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I Love Bicycling

I Love Bicycling is a website that is geared towards cycling for beginners with road cycling tips, training articles, nutrition tips, weight loss, how to’s and bike repair articles.

How To Improve Pedaling Efficiency

February 26, 2020 by Sarah Lauzé

Cycling is all about pedaling. No matter the bike, kit, and all the other bells and whistles, if you don’t start moving your legs you’re not going anywhere. In fact, the pedaling motion comes so naturally to most of us that we don’t even give it a second thought. With all the focus on cadence, a lot of times pedaling efficiency gets left behind.

Yes, cadence is important and has a large effect on how efficient your pedaling is, but it’s not the whole story. If you’re completing 90 revolutions a minute for a two hour ride, that’s over 10,000 revolutions. So, just think about the effect it could have on your riding if you made each one of those revolutions everything it could be.

Check Before You Start

The hip, knee, and angle should all be in as straight of a line as possible when pedaling.

Before your start working on your pedaling technique you’ll want to ensure your bike is setup properly for you. The first thing to look at will be your saddle height. If the saddle is too low you’ll restrict the pedal stroke where you can produce the most power. If it’s too high your hips will start to rock side to side.

You may also want to take a look at crank arm length, as having the right fit for you can help improve your pedaling efficiency. The correct crank length puts your knee in the correct position at the top of the pedal stroke, and still leaves space between your knees and your stomach.

Watch Your Alignment

We’ve all seen bow-legged cyclists (or maybe you are one of them). Although it can be difficult to keep your hip, knee, and ankle in a straight line, this is the goal. Bowing your legs out is not only less efficient, but it can also lead to knee injuries.

Pedal in Circles

Running in circles may not be the way to go, but pedaling in circles definitely is. The first thing you need to do is start looking at pedaling as a complete revolution, made up of different angles, muscle groups, and power (much more than just the downstroke). Efficient pedaling technique is something that can come with time in the saddle, but you can speed up the process by focusing on each part of the movement and applying force around the pedal stroke.

1. The Down Stroke (1 – 5 o’clock)

This is the most natural feeling part of the pedal stroke, and where most of your power comes from. If you think of a single revolution as a clock face, the downstroke happens at about 1 to 5 o’clock. You are pushing down with your heel level to the ground or even about 20 degrees below your toe.

2. The Pull Back (5 – 6 o’clock)

This motion at the bottom of your pedal stroke should feel like scraping your foot back. You should feel the movement in your calf, with your heel lifting slightly. Imagine you have mud on the toe of your shoe that your are trying to scrape off on the pavement.

3. The Lift Up (7 – 11 o’clock)

The goal of the lift up is not so much to produce a ton of power, but to lift the weight of your leg so your opposing leg is not lifting it up with the downstroke (especially at a fast cadence). Your ankle should be at about a 20 degree angle with the movement, and be sure to keep your knee from bowing out. This is when you want to engage your core and glutes to stabilize your legs and make for a smooth motion.

4. The Set Up (11 – 1 o’clock)

The biggest mistake a lot of cyclists make is not initiating the downstroke early enough. The set up is a very short transition, with the feeling of lifting your knees, involving your hip flexors, and getting into the downstroke as soon as possible.

The Upper Body

While pedaling, the upper body should be as quiet (motionless) as possible. Upper body movement may make you feel like you’re putting a little something extra in, but it’s a complete waste of effort. Instead, you want to isolate the upper body from the motion of the legs. This will take a conscious effort at first, but will become second nature over time.

Exercises to Improve Your Pedaling Efficiency

Slow It Down

Find a hill and try climbing at a much higher gear and lower cadence (around 40 rpm) than you normally would. Focus on keeping your upper body still, while taking note of where your naturally strong surges and dead spots are. From there you can work on each aspect of the pedal stroke to get the feel of it being one smooth motion.

Mountain biking is also great for this. If you have large power surges on loose ground, you’ll lose traction, which teaches you pretty quickly not to stamp down on the pedals.

Try a Fixed Gear Bike

Fixed gear bikes force you to pedal in circle, or else you’ll be bouncing around and looking really awkward. This is why track cyclists have some of the most efficient pedaling technique out there. So, if you can get your hands on a fixed gear bike, take it for a spin and focus on making the pedaling as smooth as possible.

