Pedalling Technique

[brentono]

If this was so easy, and pedaling "techniques" can be learned in a matter of minutes,
I would have to ask why this question comes up so often?

Having already pointed out-
"For me, the style of correctly learning how to pedal, was quite involved, took a long time to perfect,
and it begins when you first start to ride. And after a period it becomes second nature,
and later, you just do it subconciously, just like maintaining your balance on your bike.
Being able to maintain it, you then move on to being able to maintain it a higher cadence."

Also, already pointed out, good bike set up- crank length, seat height, cleat position
are the first steps. Gearing (and use of "fixed gear" and rollers can aid) as discussed.
Anyone who is interested, can go over what has already been covered, and make up their own mind.
Some great points, have been covered here, already.

Toolish, from the video you supplied, it would be hard to ascertain your technique, as you are restricted.
Better you do it on rollers, or have someone film you from behind, on the road, to get a proper picture,
in my opinion.
Cheers

[G-Ride]

Whilst its not ideal to look at a video for diagnosis you have a pronounced drop of the right hip. This is being accentuated by the saddle being too high but chances are that will be there regardless. This could be an actual leg length imbalance and a structural muscle tightness causing a leg length imbalance.

Your knees are also darting inwards - again accentuated by saddle height but your feet are not right. Do you have any arch support in the shoes? By that I mean actual additional arch support, not the standard shoe.

From what your demonstrating there is a fair bit of work to be done - depend on how seriously you taking your riding and how far you want to go.

G.

[Baldy]

Your knees are also darting inwards - again accentuated by saddle height but your feet are not right. Do you have any arch support in the shoes? By that I mean actual additional arch support, not the standard shoe.

I cant see the vid[ancient computer] but just wanted to agree with this part.

I had the same problem with my right knee wobbling inwards, left was fine. I ended up having a Specialized BG fit and that found the weak arches[more so on that side] and the right leg was a bit shorter. All sorted with footbeds/innersoles[the blue ones, so medium support] Two forefoot wedges and a shim under the cleat on the right foot and 1 wedge on the left.

My road shoes are Shimano R300, about 3yrs old and super comfy. But they don't have that much arch support built into them. I have a pair of the Specialized BG MTB shoes and they have much more support, enough that I only need to use a shim and one wedge on the right foot.

[Toolish]

Why do you have the seat higher on one bike than the other? You look much better on the TT bike wrt to pedalling .... I think.

Are you long in the body and a bit short in the legs? Could make it awkward to get the right frame size and reach vs. leg length combo. That is, if your frame is sized for your reach it may be a bit big for your leg length ... or something...

As you can tell I'm no expert... but an interesting case study.

Road bike is setup I already had, TT bike was a fit from the shop, I wanted to see the difference on tape before I did anything. Road bike will be getting adjusted to the same as the TT bike for sure!

Body is a bit long for the legs, but frame size was more based on leg size than anything else according to the shop.

[Toolish]

Smoothness is about the neuromuscular coordination of engaging and disengaging the right muscles at the right time. Pushing down more forcefully and more frequently is what generates increased power on a bike. "Pushing harder" does not imply "mashing" or doing so in a non-smooth coordinated manner.

That makes perfect sense, unfortunately I do not have access to rollers or a fixie at this stage. Will work on some higher cadence stuff though.

[Toolish]

Whilst its not ideal to look at a video for diagnosis you have a pronounced drop of the right hip. This is being accentuated by the saddle being too high but chances are that will be there regardless. This could be an actual leg length imbalance and a structural muscle tightness causing a leg length imbalance.

Your knees are also darting inwards - again accentuated by saddle height but your feet are not right. Do you have any arch support in the shoes? By that I mean actual additional arch support, not the standard shoe.

From what your demonstrating there is a fair bit of work to be done - depend on how seriously you taking your riding and how far you want to go.

G.

There is no leg leg difference. Could well be a muscle tightness thing. Have already commited to doing more stretching and pilates type work for a couple of months and see what sort of changes that makes.

No arch support in the shoes. I tend to stand and walk with feet splayed a fair bit, so maybe with the cleats on and the feet straightened up a bit it makes the knees come in.

[shann]

If I can jump in with a vaguely related question ...

This morning I went out with cleats on for the first time, and did just under 35km. My right leg was fine, but my left foot went to sleep and I 'felt' the ride in the thigh muscles on my left leg, but not so much on my right. I felt that I wanted to keep stretching my left leg out, but my right was OK. Besides a trip to the chiro to sort any back/hip issues that may be making me asymmetrical, are there any other technique related things I can check?