Pedal stroke
 

I have noticed that my pedal stroke is the same with clipless pedals as it is with platform pedals. I do not feel that I am pulling on the upstroke.

Today, I was riding with a friend who was maybe 100 yards in front of me. I started making big circles with the pedals and could feel that I was pulling the pedals on the upstroke. Without my cadence changing, I was on his back wheel in a minute or two.

I can't keep this pedal stroke up for very long because I feel a pulling in my quads at the very top of my thigh. Maybe with enough work, I will no longer feel this pulling.

My question, should I always be doing these big circles and pulling on the upstroke with every pedal stroke?

pedalling all the way through seems to make the driveline quieter and smoother

i don't actively pull up. i just pedal, and maybe exaggerate the stroke a little - pulling back through the bottom and forward over the top - while climbing or out of the saddle. however, if i get on my bike with sneakers or ride a bike with platform pedals, i immediately notice the difference and feel like my feet are lifting up off the pedals on the upstroke. i'm just not conscious of it while actually riding clipless.

EDIT: just wanted to add...i think if you're conscious of pulling up and feel like you're adding a lot of power that way, it might be counterproductive, because it means you're overemphasizing the upstroke relative to the downstroke. you should be able to get more power from the downstroke, and while being clipped in allows you to add a little on the upstroke and make the motion more efficient, it shouldn't be the dominant source of power. not an expert and have no real evidence...just my thoughts.

you should exaggerate the circle but normally you do not truly "pulling" up hard.... your most powerful portion of the stroke is between 1 and 4 then by 6 you are scraping your shoe like you stepped in dog poop and then more unweighting your leg and driving down with your other leg than truly pulling up.

I was told to pretend/act like you are trying to clean your shoes in one of them mud cleaners. Also learn to pedal with one foot by unclipping the other and alternating.

dog poop mud cleaner..same really

and yes one leg drills do help quite a bit with rounding out your pedal stroke

rollers are also very good

Am very new at biking, no experience about rollers but how if I may ask will a roller help in this area? I have a CycleOps that I did pedal with one foot at a time.

Power Cranks
if you really care to spend a lot of money

Actually according to a study (I'm not exactly sure which one, my bike fitter showed it to me) you shouldn't be pulling up. The study found that one of the biggest differences between pro and amateur racers is that in general pros don't pull up on the pedals. The theorize that this acts as a mini break for your legs. It can be used to increase power output for a short period of time but is not efficient enough to be doing all the time.

I could buy that.

roller force you to pedal smoother and help you develop your spin.... essentially the faster you can spin while being smooth the more stable the bike becomes

if you are "jerky" in your spin you will wobble around on the rollers and fall off.

I've read something similar in that the upwards part of the pedal stroke, the pedal is just unweighted, but not actively lifted for normal riding. That leaves forward, down and back, but not up.