Originally Posted by
PeteHski
Maybe I over-simplified muscles used on downstroke and upstroke, but it is clear that we are unable to generate torque on the upstroke with whatever combination of muscles activated. All the torque is generated on the downstroke, with often a negative torque on the upstroke due to the weight of our legs
Far be it from me to agree with Timtak, but he is talking about isn't pulling up, but rather pulling THROUGH the bottom of the stroke, the 'scraping mud off your shoe' motion that some suggest for rounding out the pedal stroke. I practice this sometimes, especially when I'm trying to push high power at high cadence, like on this one quarter mile, 2% gradient on most of my rides, or when just trying to do high cadence drills without bouncing out of the saddle. I can hit 140 (briefly) by concentrating on pulling through the bottom and pushing through the top of the stroke.