Questions tagged [technique]
How to improve your cycling form -- whether you want to pedal with less pain or become more aerodynamic. Can also be used for mountain biking or BMX techniques such as hopping or jumping.
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What benefits does standing on your pedals have?
Having watched a number of "Matt Stephens, The Cafe Ride" episodes, where Matt interviews while riding, I've noticed that the guest cyclist would often stand on their pedals every now and ...
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Prepping for winter riding: Hills
This isn't necessarily a gear question, as there's myriad articles & arguments over the best tires, pressure, brake pads, etc. Rather, I consider it more of a technique question.
My daily commute ...
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Ways to find a safe route on flooded roads
Recently during my cycling holiday I have been riding after a severe thunderstorm in the countryside, which meant the roads where covered in running muddy water and some underpasses had 5-6 cm of ...
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YEAR/MODEL Technique BMX frame
I own this Technique BMX frame and need help determining which frame i own. Serial number is M12903.
serial number underneath right rear fork
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How maintenance-free can a commuter bike be?
Commuting is hard on bikes, especially when doing it all-year long. Maintenance is essential to assure one can get to work every morning without issues but it takes time and care.
Fixed-gear and ...
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Pedal Stroke Analysis on a BikeErg
Hello I'm in the market for an indoor bike and am considering the BikeErg. I'd like to know if there is a way I can do pedal stroke analysis like that offered by the Wattbike (https://support.wattbike....
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Slick Hybrid Bike Tires on Steep Gravel Descent?
I'm trying to take my hybrid bike with slick hybrid tires down a short (maybe 200 foot) steep gravel descent with a gradient of around -25 percent (according to Strava). How should I ride this to ...
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Strange handle on the left side of Winora Youkatan 12 pro
There is a strange handle (lever) on the left side of my new E-bike (Winora Youkatan 12 pro). It looks similar to the brake or gear shifter, and it is connected to the cable that goes somewhere (...
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Is turning head to look backwards while riding a bike a safe and recommended technique?
I currently have two problems with this:
While looking backwards, I do not see where I am going.
It is difficult to maintain perfectly the same direction while turning around.
Probably both problems ...
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Striking pedals on a full suspension bike
I just change my old hardtail (Marlin 5-TREK) for a full-suspension bike (Siskiu D7). The bike runs smoothly, but I notice how frequently strike my pedals with the ground and other obstacles. I ...
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Could one predict from power data whether a cyclist is standing or sitting?
I was wondering about this machine learning problem: Take a large sample of data from rides that includes whether a cyclist was standing, what the cadence, power, (or perhaps even torque?) and ...
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What could be causing pain in right hip?
I'm a new cyclist in my 40s, used rental bikes for the past year before buying a second hand drop bar bike with flat pedals 4 months ago. I've been riding it about 3 times a week since and have slowly ...
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keep going off-axis on big jumps i don't know how to stop it?
I've been riding for about 5-6 years, and can speed through tech, can do hips, speed-jumps 5-8 meters... but every time theres a jump with a steep lip, or involves me going quite high, i keep coming ...
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How to ensure all muscles are engaged when pedaling
Forgive me if this is too subjective, however, I've been doing some mtb riding and noticed that it's always my glutes that fatigue first especially on climbs, talked over with my friends and they tell ...
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Correctly and incorrectly mounting a bicycle
I am very fond of mouting bicycles this way:
Stand to the left of the bike.
Put the left foot on the left pedal.
Push forward with the right foot to set the bike in motion.
Swing the right leg ...
user39828
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Does wearing a backpack weaken your jumping technique?
I mountain bike about 4 times a week. I like to do jumps, but I wear a water backpack (water bladder, camelbak, whatever you'd like to call it). I wear it because I find that a water bottle doesn't ...
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Why do men and women have different sporting capabilities, e.g. why is the women's hour record significantly shorter than the men's?
In this YouTube video, they show the hour record, but, during all its duration, they declare that women have a different goal than men.
(in the video he mentions women's record could be 50km/h and men'...
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Pendulum motion when riding out of the saddle
When riding out of the saddle, you will often have to rock the bike laterally for stability.
My question is: how do most people synchronise this pendulum motion with their pedal stroke?
In which ...
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What adjustments can you do to prevent psoas tightness in an aggresive postion on a road or track bike?
I have been paying attention to my own body and I feel that together with a sedentary job and not moving more than with the bike due to the COVID restrictions, I spend a lot of time in that shortened ...
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Does rocking the bike side to side when e.g. sprinting or climbing help?
Or would more power go through the pedals if the rider held the frame still/upright?
Or is there little difference? How would it be measured and what are the forces acting on the bike when rocking ...
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Do both riders on a tandem need to know how to ride a bike?
I want to take a visiting friend out on a bike ride.
Since this friend never learned how to ride a bike, I was thinking that a tandem might be a viable solution in the short term, instead of ...
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Low tire pressure causing fall in corner?
I recently fell in a corner. My front wheel lost traction (slid out from underneath the bike, what they call a 'lowsider' in motorcycling iirc).
I was running quite low tire pressure (front wheel) to ...
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Rear wheel slipping out of slot after attempting a 180
So whenever I try a 180, I seem to put quite a bit of sideways force on the rear wheel when I land because I never make it the whole way. After the landing, it causes the wheel to come out of its slot....
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How do you come to a stop without dismounting? [duplicate]
I'm an avid bicycler who has just moved to the city (Boston). As I (unlike many folks here) am unwilling to run red lights and violate traffic laws, I often have to come to a stop, dismount, and wait ...
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Differences between starting a road bike vs a mountain bike?
I'm having problems getting rolling on my road bike.
