Bouncing in the saddle

[Wasp]

How does one stop bouncing in the saddle? I tend to bounce and not "spin" which I'm sure is not very attractive. Or maybe the question is how does one spin without bouncing?? In theory It seems like it should be a fairly easy skill, but I struggle daily with the whole spin thing. My legs are quite strong and I tend to power thru vrs spinning, but I would really like to learn how to spin properly.

[indysteel]

If you're bouncing, you might be trying to spin too easy of a gear. There should be some tension on your pedals, even when you're "spinning." So, the next time you start bouncing, shift into a slightly harder gear and keep shifting until you stop bouncing. If you can't maintain a fast(er) cadence in that gear, it is likely something you'll have to train into.

And keep in mind that not all of us are spinners. I can maintain a cadence of 90+ rpm, but I often prefer to pedal slightly slower in a slightly harder gear. So, there's no one right cadence for everyone.

[maillotpois]

Lots of times people bounce or rock in the saddle because the seat is too high. Have you been fit correctly? Just a thought....

[climbergirl]

I believe it will also help if you focus on a smooth, even pedal stroke all the way around. When there's very little resistance on the pedals, I find that it helps me to focus on the "back and forth" part instead of the "up and down" part of the stroke.

[OakLeaf]

Practice, practice, practice (assuming your seat isn't too high, which would also make your hips rock from side to side besides bouncing). Ride rollers when the weather's bad. Do downhill intervals - climb the hill, then ride down it in the same gear you climbed in, spinning as fast as you can to barely keep tension on the chain. Visualize your feet pedaling in circles, not squares. Do cadence intervals on the road - ride one minute at 90 rpm, then rest, then one minute at 100 rpm, then one minute at 110, and keep building until you can't maintain the minute without bouncing ... then go back down the ladder again.

There isn't necessarily one cadence that's the most efficient for everyone, but you ought to be able to spin with good form at any cadence. High RPM work helps build that form, because it unmasks the flaws in your pedal stroke.

And make sure your crankarms aren't too long for you.

[marni]

Assuming the rocking is not from an incorrect saddle height, practice using only one leg at a time when on the trainer- this is the best method I have found for training the brain and muscles to think circles. do a two leg interval and then unclip and do an equal amount of time single legged (hint start with a really simple 1 minute, you'll be surprised how many different muscles speak up especially on the single leg section. Do another two legged session and then unclip the other leg. start with moderate easily resistance and then as your stroke starts to become predictably round, drop the resistance and lengthen the intervals. If the resistance is too low, you will rock.

[Wasp]

If you're bouncing, you might be trying to spin too easy of a gear. There should be some tension on your pedals, even when you're "spinning." So, the next time you start bouncing, shift into a slightly harder gear and keep shifting until you stop bouncing. If you can't maintain a fast(er) cadence in that gear, it is likely something you'll have to train into.

And keep in mind that not all of us are spinners. I can maintain a cadence of 90+ rpm, but I often prefer to pedal slightly slower in a slightly harder gear. So, there's no one right cadence for everyone.

I took your advise and used a harder gear. Worked out quite well on the smaller hills, but I kinda tanked on larger ones. I don't know if I will ever hit 90+rpm. I seem to like riding at a lower cadence

[Wasp]

Practice, practice, practice (assuming your seat isn't too high, which would also make your hips rock from side to side besides bouncing). Ride rollers when the weather's bad. Do downhill intervals - climb the hill, then ride down it in the same gear you climbed in, spinning as fast as you can to barely keep tension on the chain. Visualize your feet pedaling in circles, not squares. Do cadence intervals on the road - ride one minute at 90 rpm, then rest, then one minute at 100 rpm, then one minute at 110, and keep building until you can't maintain the minute without bouncing ... then go back down the ladder again.

There isn't necessarily one cadence that's the most efficient for everyone, but you ought to be able to spin with good form at any cadence. High RPM work helps build that form, because it unmasks the flaws in your pedal stroke.

