How To Pedal Like A Pro | Cycling Technique

There is a technique to pedalling efficiently and smoothly, but many people ride without giving it a second thought. In this video, we explain how to get the most out of your pedal stroke with a few simple tips!

When it comes to your pedal stroke, We are presuming you’re at the stage of being clipped in. If you are still relatively new to using cleats you are likely to be more conscious of your pedal stroke and possibly guilty of still just pushing down. The advantage of clipless pedals mean you can make the circle more continuous.

If you watch the pro’s, their pedal stroke looks smooth, the power is not purely on the down phase but also part of the backwards phase. It is often described as scraping back and down. Then think of lifting your knees, realistically you won’t be pulling up but it does help to picture that smooth circle.

You also want to avoid stomping on the pedals as this is wasting energy with excessive movement and relying purely on your quad muscles. The whole time picture trying to draw a circle with the transition from one leg to the other being seamless.

As well as your pedal stroke, we look at your position on the bike, cadence and drills you can do to help!

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Music: Epidemic Sound
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Photos: © Triathlon / Getty Images

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[xGshikamaru]

GCN studied pedalling technique of pros. They found their pedalling technique wasn't that smooth actually. As far as I'm concerned I find that if I'm trying to be smoother I tend to produce less watts for the same speed, but the perceived exertion is higher because there is not much of a rest for the legs between each stroke, it's basically a continuous pedal stroke. I find a good middle ground is to use my ankle as a whip to extend the stroke past the dead spot of the opposing leg, but not pulling up, not really applying much power this way anyway

[D.Eldon_]

*Pulling* -- Over the years I've tried a variety of training techniques to attempt to improve my pedaling efficiency. None seemed to help. Dragging my foot across the bottom (or top) of the circle was a major fail -- no benefit for the extra effort. But I did discover an unorthodox technique that works for short durations: Pulling the pedals. I pull up on the back of the circle when I need a little help sustaining power on a climb or straight-a-way. I also use the technique to give my primary muscles a slight rest. But, since the hip flexors do most of the pulling, it's not something you can do for long because they are too small and not able to sustain it. So I use the technique for relatively short or modest intervals. But it makes a big difference. For example, I can raise my power from 300 to 450 watts on a hill while still feeling like I'm pushing just 300 watts. It took a couple of years of practice.

*Oval chainring* -- Earlier this year I mounted my first oval chainring on my main road bike. I'm using a 52t Rotor QX1 Aero chainring for 1x. It's the equivalent of a 54t round chainring. The idea behind it is to acknowledge the weak portions of the pedaling circle, reduce the effective diameter of the chainring at those angles, and maximize the chain pull at the strong portions with an increase in effective diameter. After just two 20-mile (32-km) rides, it felt normal and I couldn't notice much of a difference on level roads. But it seems to be most noticeable on climbs where it feels like I'm using a slightly smaller chainring -- like 50t. Plus, I definitely notice less knee discomfort when I'm smashing 500 or more watts. Overall, I'm averaging 1-3% more power but it's hard to know if the oval chainring should get all the credit. I'm very happy with it and will probably continue to use oval chainrings in the future.

_Tip_ -- If you decide to try an oval, be aware that some of them do not allow you to adjust the orientation of the oval with regard to your crank arms. This is true for all of the direct-mount type. My advice is to get an adjustable one. This means it will need to mount to a conventional crank with a spider and the oval chainring will have additional mounting holes so you can rotate the oval to fit your needs. For most road and mountain bikes, a 108 degree offset is typical and this is what some of the fixed ovals are designed for. However, those of us who ride tri and TT bikes sit in a forward position that rotates our body forward. For us, a 111 degree offset is often better. That's what I'm using (this is labeled position "4" on a Rotor model). An oval chainring isn't for everyone but I'm very happy with mine. It seems to increase my power a tiny bit and it's definitely makes climbing more comfortable.

[dr.qaziabdulbasit]

I love the way you ride. So smooth and charming. I am bookmarking the video for my training.

[mariahswiss]

Thanks so much, so good have top tips like these for a beginner like me! :*

[acebasan]

What is the best position of our feet on the pedal? Closer to the toes? In the middle? Closer to the heel

[nemeanf]

the best way to improve ones pedal stroke is to invest in some oval chain rings, that way you don't need to physically change anything you do. Iv'e felt smoother and better using them than a traditional round ring, so much so that my times on the bike have improved, i'll be putting them on my road bike too.

[thenetheycallgod]

On a what bike? What’s the bike that measures your pedal stroke

[jthepickle]

xGshikamaru - see comment below - has discovered a little known secret, "I find a good middle ground is to use my ankle as a whip to extend the stroke past the dead spot of the opposing leg." or, another way to say it; If your cadence is high enough, you use your ankle to 'bounce up' the weight of the opposing leg, then when the leg is close to the top of the stroke you 'trap' the inertia with the shin muscle. If you watch Armstrong ride you can see it, if you know what to look for. The great track cyclist (who's name I cannot remember :( would totally relax a leg throughout one stroke every third stroke - I never mastered that, but I sure tried!

[srjones]

Since crashing earlier in the year (damn you potholes!) and injuring my knee, I've noticed that leg is a bit weaker on the wattbike at the gym. I've been trying to strengthen it up with some stretching, gym work and focusing on the wattbike. Any other suggestions to get back to 50/50?

[mowhugspanda]

3 months of wrong paddling. Hehe I’ll practice it.thanks

[maxwollendorfer]

I like to have a bit more of a spinning cadence on my bike (90-95), but then I have a very slow running stride. Do I really have to change that up, or can i get faster like this

[KoenMiseur]

My bikefitter told me that it could be dangerous to change your pedal technique to much, especially if u are fully grown. My knees don't go up and down straight at all, he changed my cleat position to much but also told me that u can't do much more about it, changing it to much can be more harmfull than doing any good!

[RomainLussier]

I find that pedaling all the way around to be much more demanding rather that than a simpler up and down stroke. Is this a normal phenomenon?

[maikholzhey]

I pedal like a dancing bear on a tricycle...

[cycloprosector]

For a non-native English speaker, the speech is way too fast. I never had problems to catch everything from GCN channel, but here, I really sruggled to keep the tempo :-/

[bteiv]

I find that those from Great Britain speak well but a little too fast for my understanding sometimes. I felt the same about Ema @ GCN. Enunciation very good, clarity of voice excellent, volume fine. So why? Maybe a bit too fast and in an almost monotone delivery doesn't help. But I did enjoy the vid and she was speeding her way down the road so casually without effort I was a bit envious. Thanx

[stiiffyrabbit]

I ride clipped in, and I got 3 directly relevent tips, inside of 70 seconds, including the intro!
Chicks know stuff.