For some reason I have hard time hopping back into the road bike saddle. It's the pedals spinning causing my feed to lose grip, or the bike ...
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Which position adjustments maximize the use of the glutes in a road bike?
I usually don't feel the glutes firing when I'm seated unless I'm in a really long and hard climb or if I stand up and move back.
Is there any common adjustment to maximize the glutes utilization? Or ...
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Ride a bike only using the pedals
Is it possible to ride a bike standing? I mean properly standing, not sitting up straight. Your feet are on the pedals but you do not touch any other part of the bike. If not, is it possible to roll/...
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Why do so many people put the inside pedal down when cornering?
When learning to ride, my dad taught me to always have the inside pedal up when cornering. He reinforced the lesson by telling me about a race he'd been in where someone clipped a pedal when cornering ...
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How to learn to ride a bike better?
I can ride a bike somehow, but I'd like to learn to do it better (maneuvering, etc.) before starting to use it as a way to move about the city. Any suggestions how I should go about doing that, what I ...
user18894
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Calves overcoming glutes function, is this a set up problem?
I've noticed that I usually become really tight calves while my gluts don't work at all. It is specially so when I accelerate in my singlespeed while I'm stand up or when I climb.
Sometimes I get my ...
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Risks of pedaling with outward pointing knee
During my pedaling action I always try to keep my knee moving in plane parallel to the plane containing the frame, or, in other words, my leg parallel to the frame.
I have however noticed other ...
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Is it a good idea to lift the front wheel to go through small bumps?
I was wondering if it is a good idea, when riding fast on a road bike, to lift the front wheel when I find a 5-10cm bump.
Does it damage the rear wheel more? Is it good or bad for the front wheel?
I ...
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How do you keep from coasting too much on a bicycle?
Something that has always confused me about working out on a bike. I want a Hybrid to ride for fitness. I do not want the Road bike, mostly because I'm not going to ride on the road (I am too afraid ...
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Climbing techique with panniers and cleats
In the last year I started using cleats (2 bolts SPD) on my touring bike, which I often use with rear panniers on biking holiday (travelled about 2000 km with this set up).
The struggle I have is ...
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Bum-off-seat cycling
Is their a particular term for "standing" while cycling, and how is it done? I've never been able to manage it, nor for that matter, flinging my leg over the saddle while the bike is still in motion, ...
user36757
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How to avoid hand strain when landing with a road bike?
Whenever landing from a bunny-hop or jumping a couple of stairs, my hands strain just above the wrist. How can this be remedied?
Things I have tried:
Warming up before going out.
Position the ...
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How do I improve my cycling at my age (77 years)
I am 77 years old and newly come to riding a road bike. In the better weather I do between 75 and 100 miles per week, consisting mainly of fairly easy roads with four or five reasonable hills, ...
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Reposition pedal on a fixed gear (fixie)
I've been riding a fixie for about 3 months, without foot retention, for commuting. As I ride at about 10km/h I don't feel the need for it.
I've learned I can reposition (lift) my right pedal (...
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Is there a way to remember pedal, crank position before taking sharp turns
I had a nasty tumble yesterday when doing a sharp right turn into a side road.
A car was giving way to me at the junction.
I turned right and I was basically thrown of my bike. flipped onto my left ...
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Re-learning how to corner aggressively at speed after bad experiences
I'm not quite sure if this should somehow be broken up into two questions, but what can one do to take sharp corners at speed effectively, especially when you're nervous after having bad experiences ...
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Most effective pedal position to jump start from still situation
All other conditions (strenght, gear, etc.) being the same, what is the most efficient position of the pedals when starting from a still situation on a very short sprint (like crossing 10 meters wide ...
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How can I tell if my bike can ride down stairs without damaging it?
I would like to know if my bike can handle going down a flight of about 15 stairs. (edit: ride it down, not jump)
Specifically I have a Merida Crossway 100 . However, I would like to know if there is ...
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What happens if a tire goes flat while I am in a fast turn?
So, the other day, I was riding along and got a flat tire. I was at the bottom of a large hill where I often find myself travelling 30 or more miles per hour (as per my speedometer) about it's many ...
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Tips for dexterously handling bike lights with winter gloves
I've got some battery-powered LED lights which are mounted using the typical "click-in" bike mounts somewhat like the one pictured below:
Unfortunately, I've got the fine motor skill of an elephant. ...
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Should I leave the water bottle tip open or shut while in the cage?
When I'm riding (all road, never trails) I leave the tip on my water bottle shut. When I take a drink, I pull the tip open with my teeth, squirt some water, and then bump it against my slightly-opened ...
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How to bike with less stress on the calves
I have a condition called functional PAES, which is caused by the calf muscles compressing the popliteal artery. My doctor recommended activities that would not put much stress on the calves, and ...
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How to roll-start with a back-pedal coaster brake?
I have a bicycle with a coaster brake. It is very "handy" to brake even without hands. But somehow I can only do a stand still start. This means if have to get on bike first and then start pedaling. ...
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Does the superman style have any chance to be seen in competition?
On social networks, many people have seen Michael Guerra's superman style.
Video here
The technique seems to be quite efficient, however it probably requires skills and yield to increase risks of ...
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Standing up, worth practising for a casual cyclist?
I have no interest in racing, for me a bike is a mode of transport or a pleasant way to enjoy the countryside.
Currently, the only time I ever stand is to accelerate from stationary or for a very ...
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How can I carry a heavy bag without a rack?
I want to buy a heavy 20kg bag of rice and bring it home.
The problem is that I only have access to a bike without any rack or formal way to store bags. The bag is too big to fit in my backpack. The ...
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