And make sure your crankarms aren't too long for you.


How do I measure the crankarms?
I don't think the seat is to high, as the bike was fitted to me when I bought it in June. I think your dead on when you mention practice practice practice. My usual ride is pretty flat, with only 3 smallish hills. I need to find some decent hills to practice on.
I just got my first road bike this summer, so I still have a huge amount to learn
Thank you for the great advise

[Wasp]

Assuming the rocking is not from an incorrect saddle height, practice using only one leg at a time when on the trainer- this is the best method I have found for training the brain and muscles to think circles. do a two leg interval and then unclip and do an equal amount of time single legged (hint start with a really simple 1 minute, you'll be surprised how many different muscles speak up especially on the single leg section. Do another two legged session and then unclip the other leg. start with moderate easily resistance and then as your stroke starts to become predictably round, drop the resistance and lengthen the intervals. If the resistance is too low, you will rock.

I will give it a shot. It sounds like a tough workout! :)

[laura*]

How do I measure the crankarms?

If you want to know what length they are, just look at the backside - almost all cranks have the length stamped/cast into the back side (aka inner side) somewhere. It'll be a number like 165, 170, 175, etc. This is the distance in mm center to center between the crank spindle and the pedal spindle.

However, I suspect you're asking how to measure for your correct size. Start by adjusting the saddle height to get good leg extension at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Your knee should remain slightly bent and you shouldn't need to "ankle" (tilt your foot) to reach the pedal. Now position the crank to check the top of the pedal stroke. Check the angle made by your knee. If this angle is too small, you can't make power at the start of the pedal stroke. This means the cranks are too long. If the angle is too large, you're giving up the potential leverage of a longer crank, and you're not using your muscles to their fullest. If you search the web, you'll find some recommended knee angles (for the top of the stroke). However, there's a significant personal preference issue here. You might simply prefer using a particular range of knee motion. And this might even change as your fitness level changes.

[indysteel]

Are we talking about spinning on hills or on the flats? It's perfectly normal for your cadence to slow down when you climb. If I tried to maintain 90 rpms when I climbed, my heart rate would go through the roof.

[Wasp]

Are we talking about spinning on hills or on the flats? It's perfectly normal for your cadence to slow down when you climb. If I tried to maintain 90 rpms when I climbed, my heart rate would go through the roof.

Spinning on flats. The hills I'm just grateful to pedal to the top, I have no idea what the uphill cadence is.
I think part of my problem is when I'm in the hardest gear on the small chainring I tend to bounce. But the easiest gear on the large chainring, causes knee pain after awhile. It seems like i need a in between gear, and im guessing thats something i need to train into?.

[Wasp]

Are we talking about spinning on hills or on the flats? It's perfectly normal for your cadence to slow down when you climb. If I tried to maintain 90 rpms when I climbed, my heart rate would go through the roof.

Spinning on flats. The hills I'm just grateful to pedal to the top, I have no idea what the uphill cadence is.
I think part of my problem is when I'm in the hardest gear on the small chainring I tend to bounce. But the easiest gear on the large chainring, causes knee pain after awhile. It seems like i need a in between gear, and im guessing thats something i need to train into?.

[indysteel]

I assume you have a compact crank on your bike. Unfortunately, I think compacts can make it hard to find the perfect gear on the flats because there are bigger jumps in the gears. Do you happen to know the specs for your cassette? Or just tell me what bike model and year you have. I might be able to look it up.

[indysteel]

I think part of my problem is when I'm in the hardest gear on the small chainring I tend to bounce. But the easiest gear on the large chainring, causes knee pain after awhile. It seems like i need a in between gear, and im guessing thats something i need to train into?.

After rereading this and looking at Sheldon Brown's gear calculator, I'm wondering if you're confused as to the difference between front and rear gearing. If your gearing is similar to mine, your big ring/big cog combination should be easier, not harder, than your little ring/litte cog combination. So, it doesn't make sense to me why you would be bouncing in your hardest little ring gear combination but experiencing knee pain with your easiest big ring gear combination.

