And can anyone tell me where I can find a pair of shoes with pedals that come with them. Or can anyone tell me what shoes I should buy for a road bike and what pedals would go with it.
MTB style SPD pedals are easier to use IMHO than road type SPD-SL pedals. The shoes are also much easier to walk in because you can recess the cleat in the tread and it is steel so it won't wear out so easily.
Bike Nashbar used to sell an inexpensive SPD copy pedal and cleat. Those worked pretty well.
MTB style SPD pedals are easier to use IMHO than road type SPD-SL pedals. The shoes are also much easier to walk in because you can recess the cleat in the tread and it is steel so it won't wear out so easily.
Bike Nashbar used to sell an inexpensive SPD copy pedal and cleat. Those worked pretty well.
I stopped seeing the cheap Nashbar M520 copy cats, they called them "VP Components". $13 bucks for a pair shipped was pretty amazing for what they are. I did however, notice significant bearing wear after 1,100 miles but for 13 bucks who cares! A person can score M520s for less than $30 shipped easily though. If Nashbar sells anymore of the knock offs I'm going to pick up a couple of pair just for back ups or for my hybrid bike that I don't ride much.
You are in luck. Get some flat pedals and just wear any shoes you have when you ride. I wear sneakers and casual leather shoes or whatever. Here is some review of the science of flat pedals vs. fancy pedals; View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUEaN9FKGLE&pp=ygUZZHlsYW4gam9obnNvbiBmbGF0IHBlZGFscw%3D%3D
That video is true.
And it remains true if you have an efficient pedaling technique.
Pulling up the pedals, trying to eliminate "dead spots" in your pedaling stroke is actually less efficient UNLESS you're getting poor traction with your wheels such as climbing up a steep gravel road or steep, wet road.
The same muscles you pull the pedals up can also be recruited on the down stroke but they will be more efficient and produce more force on the down stroke.
The hamstrings for example can pull the pedals up but will produce far more force pushing the pedals down by extending the hips, together with the glutes. The hip flexors can also be used to pull the pedals up but some of the flexor muscles are your quadriceps and the quadriceps, just like the hamstring will produce far more force pushing the pedals down.
Another fact about muscles is that it is not efficient in continuous application of force. It prefers applying force in short pulses just like you do when running as we evolved for many thousands of years to run.
Therefore, unless your rear wheels are slipping and you have good traction, put everything you got in the pushing the pedals down, quads, hamstrings, and glutes. If you are well trained in this technique and got good recruitment of the glutes and hamstrings extend hips to push the pedals down, the perceived effort of cycling will go down quite substantially. Climbing will become so much easier. Hammering at FTP will be pure joy.
Remember, take everything you got to push the pedals down and not up! That's how the pros do it!
Oh, the drugs!You do realize the dude in the video said this experiment was on a short flat surface and that it did not work well climbing. So I doubt this is the way the pros do it, they climb plenty. Lance and Indurain pushed spinning high rpm's and not "mashing". Probably something to do with working well with the pros as they won the TDF several times. And yes, they were all doing drugs.
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