Pedal stroke?

[Older]

Do you train to have a better pedal stroke? What is a good pedal stroke and how do you train to have a better pedal stroke, or do you just pedal down with both legs.

[Gravity]

when i had a road bike (my 1st post child bike like 5 years ago) i read in a mag that you must focus on making little circles with your feet and really focus on pushing and pulling all through the cranks rotation, and at the top of the stroke try and "throw" your kneecaps over the handlebar.

 

I sorta got the hang of that and then i got a MTB, i have been MTBing for 3 or 4 years now, and my pedal stroke is terrible, my cadence dropped and i am pushing much more than pulling, if i concentrate and do "little" circles then i am blown within 500m

However i do push bigger gears now.

 

I am going to get another road bike this year and i cannot wait.

[MattyG]

if you dont have cleats you should try pedal in circular motions

read this it will help you

http://www.bikesplit.com/bsa4.htm

[capeofstorms]

Hi,

 

Lots of theory about pushing and pulling. The pulling part is a misnomer. Try focus on pulling and you will notice the strain on the hamstrings immediately. You big muscles are your quads

[SwissVan]

Well if you have a “poor” pedal stroke you will need to work or do something to improve it. A good pedal stroke imo is one that feels that feels smooth, consistent and efficient during all phases, i.e. uphill, flat, slow and at speed.

You can concentrate and imagine drawing circles all day with your feet but ultimately it requires 10000nds of hours of dedicated training to develop the muscle memory to change your natural pedal stroke.

IMO learning to spin (pedaling at higher than your natural cadence) helps but also important is to find your correct saddle height and position where your legs feel efficient and powerful.

[Guest coenie]

Well if you have a “poor” pedal stroke you will need to work or do something to improve it. A good pedal stroke imo is one that feels that feels smooth, consistent and efficient during all phases, i.e. uphill, flat, slow and at speed.

You can concentrate and imagine drawing circles all day with your feet but ultimately it requires 10000nds of hours of dedicated training to develop the muscle memory to change your natural pedal stroke.

IMO learning to spin (pedaling at higher than your natural cadence) helps but also important is to find your correct saddle height and position where your legs feel efficient and powerful.

 

Maybe LA is onto something with the higher cadence?

[Willehond]

Hi,

 

Lots of theory about pushing and pulling. The pulling part is a misnomer. Try focus on pulling and you will notice the strain on the hamstrings immediately. You big muscles are your quads

 

What do you mean "misnomer"? Do you mean not true?

 

You think this is a lie:

Edited December 29, 2010 by Willehond

[Willehond]

Everyone can improve (and should improve) their pedal stroke. It makes ahuge difference. If you have access to a power meter (on a normal bike or spinning bike) just pedal normally and see the wattage you put out. Then focus on the perfect push-sweep-pull pedal stroke and check the numbers on the power meter. That will tell you how much benefit you can get!

[dirtrider]

For me it is more a matter of how smooth your pedal strokes are , i.e you should be able to hop onto a R1500 P&P DS bike and pedal it without any bob and that does takes a bit of practice .

[The_Break]

Small trick to make a big improvement and will help your mind understand an efficient pedal stroke.

 

Ride in a heavy gear and keep you head still with no up/down or side to side movement. When you pedal stroke is balanced you should not move much. Then use very light gears and try and spin fast. You will notice that when your stroke is poor you will bounce, but when you smoothen your stroke out the bouncing will stop. Both of these are best done on a spinning bike if you can.

 

Once you practice these you will have a better understanding of what you need to do.

[GuyP]

That pedal stroke image remains quite an eye-opener Willehond!

[AndreZA]

That pedal stroke image remains quite an eye-opener Willehond!

 

Yip, and if I look which muscles of mine has increased it looks like the B, C and E muscles that work the most.

[SwissVan]

Yip, and if I look which muscles of mine has increased it looks like the B, C and E muscles that work the most.

 

Did u forget your A muscle? Or are you from Bushman stock?