Improving pedalling technique.

Im Bald Ok

A bit of background - I've been cycling regularly since January this year. I managed to do a hilly 2 hour 20 ride yesterday at an AHR of 87%. This morning the only muscles that really ache are both my quads (quite a strong ache). Everything else feels normal, like after a relaxed ride.

This has got me wondering about my pedalling technique. Shouldn't my glutes, hamstrings and calfs be feeling like they've done something?


Are there any drills or training i can do to improve my stroke?

ut_och_cykla

Probably not - the quads do most of the real work, the rest just do a support job. Glutes & hamstrings work harder when sprinting etc, calves have a more stabilising role as far as I know....

Ollieda

Quads hurting from climbing - sounds about right.

Your pedalling technique might be making your quads work harder but when climbing your quads are the main muscle in use

rick_chasey

Sounds fine to me.

If it's a big concern for you, try riding something which is fixed, either a fixed gear bike, or a spinning bike. That way the wheel and pedals will punish your legs for not pedalling smoothly and you'll soon learn.

Take a look at the pros though. Quite a few are hardly smooth pedallers, so I'd suggest it's not enormously important.

jgsi

Quite a few red herrings about the importance of the 'pedal stroke' most of which can be happily ignored for the vast majority of riding.
I can understand the relevance of a streamed, rhythmical, smooth technique if you are doing a 'Beaumont' and doin 100 miles a day ad infinitum...
but for the rest of us, what we have is probabaly ok.. unless you are really thripennybitting around (ancient british coinage alert) and when push comes to shove... just
press
on those pedals
hard

Alex_Simmons/RST

It's possibly more to do with position on the bike that pedaling technique. On a well fitted bike, you should feel like you are working all the muscles in about even proportion to their contribution.

Of course if that's a "breakthough" ride for you then I wouldn't worry too much.

ride_whenever

I agree with the above.

Generally if your bike fits well then your pedalling technique is almost irrelevant. The idea is that you have a pedalling technique dictated by your physiology and any attempt to change that usually isn't a great idea. Fit your bike to your technique and as your physiology changes, either through off-the-bike exercises, or through conditioning; your ideal bike fit should change too.

You want your bike to fit you and not the other way round.