How to Improve Cycling Efficiency? Here are the Techniques You Need to Familiarize Yourself With

Cycling Techniques

Choose a gear that suits your leg strength, don't waste effort on gears you can't pedal effectively. Quickly switch to a lower gear, maintain consistent and powerful pedaling, and avoid jerky changes in pedaling frequency. Keep your pedaling frequency within a range suitable for your level – beginners can maintain a frequency of 80-90, while experienced riders can control it at 100-110.

Dealing with Different Road Conditions

Adjust your gear according to the road conditions. For example, lighten the gear when riding against the wind or uphill, and increase the gear when going downhill or with a tailwind. Basically, maintain your pedaling frequency.

Don’t Chase High Speeds

Don't worry about momentary bursts of maximum speed; maintaining a high speed for a few seconds doesn't significantly improve efficiency. The key is to maintain your optimal state for a longer period to increase your average speed. Average speed is paramount.

Cycling is a leg-powered movement tool that relies on people’s legs to pedal, drive the rear wheel through the chain, and make the bicycle move forward. The gear and rear cassette system represent the transmission system, which is crucial. However, cycling isn’t just about using gears; your pedaling frequency must complement the gear ratio to achieve a synergistic effect.

How to Improve the Efficiency of Every Pedal Stroke?

Don’t think that simply applying force when you pedal will yield the best results.

Pedaling Habits

Just focus on pushing down! Many people believe that to increase pedaling frequency, they should push down with their front foot, while their back foot should help lift. However, this approach doesn’t increase efficiency and makes you more tired and slower. Even ‘dead flying’ cyclists don’t need to lift their back foot to add power.

So, after abandoning the upward movement, when should you apply force with your front foot? Starting from the 10 o’clock to 1 o’clock direction and continuing to the 3 o’clock direction will provide the maximum pedaling power. Additionally, keeping your feet and lower legs at a fixed angle during the downward pedal stroke is a key habit for maintaining high efficiency.

Strength Training

Your hip strength, leg strength, and core strength are key to determining your pedaling frequency. Therefore, after correcting your pedaling habits, engage in various strength training exercises (squats) to increase the strength of these key muscles.