn't just bypass the rowing shoes altogether and use cycling shoes either, since those are designed with very stiff soles, which is exactly the opposite of rowing shoes.

You'll be much better off with stiff soles than soft ones. The problem with cycling shoes is not that they're stiff, but most all of them are quite narrow and binding to the feet.

clipless pedals are not designed to withstand continuous twisting fore and aft, since if you rocked back and forth on bike pedals they would rotate on their axle and very minimal force would be exerted on the spring mechanism. I think over time this would become a concern.

Cycling cleats are designed for 12 to 15 percent rotation of the knees. At the beginning they didn't have that but now they do, so rotation should no longer be any issue, and actually better with the cleats than if your feet were locked in to the regular foot plates.

[johnlvs2run]

Been done for use in Boats, could be tough to adapt for the Erg.

The spindle from an old bottom bracket with two pedal cranks should work.

All that would need to be done is to put the cranks pointing the same direction from the spindle, which is easy to do. I did this sometimes riding on the bike stand. You can also offset them at a 90/270 degree angle. It is interesting riding this way but I wouldn't try it on the street. By the way, having the cranks side by side on a bike stand would be good training for the erg, as the action is quite similar -- and it's difficult.

Once the cranks are pointed the same direction, then you can attach the unit to the erg and you're set.

[johnlvs2run]

The spindle from a bicycle bb is too wide.

The spindle attachment needs to be quite narrow, like the one in the photo.

Using the cranks gets around the problem of the railing being in the way.

They could be used with a very short spindle, which would help to keep them aligned and in place, or else used independently on each side.

[hernan1304]

clipless pedals are not designed to withstand continuous twisting fore and aft, since if you rocked back and forth on bike pedals they would rotate on their axle and very minimal force would be exerted on the spring mechanism. I think over time this would become a concern.

Cycling cleats are designed for 12 to 15 percent rotation of the knees. At the beginning they didn't have that but now they do, so rotation should no longer be any issue, and actually better with the cleats than if your feet were locked in to the regular foot plates.

I didn't mean side-to-side rotation, which is called "float" in cycling terms. I meant backwards and forwards rotation. In that picture that you posted, it looks like those are pedals attached to a rotating axle, which allows them to pivot forward and backward, therefore eliminating this concern.

I also couldn't just bypass the rowing shoes altogether and use cycling shoes either, since those are designed with very stiff soles, which is exactly the opposite of rowing shoes.

You'll be much better off with stiff soles than soft ones. The problem with cycling shoes is not that they're stiff, but most all of them are quite narrow and binding to the feet.

This is only true if you have a binding (like the pedals in the picture) that rotates with your foot. If you have an absolutely fixed binding, then you need to be able to bend your foot, unless you are so flexible that you can keep your feet completely planted throughout your stroke.

To understand what I meant - imagine you didn't have a pedal at all, but only a clip coming out of the footplate - if you were able to "clip into" the footplate directly, you would need to be able to bend your foot when coming up to the catch.

[johnlvs2run]

Well all bicycle pedals rotate fore and aft.

Here is a link that shows a narrow spindle, and how to make a narrow spindle from a wider one.

http://www.recumbents.com/WISIL/qfactor/qfactor.htm

A spindle is not necessary, but would help to keep the cranks aligned and in place.

A different way, easier and possibly better would be to bolt the cranks to a block of wood under the railing, say a piece of 2 x 4, with the cranks laying upward on the foot plates. This solves all issues except how to keep the cranks down on the foot plates and not move.

[hernan1304]

I wrote to the makers of the KrewKlips (in the picture posted by John Rupp), and unfortunately they do not have a solution for the erg either.

Hi

I don't have a solution for the Concept erg I am afraid. I have looked at how to adapt the system to the erg as it would be useful for training and general adoption of the system. However I have not figured out a simple method without fairly major modification of the erg.

The system uses the Shimano pedal and cleat system used by cyclists. Shoes and pedals are available through any good cycle shop. Prices for pedals start at about £30 and shoes are similarly priced.

You could maybe buy a set of pedals and see if you can design a way of attaching them to the erg, I'd be interested if you found a good solution.

I don't think it woiuld work fitting the cleats to a flat surface however. The nature of the design of the shoes and cleats means that some degree of rotational movement (as provided by a pedal) is needed.

Best of luck

Robin