poperszky

Didn't taste too bad. I have been using clips because of freakishly large feet and a cheap streak a mile wide, but have been VERY unhappy with them. So after tremendous amounts of research and a recommendation from my Physician I bought some Shimano SH-R087G and SpeedPlay Zeros, and tried them out last night. I didn't join club Tombay, but it is going to take awhile to get used them. But I was impressed with the extra power that the up stroke was giving me, I didn't go much faster, but my legs weren't as tired when I finished.

Next question are there pedaling exercises to get proper technique?

Inertianinja

im no pro. but:

i recommend that you concentrate on pedaling in a circle. that means keeping force on the pedal at all times through the stroke - pushing down, pulling backward, pulling up, pushing forward at all times.

i find that if i'm doing this, my upper body doesn't rock back and forth because each leg's movement is counterbalanced by the force the other one is doing in the opposite direction.

you'll then find that you're using muscles that previously didn't get much use.

Brian Ratliff

Pedal a lot. IOW, ride a lot of miles. It's been found that most pros have "choppy" pedal strokes with a huge down-stroke and only a very small up-stroke. The only people who pedal "circles" are the recreational cyclists who read Bicycling Magazine.

The best thing you can do is to concentrate on pushing down all the way to the bottom of the pedal stroke, and not applying power until your knee is "over the top" of the pedal (not geometrically over the top, but it feels like it). In other words, use your entire leg extension to drive the pedal, and don't apply power until your knee is in position to take the force. Don't "pull up"; this'll end up hurting the tendons behind your knee. Never pedal through knee pain; if there's knee pain, you are doing something wrong. This is exactly the advice that Greg Lemond gave. At the bottom of the pedal stroke, it should feel like you are scraping mud off your shoe (push all the way to the bottom of the pedal stroke), and at the top, you should try to touch your knees to your bars (align your knee to accept power).

But the best thing to do is to get a lot of miles under your belt. That'll help you the most right now.

Titmawz

Its good isnt it ?

Titmawz

And as Brian has said, indeed put more miles and you will figure it out. I still ride cages but on my commuter bike, since I have to get off and walk around alot. When it comes to road riding (with the whole get up) there is no going back !

poperszky

Thanks guys