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I did my first 8 mile ride this morning which has highlighted some issues.
1, when riding over rough ground my feet slip off my pedals, now my tyres are high psi wise as I am heavy so it could be my bike bounces around more than it should, my pedals are what came with the bike a Voodoo Bizango and I'm wearing standard trainers in a budget free world I'd change both but if I were to change one which would be of more benefit to me pedals or shoes?
2, my palms or the heels of my hands hurt and my fingers go numb could this be the grips or the bit that holds the handlebars to the stem mine seems quite long. Again it could be my weight which hopefully will slowly resolve itself.
If the pedals are crappy hard plastic then changing those will be more beneficial than shoes. Composite pedals are fine just get ones with proper pins.
2 could be you have too much weight on you hands. You should have all weight through legs (standing ) or bottom (seated). If it feels like you have no choice and that you are being pushed forward the saddle may not be level.
Composite pedals like DMR V6 are good even though they have moulded pins, million times better than standard crappy ones. Nukeproof neuron are even better, as they have metal pins. They'll kill your trainers though so get some five tens from the sale at Evans or house of Fraser. They're well cheap at the moment.
You can likely drop your tyre pressure for a comfier ride. Do you know how much psi you are running? MTB tyres shouldn't be rock hard - like 50 - 60 psi is well excessive. Something in the range 35 - 45 psi good for a big fella on a tyre with inner tubes.
1) Whenever my feet are bouncing off the pedals it's due to me being in the wrong position on the bike, too far forward and so with lifted heels. Riding with my heels down sorts it. Get someone to video you, and the look at Ben Cathro's Youtube series on how to ride a bike. Compare your position on the bike. If you're really getting into mountain biking, I highly recommend some coaching, in an ideal world at an uplift center, but that can be a bit spendy.
As long as your pedals look ok with some pins on them, then you're probably better off spending your money on riding shoes rather than pedals. Something with a stiffer sole will make you feel much more secure on the bike.
2) It could be a number of things. Something to start with is rotation of the handlebars, and fore/aft position of saddle. After that I'd look at shorter stem or bigger/smaller grips. Then I'd look at handlebar width and making them narrower. Be careful, I've over narrowed one set of handlebars in the past.
Could be technique - but it could also be crap pedals - what’s on there?
First step are some pedals with metal pins - if you don’t mind orange ones then Nukeproof Neutrons are £25 at the moment:
After that I’d look at better shoes - Evans have cheapnish 5-10’s at the moment:
https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/five-ten/trailcross-xt-mountain-bike-shoes-140099#colcode=14009903
https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/five-ten/freerider-pro-flat-shoe-140540#colcode=14054003
Thanks folks I'll look into your suggestions I don't have a cycling buddy yet but meeting up with some folks towards the end of the month so might get a better perspective on my position on the bike.
second learning the heel down position for rough terrain, not just for more grip on pedals but also the ability to drive the bike forward with your foot and keep the momentum that comes for free when you're a big lad working to move the bike rather than the bike stopping and you carrying on forward. NB, front foot does most of the work there, some coaches advocate a 'wedge' - front heel dropped, back one flat or even slightly toe down.
Sounds like one of those things where when written down people can't see how it makes that much difference, your heel will be what? 2-3" lower. But it really does.
When you get good and start taking on steep climbs I've another 'nah, can't make a difference' - but it does type tip. Message back when you're ready for it.
The pedals that come with MTBs are generally crap. Get some with decent size pins and it will make a good difference. Technique plays a part too, and wet/dry. Some wet combinations can be lethal.
2, my palms or the heels of my hands hurt and my fingers go numb could this be the grips or the bit that holds the handlebars to the stem mine seems quite long. Again it could be my weight which hopefully will slowly resolve itself.
If the bike is not a good fit it could have you leaning too far forward on the bars. Again though, a lot of it can be technique. Your post gives the impression you're starting out. I think it's worth noting that you can have the bike setup perfectly and still have some of these problems through lack of strength. There can be a lot of core strength involved to get good position on the bike, which I think can be overlooked as it feels natural to those who've done it a long time.
my palms or the heels of my hands hurt and my fingers go numb
I used to get this, because the handlebar grips were too hard. Swapping them out for Ergon grips and gloves with gel palms fixed the problem for me.
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Ergon/GP1-Handlebar-Grips/P7J7
bikereviveshefflield's offer is very generous! great pedals!