When you are out road bike cycling then the one thing that you want is an efficient transmission of power from your body, through your bike and down into the road as forward motion. Energy is lost along the way through the whole system, and the trick is to reduce that loss of energy as much as possible. That is the secret of an efficient engine, benefitting not only in speed, but in the distances that you can make.
There are lots of ways in which you can make corrections, from ensuring that you have the right tyre pressures to getting the ‘fit’ of your bike right. That is, your knees should be over the pedal in the bottom position, your seat post is neither too high or too low, and the distance from the bars to your seat is correct for you.
But there is one place that is crucial, and that is in how you are attached to the bike. That’s right, attached.
Increasingly cyclists are using road cycling shoes which lock into the pedals, because it is here that you can dramatically improve your efficiency in the saddle, along with all the other benefits that I have mentioned.
If you are using platform pedals – that is pedals without clips of any kind – then you will know where your forward momentum comes from. Down strokes. And you get one down stroke which lasts for around 45% of the total cycle of the crank. In layman’s terms, from about a 1 o’clock position through to 5 o’clock, and a little less power either side of these margins.
If you can get your technique right, and have ‘grippy’ shoes and a toothed platform pedal you might be able to draw your leg backwards too which will give you a bit more benefit and allow more stroke up to around 8 o’clock. So a maximum of 75% of the cycle roughly speaking.
But imagine if you could use not only the down stroke, and the drag, but also employ your hip flexors to bring the pedal up and round, which will benefit the opposite action of the other leg on the pedal. That is exactly the result you will get when you clip in!
So gets some clips, and if you aren’t sure then just get toe clips for now at about $10 and give it a go before you invest in new pedals and shoes. I almost guarantee you won’t look back!
