Pulling up on the pedals

[Tuckervill]

I'm pretty much clipless now, though I'm still using the toe clips on my mountain bike because I haven't spent the money on a second set of pedals. (Frogs on the road bike, stock toe clips moved from the road bike to the mtb.)

While I'm riding, I've been contemplating the idea of pulling up on the pedals, and experimenting a little bit. I don't think I'm naturally pulling up just because my feet are clipped in. When I do knowingly pull up, I can feel it in all sorts of tendons and ligaments and the hams. Since it's been a few weeks, those feelings are going away, I guess as I made saddle adjustments, getting used to it, etc.

Also, I keep my shoes pretty loose because my toes swell and get numb. When I pull up consciously (and hard), my feet can leave the bottom of my shoe (depending on the conditions). I chose shoes designed for spinning because they seemed to have more vents than regular road shoes, plus I wanted tread, but not bulky mtb shoes. The guy at the LBS said they were fine for road biking, as long as I wasn't planning on hiking out of the woods with my bike over my shoulder.

I think all my thinking and experimenting boils down to this question. Is it a conscious act to pull up--a skill to be learned--or is it a natural result of the physics of being clipped in? Am I doing it whether I think about it or not?

Karen

[meridian]

When I began, it was a conscious effort to pull up and focus on pedaling 'full circle' with clipless. After a while, it became second nature, and I really only have to focus consciously on it now when I'm really tired or trying to get every last once of power out of my pedal stroke during a sprint, in a headwind, or uphill for example.

[Geonz]

Prob'ly depends. I think some people's bodies find the most efficient way to do something without it turning into thoughts, much less words. I, on the other hand, have to start with words and tell the body parts what to do. I spent a lot of time praticing "Round and round, not up and down."

[Bad JuJu]

I'm no expert, but having read about the pedaling action, it seems to me that it is not something we do intuitively, but have to practice and make it a habit. But I have read about ways to visualize the action that can make it easier to internalize:

Imagine that as your foot reaches the bottom of the pedal stroke, you are pulling not just up, but up and back on the pedal, as if you were scraping something nasty off the bottom of your shoe. As you reach the top of the pedal stroke, angle your foot upward ever so slightly, as if you were now trying to step over that nasty stuff.

"Your mileage may vary," but these visuals have helped me with my pedal stroke a lot.

[Tuckervill]

So, JuJu, when I envision that, I think it's more of a pushing at the back of the stroke, than a pulling up. But then, as you lift your toes to get it over the gooey stuff, that's where the pulling comes in.

Hmmm. I'm going to visualize that while on the bike,

When I was consciously pulling up, it was all about the muscles on the top of the leg. Like I was lifting my feet while sitting so someone can sweep under my feet. I can see how different that would be when described as above. I think it's a matter of degree, but I think I am probably pulling up a little. I would like to maximize it, though.

Thanks!
Karen

[Tiffany]

Imagine that as your foot reaches the bottom of the pedal stroke, you are pulling not just up, but up and back on the pedal, as if you were scraping something nasty off the bottom of your shoe. As you reach the top of the pedal stroke, angle your foot upward ever so slightly, as if you were now trying to step over that nasty stuff.

JuJu, that's exactly how I was taught also. It helped me a lot becauase the nasty stuff that I envisioned was doggie poo. LOL I don't know why, but that's just what comes to mind. Maybe I've stepped in a few piles in my life.

[annie]

Here is another way to look at it. Instead of thinking about pulling up and down, think of pulling back and forth and around. Your feet/legs naturally pedal down and up, but try and picture them going around in the middle part of the circle, the horizontal plane. IDK......... it helps my pedal stroke immensely to picture it this way. HTH!

Annie

[spokewench]

You don't really want to think about pulling up or pushing down per se. You want to be making very nice round pedal strokes. The best way to see if you are accomplishing this is to unclip one foot and take it off the pedal - now pedal with one foot. If you have a hitch anywhere in the pedal stroke, you are not pedaling round! You will also feel the "pull up" more cause you have to pull up to get the pedal around.

spoke

[Irulan]

you want to make sure your foot is properly positioned, that is, level to the pedal, parallel to flat. It's amazing how many people ride with the saddle just a little too high, toes pointed down. It's really hard to pedal correctly like this, but I never cease to be amazed at how much I see it.

[segolene]

You don't really want to think about pulling up or pushing down per se. You want to be making very nice round pedal strokes. The best way to see if you are accomplishing this is to unclip one foot and take it off the pedal - now pedal with one foot. If you have a hitch anywhere in the pedal stroke, you are not pedaling round! You will also feel the "pull up" more cause you have to pull up to get the pedal around.

spoke

Part of my work-out (warm-up) on the trainer last winter included one foot pedalling. Great way to safely focuse on the smoothness of your stroke!

Seg

[Geonz]

I try to think more of "stirring around" as if my foot were a dog on a leash trying to let the leash wear through that tree by running around in circles with the most force...

[Tuckervill]

I know for sure my saddle is not too high. In fact, I have been thinking it could edge up a notch. It's a fine balance because it seems even though I have it secured, the saddles on both my bikes tend to slip down over time (probably because I'm heavy, and underestimating how tight the bolt/quick release is).

I'll try the one-foot pedaling.

Karen

[Bad JuJu]

Re: pedaling in circles--that's how it was explained to me initially, but then the scraping/stepping over images helped me to accomplish the circles a little better. I've also heard the push-and-pull description, and that helps, too.

In spinning class once, there was a young woman next to me who had those pedals zooming around so fast that it reminded me of how cartoonists make cartoon characters look like they're going fast: by drawing the legs as if they're turning in a circle. So now that's another image--a fun one--to help me think about what my feet/pedals are doing.