rear wheel slips while sprinting, advice please!

trtimothy

Hey,

was racing the other day and whilst it went ok with me coming 4th I found that every few pedal strokes or so my rear wheel was slipping a bit on the tarmac. Is this due to wrong tire pressure, poor sprinting position or what??

any advice would be great!!

incog24

What tyre and at what pressure are you running on your rear wheel? Was the sprint in the wet or uphill?

Homer J

you sure it's the tyre and not the cassette?

chipperleenie

If the bike is ok, tyre pressure etc and the road was dry and decent surface then it is probably your sprinting style.
It sounds like you are lifting the rear wheel off the ground. You need to go out and practice and get someone to watch what you are doing. If you are lifting the wheel so there is little or no contact of the back wheel with the ground you will not be getting any traction to propel you forward. (Just to state the obvious! )

ride_whenever

Try to borrow a fixie, you really learn what a smooth pedalling style sprinting feels like when you have no option. But don't ride it too long as it messes up your movement through the dead spot if you ride one for too long!

Rodrego Hernandez

Move your weight slightly back. Too much weight over the front wheel and an uneven pedal stroke will result in the wheel jumping,

racingcondor

I tend to get this if I just throw myself at a hill much over 15%, then I get 1/2 way up and decide to concentrate :oops:

Completely agree with the others above, hunch down more over the bars more (you'll move your hips back as you lower your shoulders) and concentrate on pedaling circles rather than just throwing everything you have at the pedals and you'll find the bike more stable. With a little practice it will become (more) natrual and the problem will stop.

Worth checking your tyre pressure as I'm sure that could exacerbate the problem but it's not the cause.

Al

trtimothy

hey guys thanks for the advice, I'll try playing around with my position next time I'm out!

freehub

When I sprint it's like I'm jumping about on the bike sometimes and the whole thing is bouncing off the ground.

PocketRocket42

None of us have totally symmetrical bodies and this tends to mean that one leg is slightly stronger than the other. indeed as many know one leg is usually longer than the other.

when attempting to sprint at full power jumping around of the back wheel is more than likely the fact that your pistons ie your legs make your balance when out of the saddle some what lop sided. it is not uncommon for the rear wheel to jump around because of the less than perfect symmetry of the body where the cyclist produces more power with one leg.

Riding fixed can help and obviously stretching is very important. having a coach/ knowledgeable cyclist check your position on the bike and watch you sprint at full power might give you an insight into what is happening.
Try videoing yourself sprinting too. What is happening might look different to what you feel on the bike.

Developing a sprinting style is another thing and too much to get into here but just to say it is not always brute strength that makes a sprinter fast.

Monty Dog

Weight is too far forward and you're perhaps in too big a gear - putting your hands on the drops may shift your weight back - it's a more 'powerful' position too.