4 Bad Cycling Habits | How To Look More Pro On A Bike

There are a number of bad habits that are super easy to pick up, that will stop you from looking as pro as you'd like. Si and Dan are here to help you break these habits and look more pro on a bike.

Bobbing, Bouncing, knees out, and elbows out. There are a few simple ways to combat these common cycling problems.

The first is a combination of core work and stretching. This will not only allow you to keep yourself more stable while riding, it will also stop a number of the muscular imbalances that could lead to your knees or elbows coming out of line.

The second is making sure your position on the bike is correct. For example if your saddle is too low you might find your knees coming out of line and you might bounce on the saddle at higher cadences.

Let us know how you get on with fixing your bad cycling habits in the comments below 👇

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Leave us a comment below!

[gcn]

If you've got any questions on breaking your bad cycling habits, leave a comment down below and we'll answer if we can!

[SioLazer]

Core stability is so helpful in cycling. Without yoga and pilates, I never would have dreamed about biking more than just to and from work. I did three centuries last year and yoga has helped me immensely. Both with stretching and strengthening. Also, how to breathe and to know where my edge is. It built my core so I can ride hands-free, too!

[theglumrant]

Thanks. As a Non-cyclist, I can now impress my family and friends by critically appraising cyclists from the safety of my car 👍

[caioo]

The location you mates are pedalling is simply amazing!

[elpiedpiper]

Hello GCN from Brooklyn, New York. Love your channel and thanks for getting me into the love of cycling. Keep up the great content!

[abedfo]

I associate being in the right position on the bike as having no specific/localised aches, pains and cramps. And when you get that its cycling nirvana.

[muamermusic]

I am watching this but I have a mountain bike lmao

[franciss]

Just relax. Your body's most natural position is its best! That's why time trialists (and every pro in general) looks perfect on the bike. I mean, Landa's relaxation in the 2017 tour showed against the others like Dan Martin, with his gagging face and daft positioning. Whenever I realise that I'm tense or uneasy, I just calm my mind and relax my body more.

[MrJorgemedel]

I've done the impossible things thanks to my bobbing! Guess its just in my head, but given I'm 285 lb I'm like the bumble bee of road biking since I can still do 60 mile rides lol. Thank you for the great advise! I'm hoping to ride the monterey to san francisco for my birthday in December (110 miles)

[Betelgeuse]

The first simple solution to elbows out and especially knees out is to think about them being straight every pedal stroke. When I was more of a noob than I am now I used to pedal moderately knees out until I had knee pain and then someone pointed it out. All I did to rectify it was to think about bringing my knees through near the top tube and then doing it; now it is just natural. It becomes physiologically ingrained after a while. If you watch someone like Cadel Evans he almost comes across the top tube with his knees...

[teuast]

Okay, it's kind of crazy you guys brought up the knees thing, because I just recently adjusted my bike fit to get a more racy position (raised saddle a couple mms, moved it back on the rails, and lowered my bars another 5mm) and noticed that my knees stopped pointing out on the upstrokes, and also that the tendinitis I've been dealing with for the last month and a half seems to have gone away overnight.

[yannickokpara]

I'm really glad that you addressed the matter of cleat position when dealing with knee flare. I had a bikefit last summer by a reputable bikefitter, who addressed my 'windswept' knee motion by forcing the knees the opposite way. Lucily the rest of the bikefit was good - especially the addition of arch support insoles, which has kept my knees from tracking in and out(pronating arches). Half a year later, I've slapped on pedal washers, which has allowed my right knee to extend, right sitbone to be supported on the saddle and better handling, because I am not sitting to one side of the saddle.

[COMANE]

You guys cracked me up at the end of the video. I’v been cycling for over a year now. I started out with a mountain bike and just upgraded to a sport bike. I have one bad habit and that’s riding with my knees out when I’m tired. From now on I’ll just take a break and start back riding. Thanks for your videos, I’ve learned a lot from watching them...

[dewiz]

Froome won four tours. If he’d kept his elbows in, he might have won seven

[zirc]

Thanks gents for the fun bobbing up and down was common back in the 80's when an easy gear was a 42x21 (or worse)...look at Lemond, Miller, Hinault, and even now that a 39x28 is the norm for the pros, it is far "easier" to spin up those climbs. Personally, I still bob up and down on my 34x34... but then I would never look pro with that kind of gearing :)

[SkatesonEcstasy]

8:17 Si nails his french again: TourS deS France. Salute to this ammount of skills!

[originalkontrol]

Just stumbled upon your channel while watching motorcycle videos. Subscribed, you guys are awesome, and I look forward to watching more. I love cycling as well as motorcycles, and it is awesome to see some good riding tips and real world testing. Well done!

[justDave]

Old pros used to bob because the lowest gear they had was likely to be around 42/23 - not great on the hills

[AberHangie]

Totally agree with rollers suggestion. Really forces a smooth efficient style.

[kajet]

This is the sort of old school GCN stuff that I love!