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As (almost) always, the great Sheldon Brown has covered this particular topic. Standing while Cycling To Sit or to Stand? It is my belief that a great many cyclists stand up to pedal much more often than they should. I've often said: "If you find yourself standing to accelerate, on level ground, it is a sign that your gear is too high or that ...

To complement Neil Fein's answer, the rider's position is almost entirely controlled (given a particular rider) by the geometry of the bike. Compare the following bikes. In the first image of a hybrid bike, the saddle is slightly below the handlebars. In the second image depicting a road racing bike, the saddle is well above it, forcing the rider to lean ...

Yes there is one main trick, and some regular skills. The trick is: if you LOWER THE TIRE PRESSURE, any tire will float over sand like magic. It should not be so underinflated as to allow easy pinch flats, but the lower the pressure, the more marked the floating effect. There are just two limitations: If the tire is skinny (low volume) it might not be ...

I think this relates quite nicely to motorbikes where you corner at very high speeds and I'll give a run-down of the techniques, why they are useful and how they apply, and how they might apply to cycling. So when turning left: You shift your weight over on the seat and tilt the bike left. This allows the centre of gravity to be slightly lower, aiding in ...

I agree with Hicks sentiment that the crank "giving" is more likely due to worn parts or misalignment. The crank would have to flex a lot to actually be responsible for ghost shifting, which would make it incredibly poor quality. Sheldon's article strikes me as cursory for "When Should You Stand"... Assuming you have the gearing for whatever you're riding ...

What you're referring to is tucking, an act that's most easily done with drop bars - the curved handlebars with multiple hand positions you see on road bikes. The holy grail for some hardcore roadies (road cyclists) is the flat back, where the rider is tucked all the way forward, their hands on the lower part of the drop bars - the "drops". This is done so ...

I have plenty of experiance in insanely soft sand. Before you leave : 29er, wide tyres, low pressure. BUT Low preasure costs when you get back onto hard stuff, as do insanely wide tyres. I set the bike up to go well on the hard stuff, and pay the price on the soft sections. On the track : Riding style is Weight Back, Very high cadence, great balance ...

I have personally ridden and raced on many sandy courses and trails (e.g. Moab) and the best advice is to shift your weight back, relax and think about guiding rather than steering the bike. You will never be able to ride in a perfectly straight line, so get over it or avoid sand. Rather you need to let the bike move and shift around under you. You will ...

Low seats provide clearance for more acrobatic body movements. This is essential for bunny hops and nearly every other trick which builds off of this skill. If you look at trials bikes they similarly have lots of clearance for the rider over the frame and the saddle. Since speeds are relatively low, and long distance riding is not the goal, pedaling ...

I assume you have worked out the problem is your center of gravity is too far back, so there is not enough weight on the front wheel. This is a common problem, and I have found my new bike is worse than any other I have ridden- I went for a smallish frame for tight technical single track. I am still playing around to see what I can do. I assume you have ...

The pros you see on the videos set their saddle depending on the DH course. If the course has a lot of possibilities for pedalling and not many drops - set it high, so on flat sections they can rest their bum on the seat and give it a full pedalling power. If the course is rough and steep - no racer will have the seat high. So you should do. You know what ...

Changing from 50 to 65 (or the opposite) is definitely noticeable. And depending on your needs, switching may improve your riding. Switching from 50 to 65 will mean more pressure on the front end. That means better cornering (the front end will not wash out easily) and more stability on the downhill. Some people also mention that it'll improve climbing on ...

Your question is based on an incorrect assumption about how a bicycle makes turns. You say "...move my bottom to the left and this is sufficient to tilt the bicycle to the left." Unfortunately, what you are stating above is simply impossible in practice. A bicycle can be thought of as a vehicle that is "attached" to the surrounding environment by an ...

When it comes to turning on a bicycle, the two most important things you can do are: Keep your weight as close to the bike as possible. Simply put, your center of gravity should be as close to your bike as possible. If your turning left and sitting straight up with your torso haning off to the right of the bike the turn is going to be much more difficult ...

I would say that the knee thing won't give you any real advantage and is more or less some imitation of the "coolness" of motorcycle racers. The second thing, where you push your bike down into the turn while keeping your body more upright has some advantages when used in the right situation. On a paved road -- as pointed out in your question -- it ...

If you're banging the boys against the seat even when it's low, it's the result of poor technique. The pros are using a of proper technique in conjunction with their suspension. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to learn proper technique riding a full suspension bicycle. The suspension does the work that proper technique should be doing and you just never ...

If you aren't riding clipless pedals, invest in them and a pair of shoes. It will be the single biggest improvement you'll ever make in how ride if you're riding XC- not only in terms of climbing but in terms of your whole riding experience. Now, if you've already got that covered, before you go changing everything on your bike and possibly the bike itself, ...

Pedaling in standing position usually serves at least two primary purposes: To compensate for a shifting error. I.e. if one forgets to downshift before and incline, one can try to power oneself out of this situation by quickly switching to a standing position. It is inefficient, but in many cases it is a better idea then attempting a downshift under high ...

I'm going to semi-disagree with many of the answers on here, perhaps on a technicality: Yes, standing is much harder on your bike equipment and does allow you to apply a signnificant amount of torque to the frame and components. For normal cruising riding, staying seated is likely the best route. Instances where standing is required: -Offroad riding ...

Intuitively, I don't think it's possible to accelerate as much sitting down as standing up, no matter what gear you're in. Yes, standing up is less efficient, but it is faster over a short distance. I'm a road commuter/tourer (straight bars), I stand up in these situations: Pulling out at a junction in traffic, usually from a standing start. The ...

Fatter tires and stand up. If you stay seated, the front tire will not be able to carry its weight and basically float, making it really hard to control. Growing up on the beach in Hawaii, I have had my fair share of riding in sand and found that the wet sand that the ocean just saturated is 30 times easier to ride on than dry sand.