Pedaling technique
Discussion
I tried something else today, and instead of what I normall do (whatever that is) I was pulling up on the pedals and concentrating on doing a complete circle more as opposed to just pushing up and down like a piston.
Made a big difference to my speeds tbh!!
Anyone else put any thought into their pedal technique?
Made a big difference to my speeds tbh!!
Anyone else put any thought into their pedal technique?
Only on the rollers, the higher cadence and lack of road feedback accentuate any roughness in your pedal stroke and if your too rough your off as I found out when I first started using them. so it kind of helps your technique. I'm too busy focusing on other stuff when I'm out in the real world.
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Fixies are the best thing for improving your pedal stroke. Too many beginners (and all of us to a greater or lesser extent) punch the pedals rather than trying to push them through 360'.
I'm seeing that. I've kind of fallen back into cycling this summer. My brother was throwing out his clapped out Raleigh MB and I took it. Got up early one day and road 15 miles to work after not being on a bike in about 15 years. Still using the MB and got the fixie a couple of weeks ago. Thinking of getting rid of the MB and getting a hybrid/cyclocross of sorts for canal work. The only thing I did do when I got the fixie was take off the toe straps. I've gotten used to using the bike now so should put them back on.
Thought I'd bump this a little bit. I've been working, bit by bit, on my technique. This week I've been concentrating on the big circles, and it's really upped my time. But what's key is the difference in feel.
No longer do I feel like I am sitting "on" my saddle. It feels a little like the saddle is merely the resting point for the pivot point between my legs. does that make sense? It comes from never having a foot doing nothing, I assume, so there's none of my body weight going through the pedals, it's all going through the seat.
Does that make sense, or am I on my own here!?
No longer do I feel like I am sitting "on" my saddle. It feels a little like the saddle is merely the resting point for the pivot point between my legs. does that make sense? It comes from never having a foot doing nothing, I assume, so there's none of my body weight going through the pedals, it's all going through the seat.
Does that make sense, or am I on my own here!?
TonyHetherington said:
Thought I'd bump this a little bit. I've been working, bit by bit, on my technique. This week I've been concentrating on the big circles, and it's really upped my time. But what's key is the difference in feel.
No longer do I feel like I am sitting "on" my saddle. It feels a little like the saddle is merely the resting point for the pivot point between my legs. does that make sense? It comes from never having a foot doing nothing, I assume, so there's none of my body weight going through the pedals, it's all going through the seat.
Does that make sense, or am I on my own here!?
Yep. It's why proper cyclists don't get sore arses even after many hours, where as fat knackers can't do ten minutes round the block without not being able to walk for a week! No longer do I feel like I am sitting "on" my saddle. It feels a little like the saddle is merely the resting point for the pivot point between my legs. does that make sense? It comes from never having a foot doing nothing, I assume, so there's none of my body weight going through the pedals, it's all going through the seat.
Does that make sense, or am I on my own here!?
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Fixies are the best thing for improving your pedal stroke. Too many beginners (and all of us to a greater or lesser extent) punch the pedals rather than trying to push them through 360'.
I've read refutations of this idea, that a fixie does not force you to pull up but does exactly the opposite - it pushes your feet. It was somewhere in amongst a discussion of "power cranks".I personally think that the main advantage of a fixie is that it forces you to use a stupid cadence. The downside is that it's harder to do steady state aerobic efforts.
I would like to commute on a fixie/singlespeed (for less drivetrain cleaning) but I've tried both and just found them annoying.
HundredthIdiot said:
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Fixies are the best thing for improving your pedal stroke. Too many beginners (and all of us to a greater or lesser extent) punch the pedals rather than trying to push them through 360'.
I've read refutations of this idea, that a fixie does not force you to pull up but does exactly the opposite - it pushes your feet. It was somewhere in amongst a discussion of "power cranks".I personally think that the main advantage of a fixie is that it forces you to use a stupid cadence. The downside is that it's harder to do steady state aerobic efforts.
I would like to commute on a fixie/singlespeed (for less drivetrain cleaning) but I've tried both and just found them annoying.
I would like to ride a fixie but I have two long 8-10% climbs and a 40mph + descent over 30 miles so doesn't really work from a practical perspective.
Chap I know at work owns a Spesh Tarmac, and can talk for ages about the separate stages of each pedal stroke, and other aspects of technique. The only trouble is, when asked the question "have you been out riding lately?" his stock answer is "nah, not really had time". I know that riding smarter will improve my overall performance and achieve maximum efficiency from every watt, but I would rather be out on the bike getting it all wrong than stuck in a book/dvd/youtube worrying about getting it right. Besides which, many of the bad habits or poor techniques I display were developed and learned over c30 years, and unlearning them would be an uphill struggle. The root cause of many of my bad habits/technique issues was a financially poor childhood spent riding skip-builds or whatever unsuitably sized second-hand steed could be found come Christmas or birthday time. I am too old to be worrying about whether or not I will qualify for the 2012 games or next years TdF, but this year I bit the bullet and entered a couple of TTs. I know from comments and advice from more experienced riders, and my own self assessment, that my cadence is erratic and inefficient at best, but I posted a 31"09' and a 31"14', which isn't bad for a medically downgraded >40 yr old. I would be over the moon just to get my time down to 30"00' over a given 10 mile course. Maybe if I get there I will find I've caught the bug and spend more time working on technique, but at the moment I'd rather work on getting more miles in before winter interferes too much.
