beeline

Does anyone else experience unequally sore legs after riding? (especially those with bursts of high effort, e.g. intervals or steep climbs?) My right quad muscles are often considerably sorer than my left; I'm guessing that this is caused by favoring my dominant (right) leg and pedaling harder on that side. I'd like to stop doing that but if I just focus on pedaling as hard with my left leg, I can't help starting to rock my shoulders and feel less comfortable on the bike. Are there any exercises that you do that might "balance" pedaling effort, preferably not requiring major purchase (fixed gear bike, rollers)?

pedex

ya, unclip dominant leg and pedal with weak leg for awhile

beeline

Thanks, Pedex - but this didn't work for me. Mostly what this accomplished was throwing my posture off and tweaking my back. It turned out (in case this is helpful for others) that my problem is not simply a weaker leg, but more a case of imperfect position on the saddle. I was referred to a helpful website - https://www.cyclefitcentre.com/further%20reading.htm - that answered my question fully.

blue_nose

One leg pedaling really is the best exercise if you want to avoid the cost of a fixie, rollers…

Another exercise to try is to spin at very high cadence (eg. 120) on slight declines in a low gear. At this high cadence focus on not bouncing in your saddle. If you can create a nice smooth pedal stroke (think circles), you should be able to reduce the imbalance you are describing.

You may also want to concentrate on building up strength is the one leg. Most people have a dominant arm/leg and could be contributing to the issue. I had a pretty bad accident a few years back and was in a leg cast for almost 6-months. After nearly four years of training after the accident, my right leg is still a bit stronger than my left.

cyclotoine

check for unequal leg lengths and correct with pedal shims

beeline

Thanks, Blue Nose and M. Mouse, I will try the high-cadence spinning and leg measuring (is this as simple as it sounds? Like, measuring the floor-to-hip distance, in bare feet?).