In last week’s RBR Newsletter, I wrote an article on learning how to pedal more efficiently this winter. After going through the comments, I felt that there needed to be some clarification. The two main categories of comments were (a) “Is the math right?” (referring to the text description of the graphics included) and (b) “I was told [by someone] to never pull up when pedaling” or “pulling up is ineffectual.”
First, a quick comment about the math: It’s just not important.
Getting caught up in the exact percentages misses the point, which is, to quote from last week’s article: “the pros’ ‘power stroke’ is nearly 3 times greater than what we recreational roadies do.”
(I think our use of a graphic that included both crank arms was confusing to some. If we had used a graphic that include only the drive-side crankarm, I think it would have been clearer.) Again, though, the graphics were merely added to illustrate the much greater length of the pros’ power stroke when compared to recreational roadies’ stroke. Let’s keep the focus on that.
A Conversation with Ex-Pros
As for the comments about pulling up, I had coffee the other day with several of my cycling friends from San Diego, all retired pros and now masters who still podium at nationals. They’re well-versed on the topic.
I showed them the article then asked them to review the comments. They all said that while it’s technically correct, there might be a better way to explain this. So I’ll use their comments and insights to hopefully accomplish that:
“It is true that pros push down on the pedals earlier (and harder) than regular cyclists, but the most important take-away for your readers is the following: There are three areas of the pedal stroke that are important to note. Visualizing the drive-side crankarm [right leg in this example] these are
a) from about 5 o’clock to 7 o’clock,
b) from 8 o’clock to 10 o’clock and
c) from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock.”
In (a) above: “You want to drag your foot through the bottom of the pedal stroke like you are scraping mud off the bottom of your shoe [we’ve all heard this before, right?]. This is the transition phase between pushing and pulling. At this point, you have unloaded your pushing muscles and are now loading your pulling muscles. In other words, your right glute has shut off, as well as your right quads. Your right calf is now engaged to start ankling the right foot, and your right hamstrings are kicking in to get the pedal through the bottom of the pedal stroke and started on the upstroke.”
In (b) above: “It’s mainly the hamstrings and hip flexors [psoas, iliacus, TFL and others] pulling and assisting with the upstroke. Any leg weight you can offload by pulling up is weight the other leg doesn’t have to waste energy to raise. You don’t have to pull up hard at this point, but, what happens next is magic.”
Regarding (c) above: “Between 10 o’clock and 11 o’clock the right hamstring shuts off and is replaced by the tibialis anterior [front of lower leg], which starts the ankling process again, and the hip flexors, which help get the right leg up and over the top of the pedal stroke. This is where you want to pull up hard. If done correctly, your right leg will be in the perfect position so that at around 12 o’clock, your right quad and right glute start firing so that by 1 o’clock, they will be fully engaged to hopefully around 5 o’clock, where the process starts all over again.”
One of the guys, a multi-time national champion said “it’s like pedaling with your hips.” He says that is the key to pedaling like a pro.
In Sum, Upstroke Helpful in 2 Important Ways
So, in summary, the upstroke helps you in a couple of very important ways: As noted in (b), by pulling up with one leg, you lessen the amount of work the other leg requires to “push up” that off-leg. Imagine if you don’t pull up at all; then all of the required energy to get that off-leg back up and over the top again would be supplied by the power stoke (pushing down) of the other leg.
And even more important is what you can gain from (c): Pulling up hard starting at around 11 o’clock can help you get your power stroke started earlier. That’s key. If you can move the start of your power stroke from the typical 3 o’clock position for most rec roadies closer to the 1 o’clock position of the pros, you’ll benefit greatly in terms of additional power.
I hope this helps to clarify the questions that the original article raised.
Coach Rick Schultz is an avid cyclist who trains, races and coaches in Southern California. Rick is an engineer by trade, and in addition to being a coach, he’s a bike fitter and prolific product reviewer. He’s the author of Stretching & Core Strengthening for the Cyclist and Bike Fit 101: Your Toolset for a Great Bike Fit in the RBR eBookstore. Check his product reviews website, www.biketestreviews.com, and his coaching site, www.bikefitnesscoaching.com. Click to read Rick’s full bio.
Thanks for the clarifications! And nice to get input from some real live pros. This whole pedal stroke issue can be a real game-changer. It’s helped me tremendously. And the older I get, the more help I need!
Hi Coach, I have a comment and observation gained through experience. When I tried over the years, to mimic the type of pedal stroke you describe I would fail every time and always went back to the 3 o’clock stroke.
What I discovered was I was using the 3 o’clock stroke to unload my saddle slightly because of saddle discomfort. So pedaling became a way to lessen discomfort on a ride. It took me awhile to identify saddle unloading with proper pedal stroke. I went on a hunt to solve the saddle issue and then used what I call sitting heavy, meaning place all your weight on the saddle with no unloading while pedaling.
I regularly practice sitting heavy as if balanced on a wire so that there is absolutely no support from my legs. When I’m sitting heavy I have complete control over my legs, muscles and pedal strokes because my muscles are not trying to unload my saddle they are only used to turn the crank. It’s like magic for me and increases my cadence and style and allows me to mimic your recommendations. I wonder how many cyclists are partially supporting their weight to unload the saddle (just a little) and thwarting their ability to pedal correctly.
I hope this helps. Next time your are in the saddle, think about how much weight you are allowing on the saddle. If you are unloading, even a little you will kill your speed and distance capabilities.
Coach, if you disagree with this just delete the comment. Thanks
I have always told my athletes to unload the leg on the upstroke and sort of push your foot across the top of the stroke before pushing down. It is amazing in just doing that part how much of a difference they experience. I and a few athletes use CompuTrainer. The SpinScan is a great tool to use as you practice these exact things mentioned in your article. You can see the difference immediately when you pedal “correctly”. Another thing, I know we pedal circles, but I tell them to imagine a square. Push across the top, down the front, pull foot back across the bottom and lift up the back. That seems to get the point across about the different parts of the circle. Thanks for a great article!
Paul, great minds think alike – exactly what I tell my athletes!
David, exactly what I do as well. When done correctly, your legs almost ‘float’ This is absolutely correct but much more advanced and fairly difficult to describe (which you actually did very well !) Thanks!
Thanks Greg!
Coach Shultz, I was one who questioned your math. I agree it’s not material to the larger picture. I would urge you not to use it in the future since it was misleading, confusing and distracted from the rest of the article.
Great information and clarifications. As an average guy who’s worked on increasing peddling efficiency I have found that visualizing my pedal stroke has been helpful in developing new muscle memory. It has smoothed out my riding and I have seen immediate gains with speed and overall efficiency. However, initially it took direct mental focus and work to retrain my muscles.
This expanded explanation was very helpful–especially the idea that you are using the “other” parts of your stroke to prime and improve your downstroke, rather than trying to get much power from your hip-flexors on the way up.
Exactly how its done Mark!
I have worked on rounding my pedal stroke over the years. (Using rollers in the off-season was very helpful, because it forced me to even out the stroke, kind of like mountain biking on loose gravel.) But I found the one legged pedaling very difficult. Should I be lowering the resistance by a lot in order to keep it round, or do I just need more practice?