yellowjack said:
Chap I know at work owns a Spesh Tarmac, and can talk for ages about the separate stages of each pedal stroke, and other aspects of technique. The only trouble is, when asked the question "have you been out riding lately?" his stock answer is "nah, not really had time". I know that riding smarter will improve my overall performance and achieve maximum efficiency from every watt, but I would rather be out on the bike getting it all wrong than stuck in a book/dvd/youtube worrying about getting it right. Besides which, many of the bad habits or poor techniques I display were developed and learned over c30 years, and unlearning them would be an uphill struggle. The root cause of many of my bad habits/technique issues was a financially poor childhood spent riding skip-builds or whatever unsuitably sized second-hand steed could be found come Christmas or birthday time. I am too old to be worrying about whether or not I will qualify for the 2012 games or next years TdF, but this year I bit the bullet and entered a couple of TTs. I know from comments and advice from more experienced riders, and my own self assessment, that my cadence is erratic and inefficient at best, but I posted a 31"09' and a 31"14', which isn't bad for a medically downgraded >40 yr old. I would be over the moon just to get my time down to 30"00' over a given 10 mile course. Maybe if I get there I will find I've caught the bug and spend more time working on technique, but at the moment I'd rather work on getting more miles in before winter interferes too much.
There's alot to be said for "just riding your bike". It's how I learnt what little I have managed to learn. When I were a lad there were none of this fancy-Dan "training" anyway....In my unqualified layman's view there is far too much correlation without causation in sports science.
For instance, with pedalling technique it is well understood that more powerful riders have more even pedalling strokes, but maybe that just happens naturally when you're able to put out 300 watts all day. I don't know whether forcing amateur racing cyclists to do pedalling drills will necessarily get them any closer to Contador-like ability on the bike than spending that time doing 3x20s or whatever.
edit: correlation without correlation -> correlation without causation
For instance, with pedalling technique it is well understood that more powerful riders have more even pedalling strokes, but maybe that just happens naturally when you're able to put out 300 watts all day. I don't know whether forcing amateur racing cyclists to do pedalling drills will necessarily get them any closer to Contador-like ability on the bike than spending that time doing 3x20s or whatever.
edit: correlation without correlation -> correlation without causation
Edited by HundredthIdiot on Thursday 25th August 12:18
It mentioned in David Millars book that even after a long time off his power output was still almost 50/50 over his right and left leg, I think there is some things you can't really teach.
I certainly feel like my right leg does more work, but then I also think one leg is longer than the other so Im sure that doesn't help!
I certainly feel like my right leg does more work, but then I also think one leg is longer than the other so Im sure that doesn't help!
I ageree. I cycled to school, cycled to college, cycled to Uni,. cycle to work when i can, cycle to the girlfriends throughout all of that...no science, just miles.
A mate of mimne has all the gear, read all the technique stuff, hasn't actually got anywhere near the road time...his legs just haven't got the same memories mine have, or the muscle I guess... poor sod is always left behind as a result...
Then again, if you'r starting out now, then using the right technique can only be good.
A mate of mimne has all the gear, read all the technique stuff, hasn't actually got anywhere near the road time...his legs just haven't got the same memories mine have, or the muscle I guess... poor sod is always left behind as a result...
Then again, if you'r starting out now, then using the right technique can only be good.
HundredthIdiot said:
In my unqualified layman's view there is far too much correlation without correlation in sports science.
For instance, with pedalling technique it is well understood that more powerful riders have more even pedalling strokes, but maybe that just happens naturally when you're able to put out 300 watts all day. I don't know whether forcing amateur racing cyclists to do pedalling drills will necessarily get them any closer to Contador-like ability on the bike than spending that time doing 3x20s or whatever.
Agree. As above better to ride more than worry about the next 0.05% of efficiency for most people. For instance, with pedalling technique it is well understood that more powerful riders have more even pedalling strokes, but maybe that just happens naturally when you're able to put out 300 watts all day. I don't know whether forcing amateur racing cyclists to do pedalling drills will necessarily get them any closer to Contador-like ability on the bike than spending that time doing 3x20s or whatever.
Agoogy said:
Then again, if you'r starting out now, then using the right technique can only be good.
I think that's part of it. I'm enjoying getting in lots of miles, and just want to make sure that I'm doing them the best I can.I appreciate you can over do the technique part of it, but simple things I've learned (from scratch) recently have really shown an improvement - so they do work
Point certainly noted about "getting the miles in" though
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