Remember that the bigger the rear cog, the easier the gear. It's just the opposite in the front in that the bigger the chainring, the harder the gear.

Little chaingring + littlest cog = your biggest gear when you're using your little chainring.
Little chainring + biggest cog = your smallest gear of any front/rear combination.
Big chainring + littlest cog = your hardest gear of any front/rear combination.
Big chainring + biggest cog = your easiest gear when you're using the big chainring.

And if I'm way off track, I apologize. It's just that it's not uncommon for relatively new riders to think that the bigger the cog, the harder the gear.

[Wasp]

Indy,
Your not off track. After reading your post acouple times it dawned on me I've been making a mistake. This whole time I was thinking the problem was the bikes gearing. Apparently it's operator error...LOL OMGOD! I can't believe i never figured this out. The reason I been getting knee pain is I was riding in the largest chainring and littlest cog and just plowing thru even though it was killing me. No wonder it was pretty tough pedaling!!!!!
I seriously need to practice shifting....a lot!
All I can say in my defense is I started riding in June...lol.....geez I feel like a smuck! What a really dumb mistake!
THANKYOU!!!!!!! Your brillant ! My knees THANKYOU!!!!!

[indysteel]

Yay! I'm so happy to have helped you and your knees!

[indysteel]

One more thing. Try to avoid riding in your liitle ring/big cog and big ring/ little cog combos. That's called crosschaining, and it's hard on your chain.

[laura*]

One more thing. Try to avoid riding in your liitle ring/big cog and big ring/ little cog combos. That's called crosschaining, and it's hard on your chain.

I'm sure you meant to write: "Try to avoid riding in your little ring/little cog and big ring/big cog combos. That's called crosschaining, and it's hard on your chain." It is called crosschaining because the chain quite literally crosses from one side over to the other.

[indysteel]

Oh my gosh; you're right. That's what I get for writing posts at 6 in the morning. Thanks for catching that.

[Wasp]

Is your saddle too high? This can cause rocking.

I don't think the saddle is too high, however being a newbie maybe it is. I can sit on the saddle, and balance myself on my tippy toes. I had the LBS guy check it out, and he seemed to think it was ok. Last night I was looking at posts about trainers, and realized that when I was fitted for my bike the bike was on a trainer and the front wheel was elevated with some type of plastic block. Now I'm wondering if that would of affected the fit? I had them add a stem riser because I kept feeling like I was falling forward, the stem riser fixed that problem but.....other "roadies" often comment or do a double take when they notice, so im starting to think most cyclist dont put stem risers on there road bike.
Considering I had next to nil core strength when I started out, the stem riser helped with a more upright position. But I still wonder if that plastic block affected the whole fit issue. To get a bike fitted is it usually done only on a trainer?
I have a spin bike and at 90 rpm I don't bounce, so there must be something off with the fit? Or is this bouncing caused by being inexperienced? Or both?

It's definatley bouncing....up and down.....no side to side movement

[laura*]

I was fitted for my bike the bike was on a trainer and the front wheel was elevated with some type of plastic block. Now I'm wondering if that would of affected the fit?

The plastic block was to make the bike mostly level while on the trainer. The reason is that the trainer has to raise the rear wheel up off the floor so that the wheel can spin. Without a block of some sort under the front wheel, the bike would be "going downhill".

[OakLeaf]

I have a spin bike and at 90 rpm I don't bounce, so there must be something off with the fit? Or is this bouncing caused by being inexperienced? Or both?

A spin bike is much heavier than a rideable bike, and it doesn't have suspension (in the form of tires) between the frame and the ground, so it takes a LOT to make one bounce. As in, a WHOLE lot. (Pick your rideable bike up a couple of inches off the ground, be ready to catch it when it bounces, then drop it and watch it bounce. Now try the same thing with the spin bike, except don't bother being ready to catch it, because it isn't going to bounce.)

It's possible there's a fit issue, but it's more likely just a matter of practice.