pedaling tricks and techniques

Fraggle said:

I pedal at about 50-60 revs, but try to go at 70-80 but my poor legs are not up to that for very
long 🙁 I am sure they will learn! I have cruising at 90 rpm as a distant goal.

My cadence naturally increased from 60rpm to 90rpm when I fitted tri-bars, then remained at 90rpm
when I stopped using them. YMMV, but it might be worth a go.

--
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( juggler.netdannyOpen ↗ ) Recumbent cycle page:
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukrecumbentsOpen ↗ "He who dares not offend cannot be honest." -
Thomas Paine

I fitted an Ergobrain to my Bianchi and normally have it showing cadence. I would guuess that my
natural cadence was 65-70 rpm, but I had no problem riding at 75+ once I started using the computer.
Now I'm aiming to rode at 80 as much as possible, but 90 seems a little excessive....

"Fraggle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There are lots of pedalling technique tricks in cycle training manuals, like "think squares",
"think circles" etc,

Jim Price

In a thread on Cadence Jim said the above quote.

Could I ask for advise on such tricks and techniques. I have look pedals + shoes and I have a
cadenceomiter bike computer.

I pedal at about 50-60 revs, but try to go at 70-80 but my poor legs are not up to that for very
long 🙁 I am sure they will learn! I have cruising at 90 rpm as a distant goal.

I don't really think about my pedaling beyond that, so any advise or directions to a good book,
happily received.

Cheers

Fragg

Fraggle said:

Could I ask for advise on such tricks and techniques. I have look pedals + shoes and I have a
cadenceomiter bike computer.

I pedal at about 50-60 revs, but try to go at 70-80 but my poor legs are not up to that for very
long 🙁 I am sure they will learn! I have cruising at 90 rpm as a distant goal.

What sprockets have you got at the back? A wide ratio cassette makes it difficult to get used to
increasing cadence because a change down of gear can be too much of a culture shock - causing legs
to spin uncomfortably. Smaller increments help fine tune the cadence and will enable you to
/gradually/ get used to spinning faster.

A lot of typical road bike cassettes are already reasonable for this (eg. 13-23 8-speed or 13-26
9-speed), but not all are, and mountain bike jobs like 11-30 are bad in this respect on the road;
11-32 and 11-34 are terrible.

Saddle height is a factor as well. Too high or much too low will make higher cadences difficult. A
more rounded pedal stroke also helps a great deal. But don't worry about it too much all the time.
I personally think cadence is only really important when cycling particularly hard. Those bits
where you're taking it easy on the flat or downhills (if you ever do?): I don't see the problem
with 50-60 rpm.

~PB

Fraggle <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Could I ask for advise on such tricks and techniques. I have look pedals + shoes and I have a
cadenceomiter bike computer.

Practice is the best way to increase cadence. The best technique I've used has been doing pyramid
exercises on a turbo e.g. start at 60 or where ever you are comfortable and then increase by 5 every
minute until you get to 90 and then back down. The key thing is to focus on a smooth pedal stoke and
try and start and finish higher at eash turbo session. I very quickly found that rather than a
typical of 60 I moved to a typical cadence of 95-100 and a max from about 100 to 140-150. Don't have
your saddle to high and try not to rock the smoother you are the more efficient.

More you practice the easier it gets

Geoff Bowles said:

I had no problem riding at 75+ once I started using the computer. Now I'm aiming to rode at 80 as
much as possible, but 90 seems a little excessive....

I try not to drop below 90 on the level, usually closer to 95 and often now in excess of 100. I find
my knees are better for it.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗ New!
Improved!! Now with added extra Demon!

Fraggle said:

Quoted message said:

There are lots of pedalling technique tricks in cycle training manuals, like "think squares",
"think circles" etc,

Jim Price

I thought I'd got the sig sorted so it removed itself when you reply. Oh, well, I suppose its not
quite a reply...

Quoted message said:

In a thread on Cadence Jim said the above quote.

Could I ask for advise on such tricks and techniques. I have look pedals + shoes and I have a
cadenceomiter bike computer.

You've got the tools for the job, then.

Quoted message said:

I pedal at about 50-60 revs, but try to go at 70-80 but my poor legs are not up to that for very
long 🙁 I am sure they will learn! I have cruising at 90 rpm as a distant goal.

I'm sure they'll learn too. 90 is very fast for some people, though.

Quoted message said:

I don't really think about my pedaling beyond that, so any advise or directions to a good book,
happily received.

Having been quoted, I now feel a little taken to task here. The trouble is, its not easy to
recommend one specific book which will match anyone's given cycling style and aspirations. I haven't
really worked from books to improve my cycling (although the internet can be the source of a
remarkable number of ideas to try out). Do you want to go road racing, time trialling, competitive
mountain biking, touring, commuting or just do a bit of general improvement?

