Correct muscles to use for correct pedal stroke/position?

nolight

Right now I am trying to make sure my pedal stroke/saddle position is in the optimum position for efficiency.

Recently I just moved my seat higher which helps me to extend my legs a bit more and I feel more efficient.

However, right now I am using more calf muscles when pedaling (I am not using clipless pedals). I was expecting the pedal stroke to balance out the calf and quadriceps, but right now I am feeling my calf muscles work more.

Is this normal or suggest I need to move the saddle? What are the effects of moving the saddle too forward or too back, as I am not experienced in moving saddle in these directions. Saddle height seems ok I thought.

marz

It's the quads that provide most of the power with the calf providing a strong link to your pedals. Are you riding a lot of hills?

How high do you have you seat? The general rule of thumb is to set the saddle to where you can rest your heel on your pedal with a straight leg. Any higher and you may find your hips rocking from side to side to keep your feet on the pedals.

Saddle position fore and back affects your position of the handle bars. If you feeling stretched out reaching for the bars, maybe slide the saddle forward. Or if you feel too hunched and close to the bars, slide the saddle back a bit.

bahzob

If you intend to spend any significant time at all on a bike getting a proper bike fit is the single best value for money investment you will ever make and will most likely save you money in terms of not buying the wrong equipment and getting the most out of what you already have.

So get a bike fit first. Then get some clips for your pedals. They make a big difference.

In terms of direct question the pedal stroke can be quite complicated. Ideally you use your big muscles to drive and smaller ones to help keep the stroke smooth through the deadspots. There is a picture in this article that sort of shows things though it's a bit complicated trying to follow all this while still pedalling...
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/09/news/book-excerpt-the-biomechanics-of-pedaling-from-andy-pruitt%E2%80%99s-complete-medical-guide-for-cyclists_137556

Ideal thing to do atm is try to find somewhere that has a Wattbike. This gives you direct feedback on how you pedal and is probably the best tool to learn how to pedal better.

nolight

Thanks. I'll definitely read about it.

Actually I just found rule #20 which has relevance to saddle position. So I might try moving saddle back to see if it shifts the muscle group to quads.

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#20

These are:

If your quads start to burn, shift forward to use your hamstrings and calves, or
If your calves or hamstrings start to burn, shift back to use your quads, or
If you feel wimpy and weak, meditate on Rule 5 and train more!

Slack

Could be relating to your foot position on the pedal, as well as the contact point between shoe and pedal. Your calf muscles could be working harder to stabilise your foot position whilst cycling.

John.T

If you are not using clips then putting the saddle up may have brought your feet back on the pedal, thus loading the calves more.
Saddle too low will load the quads. Correct saddle height and cleat position will balance the loads on the leg muscles. Incorrect saddle set back will give back problems. As above, get a proper bike fit ( unless this is another pointless post like the braking one).