With clipless pedals, when do you pull up on the pedals? All the time as part of proper pedaling with clipless pedals? or Only when you need a little more power?
Pedaling question
- Thread starter steingang2
- Start date
+1. There's more to it than just pushing down and pulling up, try to think of it as turning the pedal cranks the same way you would use your hand to turn a crank, smooth circular motions. There's somewhat of a learning curve with it, but you'll catch on.genedan said:
Literally pulling up the pedals between the "dead zone" of 7 o'clock and 11 o'clock is misleading and a myth.
In fact elite cyclists draw very little power from pulling up if any. Only sprinters and racing hill climbers derive power from pulling up on the pedals when they are pedaling at maximal effort and that's been debatable and at the very most minimal power from pulling up. If a rider pulls up too hard on her pedals during a long ride, then he will needlessly fatigue his hamstrings. Instead, focus on pulling your leg up just enough that the opposite leg doesn't have to compensate for the dead weight. Once pushing through the whole pedal stroke is mastered, riding at a higher cadence without bouncing is easier. In fact at higher rpm's like what Lance does (100rpm's) it's impossible to pull up with any effectiveness, but on lower RPM's like in mountain biking on a difficult trail where your pedaling speed is far lower it's possible to pull up but not enough to be efficient.
According to PubMed.gov pulling up resulted in no gain, see: Effects of pedal type and pull-up action during cy... [Int J Sports Med. 2008] - PubMed result
It's a circular motion instead of a pumping action that is the most efficient.
Here's more on the subject of pulling up: http://funnyfarmart.com/Qring.htm
And: Top 3 Clipless Pedal Myths | MTB Strength Training Systems
And: Best Way - Road Bike Pedaling Technique | eHow.com
In fact elite cyclists draw very little power from pulling up if any. Only sprinters and racing hill climbers derive power from pulling up on the pedals when they are pedaling at maximal effort and that's been debatable and at the very most minimal power from pulling up. If a rider pulls up too hard on her pedals during a long ride, then he will needlessly fatigue his hamstrings. Instead, focus on pulling your leg up just enough that the opposite leg doesn't have to compensate for the dead weight. Once pushing through the whole pedal stroke is mastered, riding at a higher cadence without bouncing is easier. In fact at higher rpm's like what Lance does (100rpm's) it's impossible to pull up with any effectiveness, but on lower RPM's like in mountain biking on a difficult trail where your pedaling speed is far lower it's possible to pull up but not enough to be efficient.
According to PubMed.gov pulling up resulted in no gain, see: Effects of pedal type and pull-up action during cy... [Int J Sports Med. 2008] - PubMed result
It's a circular motion instead of a pumping action that is the most efficient.
Here's more on the subject of pulling up: http://funnyfarmart.com/Qring.htm
And: Top 3 Clipless Pedal Myths | MTB Strength Training Systems
And: Best Way - Road Bike Pedaling Technique | eHow.com
Froze said:
You can pull the pedal back with the hamstrings but you can use the hamstring to pull up...
swampy1970 said:
Of course you can you pull up, that wasn't the point, the point is how much power are you able to get by doing that; so read the articles and judge for yourself.
