Pedalling Technique

Jordan93

I dont know whether my pedalling technique is good or not, but I was wondering how to improve my pedalling technique. Any help is appreciated

softlad

kinda difficult to suggest how to improve it if we can't see it.

sungod

advice here...

http://www.cptips.com/tech.htm

Jordan93

How will does one leg pedalling improve your pedal stroke when using both legs? I understand that it teaches you to pedal a full circle but it different when using both legs

ireland57

Teach the left leg to pedal in circles without interference from the right leg.
Then change legs.

Then pedal with both. They become more efficient. I can't circle for long but when I do I can usually change up 2 gears.

Some things that have helped me:-

Pedal a high gear at low cadence 50 - 60 rpm (beware of hurting knees and back);

Pedal any gear you can at high cadence 90 - 100+ (have some load though, not just free spinning);
Pedal in between 60 - 90 rpm.

Stand and pedal; sit and pedal.
Consciously practice good technique.

A lot of hills; long flat rides; long rolling hill rides.

sungod

Jordan93 wrote:

How will does one leg pedalling improve your pedal stroke when using both legs? I understand that it teaches you to pedal a full circle but it different when using both legs

it teaches you to pedal smoothly

you might think you are smooth with two legs, but try one-legged and it'll probably feel very different

doing some regular one-legged sessions can train your muscles/brain to go smoother

Jordan93

My pedalling is pretty smooth, I tried the one legged cycling and it didn't feel jerky at all. I also thought that I was pedalling at a high cadence but realised yesterday I wasn't.I span at around 100rpm comfortably makes a massive difference Before when i got off the bike my legs felt jelly like as if i'd been doing weight, obviously from pushing a big gear. I have realised the error of my ways and am enjoying cycling so much

sungod

sounds like you have a good smooth style

getting the cadence up is worthwhile, as long as you also put the power in - i find when the scenery is good and the sky is blue it's easy to just coast along at high cadence, then i suddenly realise i'm only doing about 30kph and my training run has turned into a gentle cruise, after that it's downhill all the way to the cake shop, can't be bad :-)

bearfraser

Cadence is "King" but what ever you do dont use your in-step to cycle as seems to be the practice of those riding B.S.O.s in this part of the world! :shock:

nico79

I haven't been riding long and as such my pedal technique left something to be desired lol, however I have read the link above and on my most recent ride out I tried to keep my cadence higher, I think it was around 80 rpm going up to 90 at one point when I counted.

I can't believe the difference that this made. I did a route i have done before and I took 6 minutes off the time and got my average up to just over 16.

I also tried to pedal smoother and pedal in full circles, this also helped but I need lots more practice at this.

Well chuffed!

sungod

cadence is an interesting measure

higher cadences are less efficient at the muscular level

but in practice, if you use a higher cadence, it tends to give better results - the energy per rev. drops, so your muscles have an easier time of it, less burn, and you retain more capacity to sprint (albeit for just a short period in my case at least!)

instead, the load shifts to your cardiovascular system, which for most reasonably fit people is more able to take the hit, and can recover from overload faster than the muscles in your legs

so overall, the less efficient higher cadence tends to give a better result - as long as you are fairly fit and are fueled up

not everyone is the same though, and some prefer lower cadence

nico79

Yes I did find my lungs wanting to give up on me a lot more than usual but as you said they did recover a lot quicker.

I did end up doing some low cadence periods as I found myself slipping back into how I usually ride but I could definitely feel the difference in the effort I had to put into my legs.

I think I will be using a mixture of high and low cadence to try and even things out. Mainly low cadence going up hills probably

potters1863

sungod wrote:

advice here...

http://www.cptips.com/tech.htm

I had a read of this last night and found it very informative, on my ride today I tried to follow many of the points made and found the results a big improvement on what I was doing before.

Very good advice!

CarleyB

I also tried this on my ride tonight. It feels so odd, but I felt a lot fresher in the legs. Definately going to take practice though.

Thanks for posting the link and the info.