Words and riding by Seann Tompson
Photos by Martin Grainger

I used to ride in ankle braces a lot when I was younger, I tried out a wide variety of different braces and was often disappointed by the results of the cheaper options.  They either didn’t work very well or fell apart quite quickly.  I eventually decided to fork out £100 on a pair of ASO ankle braces, these braces worked very well and lasted me a good few years before I had to bust out the needle and thread to keep them going.  After around 4 years they were too far gone and I just never bothered replacing them as I didn’t really feel the need to.

Fast forward to summer this year and I was getting back on the bike after breaking my ankle a few weeks prior.  My ankle definitely wasn’t up to the task without a brace in those early stages so I started looking at my options.  I settled on Bigfoot Brace, a relatively new brand that is based in Essex.

They come in a range of sizes so I was able to find a perfect fit for my foot which is always a great start.  The first thing I noticed when putting them on was how well padded and comfy they are.  All my previous braces have been a thin plastic material with little to no padding so this made a nice change.  The next thing I noticed was was the laces: rather than being a traditional shoelace like other braces the Bigfoot Brace has two Velcro ends each attaching to half of the laces, this therefore makes tightening the laces quicker and easier.  The rest of how they work is fairly standard, two straps that wrap around the ankle/foot to prevent the ankle from rolling and a third strap around the top to hold everything in place.

I’ve been riding in these braces for about a month now and I’m completely confident I made the right choice with them.  Not only are they comfy and effective but the price tag is a nice feature as well…  On their website a single brace is £30 and a pair is £54.90, that’s a good chunk cheaper than a fair amount of the competition.