Tips on stand up pedaling on flats technique?
 

I'm trying to learn how to stand up and pedal keeping the pace I had when I was seating. The way I'm doing is I shift a few gears higher when I stand up so I drop the cadence from ~95 to ~65 and have some resistance.
My problem is that I either keep accelerating and thus increasing cadence, having to shift higher again to a point it's just not sustainable... too much lactate
or my pedaling feels completely awkward where I have to hold back on each pedal stroke in order to try to maintain the pace, it seems like a big effort as I'm using my energy to reduce the momentum on my legs.

Any tips on how am I supposed to do stand up riding on flats without increasing my pace? :o

What's wrong with sitting and maintaining effort?

When I come off the front on the flat, I always stand on my way back to the end of the line. Feels good, good stretch. Totally worth learning to do.

You're right to put it in a big gear. Remember you're not sprinting. This is a rest stroke. So rock the bike so as to already have the bike rocked left before your right leg comes down, same on the other side. Takes some practice to get the timing right. That takes some energy out of the pedal stroke.

Another thing is that you're still trying to pedal circles to some extent. So actively bring your foot forward across the top so your chain doesn't go slack and bang your legs.

I rest stroke from the hoods and concentrate on bringing my knee close to the top tube on the way up. Keep your back straight. While all this is going on, also try to relax and just walk on the pedals.

It does take a certain amount of leg strength to sort of hang there in mid-air. I think this develops with practice.

It's much harder to showoff what a cute ass I've if I'm sitting.

This is something that takes some practice to feel comfortable. As you shift to a harder gear your cadence will slow and your speed will increase as you mentioned. That is normal since your putting more power into the pedal stroke. Find a gear that allows you to pedal at a cadence that isn't too fast, but allows you to stand and stretch.

You could try the following interval: at every 5 minute interval, stand and pedal for 30 seconds. As this becomes easier extend the standing pedal to 1 minute, and so on until you can to 2-3 minutes without fatiguing. It will get easier with practice and is good to stretch out the back and legs on a longer ride.

Practice when you're in a group riding on someone's wheel. You'll have no choice but to maintain your speed. I do it occasionally if I want to give my ass a break.

One thing I often do is pull myself way forward over the handlebars and don't put my weight on the downstroke. Instead, I focus on just pulling back, up and forward with almost all my weight on my hands. By deleting the downstroke, I solve the excess power problem rather easily. It is also a complete change of pace for all the major muscle groups.

Ben

Why should punish others for my poor technique? Unless you want to volunteer to ride with me :)

Don't not forget to rise out of the saddle on a downstroke, because if you skip a stroke while standing up, or up shift too soon before standing, your bike will go right back into the front wheel of the poor sap behind you. Very rude.

I tend to punch the bottom of the stroke, sort of hopping, so my legs are somewhat straighter at 3 and 9 o'clock to support my weight, and pausing a fraction of a stroke now and then to maintain the gap to the wheel in front. It takes less energy to pull out of a pace line a little where you can be less anal about your speed and the extra wind will slow you down.

Standing up on a flat road? And I thought I was weird.


Sincerely-

Chris Horner

Yeah, not quite getting the point. I stand up on flat roads for quick acceleration, like 10 pedal strokes, but that's it.

Chris Horner is known for standing while pedaling in a higher gear during a long climb, where most other riders will sit and climb, only standing on occasion. I'm guessing that was his point.

As you mention, it is good for a quick acceleration, so it does take some practice to do it mid-paceline while maintaining the same speed. Probably better to do it at the end of the paceline if with a group. It is good to give the butt a quick breather.

The point is learning the technique, be able to comfortably do so if I want to do it to give my ass a break, a small change on the muscles involved.

I would say that if you're set on mastering this ability, buy a set of $100 rollers and work your way up. At first, it'll be difficult to stay on them, then you'll improve the smoothness of your pedal stroke. Next, you'll be able to remove a water bottle, and some hours later, put it back. The next skill would be standing and pedaling... or riding rollers at low speed. You'll be amazed at how, in just a few weeks of exclusive roller use, your outdoor stability in all situations has dramatically improved.

Sounds like a plan for a raining day :) Now I need to find to soft mattresses on craigslist to put next to the roller

Used mattresses purchased off of Craigslist... that should be plenty of incentive to perfect your pedal stroke and stay upright on the rollers.

I could always go to the next Motel 6 and ask if they have any used mattress sale going on.