The Last Video On Pedalling Technique You’ll Ever Need To Watch

If you think about running and walking which are movements that humans naturally do, it's mostly pushing down and extending our legs. So it makes sense that this motion is the most efficient using the biggest muscles in our bodies. Sure you can probably get slightly more wattage for a short period of time if you pull up with the pedals as well, but then you are using smaller muscles that fatigue much easier and the end result over time will be worse. It's similar to how in cross country skiing it's not the most efficient to use the entire available range of motion but to focus the technique to the parts of the movements where you can utilise the biggest and most efficient muscle groups.

This is the video I needed – nothing more than that. Thanks Si and crew!

I can only say: I get it. Very clear this one.

However it does make me wanna respond with a few follow up questions.
-is there such a thing as a power meter that measures the power through the entire circle and turns that into a graph? Surely there would be? That way you could make visible how anyone works their magic.
-I kinda get why pro riders would be less efficient at low power output, they would be cruising right? So saving energy, therefore putting in as little as possible. That's also a skill to be learned.
-I'm a little divided whether or not oval chainrings would have an influence on this whole story. Maybe also because it has two sides: the human on top and his or her power output, and the mechanics in the bike that translate it all into forward motion. So how would that hold up in this whole story? Also: does this mean that the whole oval thing is proven or debunked? I'm just not sure.

So, just like Santa Claus, pedalling technique doesn't REALLY exist…(?) My life is a construction of lies.

What is astounding is that the bike refuses to go in a straight line due to your head being 6" in front of the steering axis. Crazy! Don't you get tired of constantly steering?

I find that cycling in circles is mentally and physically exhausting. I do pull up once in a while to rest the pushing muscle groups. On gradients, being able to rotate through dead spots indicates my gearing is sufficient and helps to maintain forward momentum. Would be interesting to know how some professional cyclists perform their pedal strokes in various circumstances and what mental cues they use.

What would you say about the right/left leg balance? How much inbalance is "tolerable" or beyond the need to fix it and when would you say it should be adressed?

Look into LeMonds technique…

Don’t forget people with knee pain tend to pedal higher cadences with lower peak power. Their pedal stroke is much smoother

What I'd be really interested to know is whether professional cyclists are taught a particular pedaling technique, or do they just do what comes naturally?

For me pedaling efficiency was more about comfort than power output. I found if I made sure my pedals and bike setup was right to give me the most comfortable position to output power and my shoes fitted properly this allowed me to have greater endurance and conserve energy for when I really needed it which I would call efficiency. In XC mountain biking the only time I focused on pedaling technique was getting over technical terrain in short burst. Using the whole pedal stroke can help you get over an obstacle and in the end makes you faster around the course, however, that also comes at a high energy cost. Its requires and incredible amount of energy which for me can be seen in my heart rate and takes longer to recover from that effort. in that sense as Simon has pointed out it could be considered a very inefficient way to pedal as you cannot sustain if for very long. Loved this video though it seems to dispel a number of myths around cycling. I will say though something else happens when the doors blow off and you are limping home your pedal stroke looks and feels very ugly and inefficient 😉

Returning to cycling after a 10 year break, I'm starting to increase the training volume to 100km per week. Only been riding consistently for 4 weeks; I have yet to feel the pedalling fluidity remembered from when I was regularly riding 100km+ per week for 2+ years. My power is much lower now, it was interesting to hear that the efficiency increases driven by the power output. This would make sense in my own experience and it will be interesting to see if the perception of pedalling feel increases with power output. I have a power meter now to track this. I used to perform one legged pedalling drills and train at different cadences, will continue with the cadence variance but drop the one legged drills.

Always thought trying to drag my leg back up through the stroke felt wierd and difficult. so i have never bothered. glad to see i was right not to care about it xD

Pedaling technique is important for what I call the “development of power”. The power delivered develops through the pedal stroke to a point where the other leg takes over and the drive forward is consistent. This is important to avoid loss of speed and repeated small accelerations to regain speed over long periods. The legs should be used in a coordinated fashion to maintain momentum. The importance of this becomes more apparent when riding off-road going uphill but is still important riding on the road.

Take note of your exhaling..mine is always on the down stroke right foot. Try to exhale on the down stroke left foot. Especially on a climb. Interesting results. Recall reading about this change up years ago. Seems to work in getting a bit more power and relief.

Nice to be let off the hook by a pro that did the research. I was exhausting myself by consciously adding extra pull to my cadence, thinking it was a plateau to overcome. Thanks!

Nice video si