How do I stop mashing???

[chutch]

I've had this problem and just had a professional fitting on my bike. We figured out that lowering the seat and moving it forward just a small bit made working on the proper pedal stroke easier. I'm trying it like this for a few rides and we may tweak the adjustments a little more after we see how it goes.

The first ride after making those tiny adjustments, meaning a centimeter or less, was amazing. I still have to concentrate on breaking my toe-down habit, but it's easier and feels more natural to do heels down with the adjustments we made.

If you have access to a professional fitting, I highly recommend it.

[Jiffer]

At a club meeting recently, cadence came up. My husband talked about how doing a high cadence up hills has all of a sudden become easy for him this year, while still going the same speed he used to go or faster. The cycling coach leading the meeting said that dh's previous couple of years of slower cadence probably helped him with his pedaling technique, which now helps him efficiently spin at a higher cadence.

I would suggest you get your pedaling efficiency down before worrying about your cadence. This will ultimately help with our cadence.

Secondly, when you do work on your cadence, I would suggest just bumping it up a little at a time until you are comfortable with it. Maybe not on every ride and maybe not during the entire ride.

You've gotten good tips on working on one leg at a time. This is something I keep intending to do, but haven't yet.

[zeWoo]

I've read this entire thread and I'm still clueless...

What's mashing?

By using my keen deductive reasoning skills, I've eliminated --

Potatoes and philandering -- so you don't need to cover those, thanks

[indigoiis]

I've read this entire thread and I'm still clueless...

What's mashing?

By using my keen deductive reasoning skills, I've eliminated --

Potatoes and philandering -- so you don't need to cover those, thanks

Perhaps when you were a kid, you rode a one or a three speed?
And you came to a hill?
And your cranks turned real slow under the weight of your entire being?

That's mashing.

[zeWoo]

Perhaps when you were a kid, you rode a one or a three speed?
And you came to a hill?
And your cranks turned real slow under the weight of your entire being?

That's mashing.

Ahhhhh, something I don't need to concern myself with, I'll come back in a year or so and ask... I guess I'm being a bit thick -- I just don't understand the nuance between mashing and spinning -- and how you go about doing(or not doing) one or the other ... which I take it is explained in this thread in detail -- In other words, it's not that I don't know the answer... it's that I don't understand the question...I think I need pictures...

Touche.

[spokewench]

Ahhhhh, something I don't need to concern myself with, I'll come back in a year or so and ask... I guess I'm being a bit thick -- I just don't understand the nuance between mashing and spinning -- and how you go about doing(or not doing) one or the other ... which I take it is explained in this thread in detail -- In other words, it's not that I don't know the answer... it's that I don't understand the question...I think I need pictures...

Touche.

Spinning - a pedal cadence of 90 rpm (revolutions per minute) and more

Mashing - a pedal cadence of 90 rpms and less.

That is as technical as I can get

spoke

[pinkbikes]

Spinning - a pedal cadence of 90 rpm (revolutions per minute) and more

Mashing - a pedal cadence of 90 rpms and less.

That is as technical as I can get

spoke

Not QUITE that simple - there are people who can spin slower than 90rpm.


zeWoo, I think what you're looking for is this...

Mashing is when you stomp on the pedals like you're walking up stairs! So you are only using the "down" part of the stroke with any power. When you get clipless pedals or toe clips you can pull up too but still mash because you are still only using the vertical parts of the stroke.

Spinning is about using your muscles to make sure that you are using the full circular revolution to push the bike forward. So this means you do push down at that part of the stroke, but you also pull up on the up part of the stroke, push forward over the top of the pedal stroke and drag back as your foot goes through the bottom of the stroke (or instead of stroke I should really say circle).

This is why all these helpful people suggest one-legged drills which show you how to smooth out your muscles in each leg to deliver your power nice and smoothly through all these parts of the circle your foot is moving in. And when you get it nice and smooth you can spin at higher cadences for longer and get more for less!

Funnily enough, I first learnt about spinning by reading Trixie Belden books when I was a teenager! The characters in the book went on a biking tour and one of the boys took the girls aside and told them about "ankling" which is the process of flexing your foot as you pedal (upward as you go through the top of the stroke and downward as you go through the bottom of the stroke) to enxtend the range of the circle through which you have pressure on the pedals. Wonder what Nancy Drew taught me???

This is a good foundation for spinning as it starts you using more of the circle. I recently did a ten day tour on a tandem with my ten year-old daughter and her mashing drove me nuts for the first day or two, as it really reverberates through the bike. I had plenty of time to chat with her about it (!?) so I talked to her about mashing and spinning. As it turned out the most effective way for her to stop mashing was for her to think about "doing circles" with her feet. In no time she was spinning like a beaut and anytime I got that stomping kind of feeling coming through, I would just say "circles" and she'd smooth it out.

I think a lot of the mashing vs spinning switch mechanism is in the mind! And the rest is muscle memory. Don't wait to try it - try it now and get good habits from the start and then you won't have to undo the mashing issues!

[TrekTheKaty]

= I still have to concentrate on breaking my toe-down habit, but it's easier and feels more natural to do heels down with the adjustments we made.

Is toe-down bad? I've come to understand heels-down from spinning class and it works when you need a switch.

[chutch]

Is toe-down bad? I've come to understand heels-down from spinning class and it works when you need a switch.

I'm no expert at all, but from my limited understanding heels-down is considered more efficient. But I think I have read that some people have a perfectly efficient pedal stroke using the toe-down method. I also had a knee pain issue and am experiencing less knee pain with the change in pedal stroke so that benefit alone makes it worth it to me.

[ny biker]

When I go in for a bike fit adjustment, the guy at the LBS always tells me heels down.

[pinkychique]

The best thing that I've found for mashing is single-speed mtb. It's kinda like the downhill drill, but on a mtb. Since you only have one speed, you are going to end up mashing up some hills, in which case you stand up, but you get a lot stronger and you learn to spin up the hills, and you spin spin spin spin fast down the downhills. Ss mtb's are great for power too

I have a fixie that I ride around school. I don't put many many miles on it, but it has DEFINITELY helped with efficiency too since you have no choice but to pedal.

[alpinerabbit]

Hamentashen!

Bless you!