Basic bike technique question.

Yup.. that is the purpose of the straps and the clipless pedals, to allow you to use the up stroke as power also. Eventually you will get hte hang of the feeling of using the up and down and you wont notice it too much anymore. Good luck!

it's actually up, down, foreward and backward. There is no part of the stroke that you are not applying power. A good drill to learn this feeling is to find a flat road, get up to speed, then unclip one foot. If you can maintain a smooth cadence with only one foot, then you have spinning down.

i also find on long hill climbs that if I put more effort into pulling up that it helps me climb. Caveat: Don't attempt this while climbing steep grades on a mountain bike or in any instance where traction is a concern.

Edited by vortmax 2006-01-09 3:39 PM

Another learning technique to start moving toward full-circle pedaling is to imagine you're wiping mud off of your shoes at the bottom of your stroke.

Neither, I pedal in circles only ....... "smooth" is the name of the game. You don't want to pedal in a square, or up and down. You'll know what I mean as you get used to the bike and riding again. Makes a big difference.

Working on higher cadence and one leg drills will do get you there as a beginner. Enjoy the journey!

Got it! Thanks all.

One I found really helpful was thinking about pedalling backwards and forwards rather than up and down

The best advice I can give is to use a gear that feels a little too small and pedal at a cadence that feels a little too fast. Smooth, circular pedaling is the goal.A lot of folks who are just starting out on the bike will stomp on the pedals like they are crushing giant bugs. I find that a better image is the old RoadRunner Cartoon where his feet are moving in circles





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A good way to learn the technique of pedaling circles is one-leg drills. Preferably on a trainer, take one foot off and pedal with the other for 10 revolutions, and then switch. repeat 10 times. Do this regularly, working on pedaling smoothly with the one leg and you'll become lots more efficient.

Yes, one legged drills are great. I do them on the road if I am riding alone, but on the trainer is best.

one leg drills are GREAT on road rides. Talk about funny looks from people.

Do yourself a favor now and buy a cycling computer that reports cadence. Get in an easy gear and spin up to 80 rpm. It will feel jerky and awkward. Keep trying to smooth it out. The more you practice, the smoother it will become. Once you can do this, up it to 90 RPM. It's up to you how high you want to go. The tour guys use some crazy high cadences. I think lance averaged 120 rpm during the tour. That's including climbing the alpe d'huez at like 22 mph.

Its not just about learning how to move your legs. Your slow twitch muscles, are..well slow. They don't like moving that fast. So you have to train them to. Once they are used to moving that fast, the cyclic spinning becomes easier and more natural.

Do you have any suggestions on what is a good cycle computer that records cadence?