bigwapitijohnny

Good afternoon,

I have been riding a road bike for less than a year now...I have lost 40 lbs and I am really looking forward to more miles this year. Anyway, I have searched this forum for 'pedaling technique' and found some great articles on how to make my stroke more efficient. I used to 'mash' the pedals down from one to another, then I changed the stroke to 'pushing' over the top with my hamstrings and then 'wiping' the toes through the down stroke. I tried this 'stroke' 2 days ago on my Tacx trainer and found some promising results. Wattage increased by +30 overall and my MPH increased by +1. I know this is probably not that big a deal for you veterans, however, to me it seemed like a marked improvement. Is there anything else that you all can share to help me get faster? Thanks in advance for your insight and expertise...

Regards,

BWJ

Busta Quad

rollers

patentcad

This is why cycling RULES. Just imagine if every overweight person in America, or even half of them, did this.

We can always dream.

bigwapitijohnny

What is the rationale for rollers? Not trying to be smart, just curious...

bigwapitijohnny

Pcad,

I have found that it will NOT happen unless you want it. I have tried other fad diets before, but to no avail...Cycling is not just something that I do now in my spare time, it is a way of life for me.

Regards,

BWJ

P.S. Nice Cervelo...Someday, my bike will turn into something like this at the stroke of midnight...

Brillig

What cadence are you hitting?

patentcad

Impressive kissass Cervelo comment.

Cycling is a lifestyle, a whole bunch of the guys I ride/race with are in the 45-55 year old range, and we've all been doing this - riding on a daily basis - since the 1980's. It's sustainable, and I ride with guys who are 60+ who are amazingly strong who still race. Whether you do it competitively, or you just DO it, it's a way of life. I love it, many of us do, and I strongly feel the quality of life it affords is immeasurable. We don't get tired of it, and we all want to do it until we get hit by the bus.

If you're lucky you'll get addicted to it and you'll become a Bike Weenie for Life.

Ih8lucky13

HUH, My paycheck is based upon people being unhealthy.

Everybody should smoke Pall Malls, and eat all the fast food they can.

jrobe

One legged drills on the trainer (clip out with one foot - 1 min on each leg x 10 reps, etc.) are a good way to learn better pedaling mechanics.

Busta Quad

On rollers you either spin or you die.

jonestr

Rollers will magnify any glaring uneven application of power during your stroke as it will make it hard to control the bike unless you are a very, wait for the highly technical term, fluid rider. If you can ride smoothly and comfortably on rollers you will be on your way to being a faster and more efficient rider, or at least that is how the wisdom goes. For my money I would say in addition to rollers you should work on your core strength and flexibility so you can hold a more aero position for a longer period of time so that your new found wattage can translate into more speed on the road.

dilzymCcarver

the best way to improve ur pedal stroke is to ride a track or fixed bike, it does mean getting a whole new bike altogether, but trust me its worth it.

Garfield Cat

Maybe its time for you to get a coach.

markhr

If you want a smoother and more balanced pedal stroke then in order of, in my opinion, decreasing effectiveness try:

Powercranks https://www.powercranks.com/v4pages/videos-list.htm

Fixed gear bikes

single leg drills

edit: stupid me. The most important part is that's awesome to hear, congratulations, stay happy and safe out there.

ChipRI

"the best way to improve ur pedal stroke is to ride a track or fixed bike, it does mean getting a whole new bike altogether, but trust me its worth it."

Wouldn't it be just as useful to pick a middle-range gear on any bike and ride without shifting to any other?

Brillig

Track/fixed locks out the coasting.

jonestr

It is definitely not the same. You can always be a little bit lazy and cheat a bit even if you do not recognize it. Try making yourself pedal at 200rpm vs having a steep downhill do it for you on a fixed gear.

Also, a fixed gear will smooth out your pedal stroke as your legs are nearly 100% coupled to your rear wheel, which is acting as a fly wheel in this case. It will not allow any jerkiness to your pedal stroke when you are moving at a good clip.

merlinextraligh

Being old school, I tend to agree with you, and try to ride my track bike in the base period for this reason.

My coach, tends to disagree, however. His point is you're helped through the dead spots of the stroke, and that works against developing a good stroke.


To the OP,

1) Congratulations, and keep it up.

2) Rollers do help and would be nice, but don't sweat it if you don't want to spend the money.

3) Fast pedal drills, and one legged drills will help your spin without spending money on rollers, track bikes, and power cranks.

Randochap

Feels great, huh? Just keep riding and think ROUwwwND O

Soon you will be an Acolyte of the Inner Circle.

Gluteus

grolby

I'm not a fan of one-legged drills or (especially) PowerCranks, as I think that these are based off of a seriously flawed understanding of the biomechanics involved in the pedal stroke. I am a BIG fan of pulling back on the bottom of the pedal stroke, and have resolved to try and do more of this. It definitely feels more effective and is biomechanically sounds. I actually think that the advantage of working on this technique lies not so much in a more "even application of power," which is the flawed idea that one-legged drills and PowerCranks are based upon, but because it improves fluidity and helps you avoid wasting energy by continuing to push down at the bottom of the pedal stroke (where, of course, the pedal is going back, not down).

P.S. And by the way, pedaling really is as simple as it seems. You will see tons of graphs and exposition on "proper" pedaling form all over the web, if you look hard enough. Personally, I ignore most of this as uninformed, overthinking gobbledygook. Cyclists have an amusing tendency to overanalyze even very simple gross motor movements like the pedal stroke. The studies establish pretty clearly that the most important thing, with the greatest muscular economy, is getting as much power down as possible during the downstroke. Technique and drills are only helpful insofar as they help you accomplish this, and the best one, in my personal opinion, is the idea of "scraping dirt off the bottom of your shoe" through the bottom of stroke. Like I said, not because you can add much in the way of watts during that part of the stroke (you can't), but because it really seems to help smooth out the stroke and improve your economy by avoiding wasted effort.

superdex

If you don't do a single-leg drill, you never really isolate the motor movements for that 'scraping the foot' at the bottom of the stroke --your stroke is herky-jerky. It's about building muscle memory....

schnabler1

It would be flat like Bambi meets Godzilla.

Busta Quad

Good God no. The (ridable) roads would be gridlocked with riders.

tkm

I'm pretty sure that if most of America rode bikes on a daily basis, then we'd see a whole lot less traffic and a whole lot more places 'friendly' to ride a bike.