Dead Spot In My Pedal Stroke

[Ti Designs]

Originally Posted by 1centaur

Just did this on the trainer and it's very interesting. How much twist are we talking - how much does your knee on the twisted side point out? Feels like the twist allows me to pull the foot across the bottom but at the expense of a lot of joint torque, unless I'm supposed to twist the hip but keep the knee fairly straight.

Yeh, I guess there is a bit of torque generated when you're on the trainer - the shoes I use on the trainer have red (9 degrees of rotation) cleats where my other shoes have grey (4.5 degrees of rotation). On the road it's less of an issue because the bike is moving back and forth. picture the bike moving side to side, the whole thing pivots from the ground up. as the pedal is at 3:00 the bike is moving across, bringing the pedal up at the rider's foot. Think about the mechanical advantage there, on the work side of the lever you have the distance from fulcrum (the ground) to the rider's foot. On the other end you have the distance from the fulcrum (still the ground) to the handlebars. This side to side action doesn't do anything to reduce the resulting twist at the pedal, but it does allow the body weight to move forward while the bike is going side to side.

At some point I'm just going to have to go out and film this, 'cause it's hard to explain but easy to see.

[timto]

"As the pedal gets to around 5:00, twist your hips. This twisting motion replaces the hamstrings pulling the pedal back, and gets the other hip forward for the next pedal stroke."

I also tried this on the ride home. I couldn't stop standing from every light it was so fun.

That's one of the things I love about cycling. IT seems so simple but it's really something that can be refined and improved and I love discovering tips like this.

Now I just have to remember to do it!

Thanks Ti for all of the great contributions you make.

Four Parachutes
One night, a Delta twin-engine puddle jumper was flying somewhere above New Jersey. There were five people on board: the pilot, Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, the Dali Lama, and a hippie. Suddenly, an illegal oxygen generator exploded loudly in the luggage compartment, and the passenger cabin began to fill with smoke. The cockpit door opened, and the pilot burst into the compartment.

Gentlemen, he began, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that were about to crash in New Jersey. The good news is that there are four parachutes, and I have one of them! With that, the pilot threw open the door and jumped from the plane.

Michael Jordan was on his feet in a flash. Gentlemen, he said, I am the worlds greatest athlete. The world needs great athletes. I think the worlds greatest athlete should have a parachute! With these words, he grabbed one of the remaining parachutes, and hurtled through the door and into the night.

Bill Gates rose and said, Gentlemen, I am the worlds smartest man. The world needs smart men. I think the worlds smartest man should have a parachute, too. He grabbed one, and out he jumped. The Dali Lama and the hippie looked at one another. Finally, the Dali Lama spoke. My son, he said, I have lived a satisfying life and have known the bliss of True Enlightenment. You have your life ahead of you; you take a parachute, and I will go down with the plane.

The hippie smiled slowly and said, Hey, dont worry, pop. The worlds smartest man just jumped out wearing my backpack.

惠州SKF轴承
惠州SKF轴承
惠州SKF轴承
惠州SKF轴承

[kerrycycle]

Originally Posted by Ray

Single leg drills OUT OF THE SADDLE? Man, they're bad enough seated. I won't do 'em regardless. But out of the saddle? Good luck with that!

-Ray

Actually, the majority of climbing, especially long climbs, should be done in the saddle. Single leg drills [in the saddle] help smooth the pedal stroke and remove dead spots across the board.

At the end of the day, I defer to a trained coach...like TiDesigns (he is really the reason I do them still to this day...)