In an attempt to help on the books front, you could have a browse through the book lists at
Bicycling Books to see if there is anything which strikes your fancy. There are one line reviews
for most of the books, which may give a flavour as to which one you would get on with best.
Here's the link.

bikebook.demon.co.ukcatlist.htmlOpen ↗

I would put the titles of any interesting looking suspects into Google and see what comes up, or
talk to the Bicycling Books people about what sort of book you would like. Or talk to the man at
your LBS, who will have his favourite book in stock if the LBS is any good.

I like Keith Bontrager's article here, but mainly for just getting the point across that its
important, and what the target is, rather than exactly what you could do about it, as that tends to
vary by person.

bontrager.comrants.aspOpen ↗

I found a cycle trainer combined with a cadence meter invaluable for upping my natural cadence, as
it allowed me to concentrate on the matter in hand through nasty winter days, and (I think
possibly crucially) allowed me to set things up so that the fixed resistance was something I could
easily do the target cadence for the day on, and then just up it gradually over a period of some
weeks. The thing you're trying to learn first is what to do (keep at least some pressure on the
pedals all the way round, and keep it smooth), not how to do it powerfully to start off with. I
found the trainer easier than trying to keep track of what I was supposed to be aiming at while
dodging London traffic.

--
Jim Price

jimprice.dsl.pipex.comjimprice.dsl.pipex.comOpen ↗

Conscientious objection is hard work in an economic war.

Jim Price <[email hidden]> wrote in news:3f51de19$0$260 [email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Having been quoted, I now feel a little taken to task here.

I did not mean to put you on the spot 😉 though thank you very much for your detailed post.

your sig did cut your name off as it should, but I copied it back.

My cadence is definitely getting better, I think simply because I have a read out all the time so I
am aware of it dropping instantly.

I did a short ride today, 1st 8 miles cadence 80-90, avrage spd 12.4 mph, top 18 mph 2nd 8 miles
cadence 85-90 (max that i noticed 111!), avrage 17.8mph, top
30.5 🙂 guess which way i had the wind!

I could not have gone on for much further at that rate, and I stopped for a fairly long rest (and
bun!) at the 8 mile post.

I simply cycle for pleasure and commuting, my commute is 10 miles each way (yet to do a whole week
of it!). I find cycling an effort, and my aero design tummy does not seem to help 🙂 I want as much
of my effort to go to making the bike go forwards, rather than my legs fighting each other.

I shall probably buy "Fitness Cycling" which an amazon review says "It encourages a structured
approach to training, promoting an intelligent rather than macho approach." Not that I really intend
to do any specific training, but its nice to know what you SHOULD be doing!

Thanks again Fragg

I was thinking about this topic when I was cycling yesterday. Try to pedal without pulling in the handlebars. Instead of holding the bars simply rest your hands on them. I find it very relaxing to touch the heal of my thumb with my finger tips thus creating a 'groove' in my hand which is rested on the handle bars. Another way of saying this is with the hand closed as above rest ones finger nails on the handlebar. An alternative is to rest the gap between ones index and middle fingers over the brake hoods. These techniques prevents pulling on the bars and the compensating push on the downstroke of the pedal. More momentum is necessary to keep the pedals turning and causes a higher cadence and smoother action. Uses the lower back more too and keeps a calm, relaxed upper body.

My old Italian pro mechanic friend used to tell us to remove the big ring for our first 6 weeks spring training to encourage a supple action and prevent knee injury.

Also on the bottom of the revolution imagine one is wiping mud from the sole of ones shoe, only if using clipped in shoes & pedals though.

MSeries said:

I was thinking about this topic when I was cycling yesterday. Try to pedal without pulling in the
handlebars. Instead of holding the bars ...

[SNIP]

I employ all of these tecniques at times with varying degrees of success. One other trick I try at
times it to make a concerted effort to push my foot forwards at the top of the pedal's travel, just
before the downstroke begins. Although this method works well enough for me, I find it does cause
some discomfort in the muscles in front of my shins after a while. Nevertheless, it does help me to
get the circular motion going.

James

--
"Sorry mate, I didn't see you" is not a satisfactory excuse.

On 31 Aug 2003 19:23:00 GMT, Fraggle <[email hidden]> wrote:

[SNIP]

Quoted message said:

My cadence is definitely getting better, I think simply because I have a read out all the time so I
am aware of it dropping instantly.

I did a short ride today, 1st 8 miles cadence 80-90, avrage spd 12.4 mph, top 18 mph 2nd 8 miles
cadence 85-90 (max that i noticed 111!), avrage 17.8mph, top
30.5 🙂 guess which way i had the wind!

Hi Fragg

Interesting. I don't have a computer on my bikes, apart from the one between my rather large ears.
(It's a very old, slow and badly programmed computer, BTW.) So, I don't know my exact cadence but I
am reasonably certain that into the wind - intothewind.comintothewind.comOpen ↗ (sorry) - cadence is faster
than that againt the breeze.

I can only suppose that I pedal more slowly but in a bigger gear when moving with the wind because
life feels far easier. Against the wind, I find it less arduous spinning quickly in a lower gear.

Min and max speeds? No idea. Maybe those ears of mine act as both wind break and spinnaker.

James

--
"Sorry mate, I didn't see you" is not a satisfactory excuse.