How loose footstaps should be on a TT?

[sergei Scotland]

Beginner/intermediate level, starting to jump...
Finally got good bindings and seem to have pain in my knees because they lock my feet much better than my old bindings? The new straps Shinn HMTs are really comfortable but seem to be deeper than my old straps. Feel like I cant rotate my foot when changing direction at all and this seem to create tension in my knees.
I mean when I go left I tend to rotate my left foot to point more to the left than new bindings would allow. While my back foot seems to be comfortable with the same angle of the footstraps?
Is it my bad stance or is it quit normal?

The MHT bindings have 2 adjustments velcro straps - 1 closer to my toes and one closer toward the ankle.

Should I keep the toes (front) velcro quit loose but ankle one tighter?

I would say this might allow for more "duck" rotation inside the bindings, but hopefully still allow toeside riding - I. E. keep heels from lifting off the board?

As I mentioned when I adjust both velcros equally tight there is no way to rotate inside the straps which seem to cause some pain in my knees after the session - may be in the evening or even next morning

I guess toeside riding may be easier if I move the bindings forward on the board. Then I could keep both velcros quit loose - effectively ride almost strapless.
Probably not a good idea on TT?

[iriejohn]

What board are they mounted on? Show picture with measurement between straps please. Also, how tall are you?

[edt]

remember this rule: The wider your stance the more duck you want to be. The narrower the stance the less duck stance. Try adjusting that based on your stance. It's pretty common to either widen or narrow your stance without adjusting the amount of duck because you happen to put on new bindings. Adjusting the duck like this helps the knees track properly.

[TheJoe]

Bring the pads in some so your not as wide. A narrower stance helps with the knees a lot. The easy way to figure out your duck stance is to squat and check where your feet are for the same width of your board. IF you have some pain then adjust it.

As far as how tight to do your straps that is all personal preference. If I am trying for some old freestyle moves I tighten them down tight. Big air a little looser and board offs really loose. Some folks don't ever tighten them down tight others only ride with them tight. Just keep making adjustments till you find what is comfortable to you.

For me it is a narrow stance with little duck. I am short and my knees bother me if I go wide.

[Mike101]

Super loose. Locked in feels way nicer until you have to bail. Then bailing and losing one foot was catastrophic.

[Peert]

Super loose. Locked in feels way nicer until you have to bail. Then bailing and losing one foot was catastrophic.

I have seen at least 3 injuries to ankle's, knees, legs happening and heard about a couple more all due to loosing one foot and having the other locked in.

Rotating momentum, lever arm and the weight of the board does the rest....

Seems to happen with tight footstrap setup..

If you really want to lock in your feet go for boots or buy a board as light as you can get it...

[Havre]

That is different than feeling pain when riding normally.

I'm not sure if there is one answer here. If loose straps means you knee "slips" into an unfortunate position then obviously that is not good. On the other hand if tight straps "lock" them in the wrong position that isn't good either.

When cycling loose is generally speaking better than tight.

I would recommend trying to figure out if you got some weak muscles somewhere. Weak hamstrings, calfs, glutes etc. can often be the cause of knee pain. Just doing some short exercises to "activate" muscles might be enough to get rid of the pain. YouTube is your friend there. I have tested out dozens as I'm generally curious about how it influences my range of movement etc. After awhile you'll find a handful you can use depending on how you feel.

[sergei Scotland]

That is different than feeling pain when riding normally.

I'm not sure if there is one answer here. If loose straps means you knee "slips" into an unfortunate position then obviously that is not good. On the other hand if tight straps "lock" them in the wrong position that isn't good either.

When cycling loose is generally speaking better than tight.

Thanks.
In some respect one part of my question was:
Is it normal requirement (!) for TT footstraps to allow some rotation of feet inside the binding when changing direction?
Some people seem to think so.
For example this YouTube video at 7m 15 sec mark:





I think my front foot knee gets loaded uncomfortably because it needs a rotate into
a bit more duck to be comfortable while riding on a long tuck for example. Like the YouTube video suggest. So may be my problem is that I tightened both small velcro straps (ankle side velcto and toes side velcro) so I effectively have my foot at completely fixed duck.

Obviously I will also need to try more duck setup too next time I can get on the water. Could be that simple I guess.

[foam-n-fibre]

Duck stance is not natural for kiting. It is basically used when on a twin tip, as a compromise. Look at any sport where the board only goes in one direction, and where the feet can be in any position. Kiting in a directional or foil, windsurfing, winging, surfing etc. You will never see anyone choosing a duck stance as far as I know.

Duck stance is hard on my knees, I need to be able to twist feet more, so 90 degrees across on back foot and a bit more forward with front foot. I even modified my snowkiting bindings on my snowboard to allow some foot rotation.

[Havre]

That is different than feeling pain when riding normally.

I'm not sure if there is one answer here. If loose straps means you knee "slips" into an unfortunate position then obviously that is not good. On the other hand if tight straps "lock" them in the wrong position that isn't good either.

When cycling loose is generally speaking better than tight.

Thanks.
In some respect one part of my question was:
Is it normal requirement (!) for TT footstraps to allow some rotation of feet inside the binding when changing direction?
Some people seem to think so.
For example this YouTube video at 7m 15 sec mark:
https://youtu.be/B2zu6Id2HeA

I think my front foot knee gets loaded uncomfortably because it needs a rotate into
a bit more duck to be comfortable while riding on a long tuck for example. Like the YouTube video suggest. So may be my problem is that I tightened both small velcro straps (ankle side velcto and toes side velcro) so I effectively have my foot at completely fixed duck.

Obviously I will also need to try more duck setup too next time I can get on the water. Could be that simple I guess.

Unfortunately the season is over here for me - I won't be able to get on the water again until April or something - so I can't test anything now.

I am sure I shift my stands slightly, but I highly doubt many riders shift as much as he is showing in that video. My heels I'm pretty sure are always more to the centre of the board rather than to the outside. Pretty sure - not certain - as it isn't something I have thought about much before this thread.

I am also unsure, even if I have not tried all straps out there of course, if I would be able to tighten so hard that there is no movement possible. I guess I wouldn't be able to get the board on in the water at least if they were tightened that much.

In any case I don't see a problem for your testing it with loose straps. Really no harm down.