One Leg Pedaling

This is exercise is easier on a stationary bike or trainer then out on the road, but it can be done. Start by unclipping one foot from the pedals, while keeping both hips in the normal riding position. Pedal using the clipped in leg for 30 seconds, then clip the other one back in and spin for 15 seconds. Then repeat with the other leg.

This exercise will help you figure out the location of your stroke inefficiency. Pay attention to any part of the movement that is jerky or uneven, then you can start focusing on those areas and making them as smooth as possible.

Proper Cadence Cycling!

October 16, 2013 by Lee Agur

Criterium Race Cadence - proper cadence cycling
A higher cadence during a criterium race is preferable to accelerate out of corners and respond to attacks (90 – 100rpm)

Finding your ideal cycling cadence can give you free speed! Yes… I said free speed! Who does not like to go faster with the same amount of effort?

What is Cadence?

Cadence is the amount of times your foot completes a full pedal stroke in one minute (also known as rpm). You can measure this by counting each revolution or you can buy a cycle computer. I personally love all things garmin.

Efficiency

From the month I started cycling I compared myself to a car. You may think that odd… but here is why….

In my car I have a gauge that measures current and average fuel consumption. Every time I drive, my goal is to see how little fuel I can consume. In order to do this, I have to find the “sweet spot” or the speed at which my vehicle travels the most efficiently.

Over thousands of miles I have discovered that my most efficient speed is 42mph in 5th gear at 1700rpm. So… how does this translate to cadence?

At your ideal cadence you will use less energy to travel the same distance at a certain speed. It can be broken down into simple science… Imagine you have to lift 1000 pounds over your head. If you try and do it all at once you will not be able to do it, if you lift it in one pound increments you are likely wasting energy just doing the motion. If you lift the 1000 pounds in 20 pound increments, that might be just right. Cadence is similar, you just have to find what is just right for you.

How do I find my ideal cadence?

It may be a bit obsessive, but you can test yourself with a heart rate monitor (that hopefully came with your cycle computer). I suggest you find a flat stretch of road that takes approximately 10 – 15 minutes to complete. Do a 20 minute warm up and then start one lap at 80rpm, on a different day do one at 85 under the same conditions then again at 90 and so on… try to maintain approximately the same speed and then compare your heart rates. The lap with the lowest heart rate is your ideal cadence.

When I began cycling I was quite obsessed with cadence, it was one of the only things I had showing on my cycle computer. As I continued to cycle and increase my fitness I focused on this less and less. If you listen to your body it will know what your ideal cadence is. I now know within a couple of rpms when I should shift up or down.

As you continue to cycle more and more your cadence will likely increase along with your fitness, so just because your ideal cadence was 85 two months ago does not mean it is your ideal now. Try to listen to your body.

TT Cadence - proper cadence cyclingWhat is the suggested cadence?

There is no hard set and fast rule on ideal cadence, and it actually depends on what kind of cycling you are doing, body type and fitness level.

In a criterium race you want to have a higher cadence (90-100rpm) than in a time trial (80-90rpm). A higher cadence in a criterium allows you to accelerate faster out of a corner or respond to an attack, where as in a time trial you are focused on power and not on attacks. In mountain biking you want a low cadence because a high cadence causes you to get bounced around on rocky and uneven terrain.

Endurance Rides

If you plan on endurance cycling the suggested cadence is between 85 to 100. My first attempt at an endurance ride my cadence was an average of 78 for the entire ride… (actually… I didn’t finish… I got off my bike deflated my front tire and called my sister to come pick me up due to the “mechanical difficulties” I was having).

My cadence was low due to my fitness level and my dumb testosterone male thinking of: slower cadence = more power = faster. In reality the equation looked more like: slower cadence = using more energy and cooking the legs = bonking.

My last endurance ride of 112 miles was at an average cadence of 97. (This is on the high end of recommended cadence… but it is my ideal cadence) You will continue to adapt so do not feel discouraged if your cadence is low, as you can see, it will progress.

Find some free speed by finding your ideal cadence cycling and save energy!

 

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