Pedaling: Circle? Mash? Upstroke? All of the above?
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J.Michael posted 8 weeks ago.
I've always been told that the pedal stroke is divided into 3 (or 4) portions.
1) The Power (Down) Stroke. (the one you're currently doing.) You can optimize the power stroke by dropping your heel at the top (around 1 o'clock) and starting to point the toe (ankling) near the 4o'clock position.
2) Scrapping the Poo. (Imagine you stepped in dog doo and want to get it off your foot by dragging it backward)
3) Driving (up) the knee. (Imagine trying to put your knee to your chest during the upstroke.)
4) Forward Push. (optional). A small flick of the foot forward at the top of the pedal stroke. (11 o'clock to 12:30 when the power stroke starts.)
A great article about it can be found here:
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tsilcyc posted 8 weeks ago.
I prefer to think of it as moving my feet from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock. I'm stealing this from someone... Friel? Can't remember. It allows for a smooth pedal stroke though.
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TryScott posted 8 weeks ago.
The guy that gave me my bike fit told me to think of it as a triangle.
1. Relax the anke (dropping the heel as J.Michael said) and push down with the big muscles. Think of your ankle as a ball bearing, and not a muscle that you use.
2. Before you get to the bottom of the stroke, start pulling your foot backwards.
3. He told me to get the first two steps down well before thinking about driving the knee into my chest.
I find this easy to do when I'm going up a hill and my cadence is low. When I'm soft pedeling is when it's the hardest.
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Anton posted 8 weeks ago.
Full circles it is...and it takes practice. A great way to do that s to get on the trainer and do one leg drills..you'll learn immediately where the weak part of your stroke is. Too, you can set up your trainer to make sure the wheel is making some sort of noise...that you can hear the pedal stroke...when you get a continuous sound you've got an even stroke through the whole cycle.
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jsk85 posted 8 weeks ago.
Anton wrote:
Full circles it is...and it takes practice. A great way to do that s to get on the trainer and do one leg drills..you'll learn immediately where the weak part of your stroke is. Too, you can set up your trainer to make sure the wheel is making some sort of noise...that you can hear the pedal stroke...when you get a continuous sound you've got an even stroke through the whole cycle.
+1...that's how I taught myself.
You can't really apply power at the very top portion of the circle though, but thinking of it as a full circle will help since you want to be "off" for as short a time as possible and as smooth as possible when reapplying on the dowstroke
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Ultrarunner posted 8 weeks ago.
Anton you nailed it. It takes some practice. We all want to jump on a bike and ride it like we did when we were kids but that's just not the most efficient way to do it.
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jhudalla posted 8 weeks ago.
Anton wrote:
Full circles it is...and it takes practice. A great way to do that s to get on the trainer and do one leg drills..you'll learn immediately where the weak part of your stroke is. Too, you can set up your trainer to make sure the wheel is making some sort of noise...that you can hear the pedal stroke...when you get a continuous sound you've got an even stroke through the whole cycle.
That's exactly what Chris Carmichael says too! ++1 the single leg is tuff but it works wonders.
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
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jonovision_man posted 8 weeks ago.
Anton wrote:
Full circles it is...and it takes practice. A great way to do that s to get on the trainer and do one leg drills..you'll learn immediately where the weak part of your stroke is. Too, you can set up your trainer to make sure the wheel is making some sort of noise...that you can hear the pedal stroke...when you get a continuous sound you've got an even stroke through the whole cycle.
Good idea. I just do it on my road bike during my warm-up to remind my leg what it's gotta do... pick a high gear, unclick right, pedal left... then alternate. You find the dead spots pretty quick. :)
jono
Okay, google wasn't really helping me out on this one.
What is the correct "form" or technique rather for general pedaling? I usually just push down or half circle each stroke.. That's the way i've always known how to ride.
I only use upstroke when i'm accelerating.
I started a thread before regarding pedaling and someone mentioned that i should be pedaling in FULL CIRCLES.. Meaning, upstroke and downstroke.
So which is it?