pedaling

[galaxygirl]

I have a new bike! Yeah! Now I have to (re)learn how to ride it. In the past, I've been really hard on my bike pedals and end up breaking one or both off eventually. My new bike is a better and stronger model, I can tell, but how can I go easy on my pedals?

I feel like I am putting my full weight on them to get started and I don't think that's right. I read a website that said start with your foot on a pedal near the top at a 45 degree angle and then push off. I end up in a little bit of a holding position at the bottom of the stroke and it feels like too much pressure. I'm a big gal, how much pressure can the pedal take?

Also, what part of your foot is supposed to rest on the pedal as you push on it? The ball of your foot? The arch?

I chickened out on both toe clips and clipless...I'm riding flat pedals. Not too far...no more than 3-5 miles at a time.

[Tuckervill]

Well, it depends on what kind of bike you have, how much pressure it will take to get going. If it's a single speed or 3 speed and you're starting uphill, it might take most of your weight (don't start uphill if you can avoid it). If it's got shifters and deraileurs, then you should shift into a lower gear before you take off. That means at least your chain should be on the front ring closest to the center of the bike, at least until you get the hang of it.

Pedals shouldn't really break, unless they're plastic. They're designed to take all your weight plus any pressure you can put on them to make them turn. Use the ball of your foot, not the arch. There is a more technical description of what part of the foot, but it's best not to obsess over it. If you can use the arch of your foot comfortably, it's likely that your seat is too low.

What kind of bike do you have?

Karen

[MomOnBike]

Horrible feeling, isn't it?

Bike makers should make pedals to take anything anybody can throw at them, but, um, big girls like us are special.

I don't know your bike, but try riding in smaller (easier) gears. Your knees will thank you, too.

Learn to gear down when coming to a stop, so you start in a less taxing gear. I know, not always possible, but it's a worthy goal. I have no idea how one avoids starting on uphills, road builders (around here, at least) seem to get fiendish pleasure out of making intersections into little lumps, or at the bottom of hills, which is worse.

One last thought. Again, I don't know your bike, or what you have on it, but you might try replacing your current pedals with mountain bike pedals. Now, before they break off. Mountain bikes are built to be take a lot of abuse.

[Tuckervill]

I avoid starting uphill by going side to side, if the situation allows.

Karen

[aly]

I avoid starting uphill by going side to side, if the situation allows.

Karen

Karen- I think you may have just changed my life. I can't wait to try this tomorrow.

[CR400]

The pedal should make contact with the ball of your foot. However, if you have platform pedals, like the ones on most kids bikes and the kind you find at wal-mart. You will sometimes finding yourself ride on the arch because it feels like you have more control over the pedal there.
I have sheered off pedals on a cheap kmart brand bike once. It caused a little bit of a wreck. I was 250 when I first got my Cannondale and had no problems with the pedals that came with it.
As far as putting all your weight on the pedals to get started you are likely using a gear that is too big for you to pedal from a start. The last few cogs on most bikes plus the big ring on the front usually take a lot of force to get started from a stop. Just ride your bike and eventually you will develope the leg strenght needed to start in a big gear if you want.

[Geonz]

It helped me to be taught to think "round and round, not up and down." Made me think of vectors and physics... but the idea that it's not a piston engine, but I'm "stirring" the pedals, not pushing them.

If you have to stomp it's probabl time to try a lower gear like other people said

[Laterider21958]

Hi. I hope you enjoy cycling as much as I do (I'm relatively new as well).

Recently we were visited by a person who arrived on his bike and during conversation about how he was, he mentioned he had to have a knee operation, but was recovering with less leg extension than he had previously. When we began discussing how he was going with cycling, he mentioned that he always uses almost the hardest gear there is and rarely changes gears. (Which equates to mashing in my mind.) It turns out he thought it would strengthen his knees and legs to do this. From my very minimal knowledge I thought this method of riding would place excess strain and wear on knees (possibly our friend created his knee problem from his riding style).

If you have gears I would suggest finding the one that is comfortable and easy to start pedalling on, and then gradually progress through your gears if necessary. I find that if I can predict a stop (e.g. at an intersection etc.) I will change down in anticipation of needing an easier start off. It is becoming like second nature now.

Happy riding.

[galaxygirl]

Thanks all, keep responding...I am collecting all of your responses to repeat over and over to myself while I ride!

I have a new Giant OCR3. Compared to every bike I've ever had, this one practically rides itself. I can't believe I'm not sore at all from riding it and that I kept up with my kids for 4+ miles. The pedals feel strong, it's just that I am nervous from my past experience...granted with a cheapo bike years ago...where I dropped a pedal mid-ride.

I am so confused about shifting at this point, I am not sure of anything except that I keep chanting to myself not to cross the chain (big to little ring). There are so many choices and I still forget which side controls which part of the chain. I try to keep all of the gears in the middle because I can't change them very well. Every time I get to a hill, I think...can I make it to the other side in this gear? Because I am unlikely to be able to change while I am concentrating on not crashing on the downhill, and then trying to keep pedaling on the uphill. I can't figure out how (and when!) people change gears on hills. I'll be riding flat streets for as long as humanly possible.

