Cutting the Heal

Lately I have be toying with the idea of removing the heal portion of the heal-toe shifter. With my size 12 boots I felt that the left floorboard was a little to restrictive by not allowing for more that one foot position. So I did something about it.




I cut it off. I used an angle grinder to remove it and then shape it, and finished it off with a dremel to a nice shine.



Finally I put a few coats of Rustolem Chrome finish on it just to protect the cut edge.



I'll let it dry overnight before I install it, but I'm looking forward to trying it out and seeing if it makes the bike a little more comfortable for me.

I mounted it today but its been raining out for like the last 40 days and 40 nights so I didn't get a chance to ride with it yet. I picked up this heal-toe shifter for a song off ebay over the winter with the anticipation of chopping it up. If I don't like it I can always switch it back.


I've had the modified shifter installed for 3 weeks now and I don't think I'm going to be switching back to a heal shifter for this bike. I'm finding it to be more comfortable, and I don't miss it at all while shifting. I lowered the toe a little to make up shifting a bit easier too.

Sometimes it's the little things that can make a big difference on a bike, and for me this was one of those little things that helped dial in the bike to my own liking.