Mostly, I keep telling myself...don't fall! I hate to be fearful. It makes me feel old, but crashing on a bike seems really scary to me. It's been years since I've ridden anything anywhere!

Anyway, pedaling...round and round...stop in a low gear...don't start up hill...no mashing. Got it! Keep the advice coming. I really appreciate it!

[Torrilin]

Don't worry about cross chaining unless you discover that your bike has lots of trouble with it. Loud noises or dropping the chain will tell you it's having trouble. Otherwise, just pick a gear that's easy to pedal at a moderate cadence. Work on keeping your cadence up, and don't feel bad if at first you get tired out quickly. It takes time to get stronger.

If it's a new bike, it probably has indexed shifting. This is good, because the gears are numbered. Big number means harder gear. Small number, easier gear. So 3/8 would be your hardest gear, and 1/1 would be your easiest one. My bike is set up so shifting feels a lot like using the brakes. The easiest way to get comfortable with shifting is to start out on the flat and just practice.

Pick one chainring (the big gears in front) to work on, and play around with all the different gears in back. Then you *know* which gears are easy and which are hard for you. On some other ride, pick a different chainring. After you've done all the chainrings, you should have a list of good flat gears. Combining this with downshifting for stop signs should get you a lot more comfy with the shifters and balancing and brakes. Then hills shouldn't feel so scary . And if you start to feel unstable, stop and walk the bike. There are lots of times where it's not smart to ride through.

The other good part of doing this is you can see which chainring has the most lower gears available to you for hills. You also have an easy source of fitness goals. If the 3rd chainring is just plain too hard, you can make being able to use it a goal. When I got my bike in May, I couldn't ride on the 3rd chainring at all. Now I can sometimes cruise along in 3/6 for a hundred yards or so, and I'm slowly re-learning my hill climbing skills.

[Kano]

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I have a new Giant OCR3. Compared to every bike I've ever had, this one practically rides itself. I can't believe I'm not sore at all from riding it and that I kept up with my kids for 4+ miles. !

It is amazing how a nice bike feels, isn't it?

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I am so confused about shifting at this point, I am not sure of anything except that I keep chanting to myself not to cross the chain (big to little ring). There are so many choices and I still forget which side controls which part of the chain. !

I don't have a good "mantra" for the left hand, but RIGHT REAR is helpful....

Keeping track of shifting from a physically big gear to a small gear can be tricky, and I still get it wrong occasionally even though on my bike, the little levers are pretty niftily intuitive: move the little lever to go to a little (physically) gear, and the big lever to move to a bigger one. I just say OOPS! as soon as I realize I've shifted the wrong direction, and shift again with the other lever!

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I try to keep all of the gears in the middle because I can't change them very well. Every time I get to a hill, I think...can I make it to the other side in this gear? Because I am unlikely to be able to change while I am concentrating on not crashing on the downhill, and then trying to keep pedaling on the uphill. I can't figure out how (and when!) people change gears on hills. I'll be riding flat streets for as long as humanly possible. !

Something that helped me a lot with the gears: play with them a lot on the flats. That will help you get to know them. The more you play with them, the more your body will learn so that you don't have to think so hard about which lever to push to get to which gear. Listening to the bike helps here too -- that cross chaining thing, you can often do a little tweak to the front guy to make the noise go away!

If you have three rings up front, if you can get to the smallest one before you start up the hill, this will help make it easier to go up. Sounds like you've got a down before the up, though, and some folks like to build up as much momentum as possible before starting up on one of those, so they like to be in one of the bigger front rings -- more pedaling resistance. Then shift the front one down to as small as possible first, pretty much. It was a while before I even used my biggest front ring at all -- don't want to do that mashing thing! Also, gearing down before it gets hard to pedal on the up hill is a good idea. I kept trying to save a couple of gears for "what if" and found that it actually works better to get to the easiest one early!

Oh -- going down the hills -- I find that I feel more stable if I hold my knees kind of firm but not tense, close to the bike. Not exactly squeeze the frame, just close, maybe even gently touching with one knee, seems to reduce the wobbly feeling and vibration. I also coast for the most part going down hill, cuz sometimes it's hard to be in a gear that doesn't have you pedalling that crazy pedaling that doesn't really do anything but cause an unstable feeling!

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Mostly, I keep telling myself...don't fall! I hate to be fearful. It makes me feel old, but crashing on a bike seems really scary to me. It's been years since I've ridden anything anywhere! !

This is a reasonable fear, in my opinion! We're not as close to the ground as we were when we were kids, and we don't bounce quite as well as we did back then either. We also don't heal as fast if we damage ourselves. The more you practice, though, the less you'll worry about it, I think!

Karen in Boise