Lateral motion when pedalling out of seat

[NeoCaesar]

P.S. My sig is probably a bit of a misnomer as I have none of Obree's psychotic drive and talent. I am Scottish, that is about it.

 

[totallyfixed]

I'm guessing you imply you prefer Obree? So that you don't graph it until you can actually chart the fun being sucked out of it?

Got it more or less in one.

P.S. My sig is probably a bit of a misnomer as I have none of Obree's psychotic drive and talent. I am Scottish, that is about it.

Good enough for me, I'm not Scottish though I have met and chatted with Graham a fair bit and one of my old club tops has his signature on it. He is, and continues to be an inspiration for many of us.

 

[GrasB]

I mention this because of your signature, Graham Obree trained on "feel", Chris Boardman was into stats and graphs and everything technical [sorry GrasB], I know which one I preferred. Technique is everything, strength comes later and in answer to your question the rabbits are still tunnelling and will be for some time yet I suspect. Most of us don't need to look too deeply into that tunnel, a lot of common sense, experience and miles in legs goes a long way.

I think that the training methods used are tied to the riders personality. I'm very technically minded & acutally enjoy picking things apart to see where it all comes from.

 

[gavroche]

bloody hell, I didn't realise that one needs a PHd in engineering, physics, aerodynamics, science,maths.... to ride a bike efficiently. Now I understand why I can only do hills slowly as I haven't got any of the above.
I will have to join my local Uni then may be I will fly up the hills after that!

 

[GrasB]

Also, are the graph results comparable with the real world (can you get results like that from real world cycling)? I'm assuming this is done static.

The bike I was using allowed for swing & you can adjust the incline of the bike up to 10 degrees (about 22%) so they should produce pedaling motions very similar to what you'd see on a real climb as the motion & body position relative to gravity is the same.

 

[GrasB]

bloody hell, I didn't realise that one needs a PHd in engineering, physics, aerodynamics, science,maths.... to ride a bike efficiently. Now I understand why I can only do hills slowly as I haven't got any of the above.

No you need those to work out where the power comes from & how to get every little last drop of it into the road. Going back to the Obree/Boardman comparison. I'd put money on Obree being technically an inferior rider to Boardman. That doesn't make Obree any less effective as a rider, just different.

I will have to join my local Uni then may be I will fly up the hills after that!

Most uni riders are slow coaches you should fit right in

 

[Boris Bajic]

I too shy away from GPS, computers, Watts and all that gubbins. It's great if that's your bag or if you're a professional rider. If it isn't or you're not, it can suck the pleasure out.

A low-rent but effective way to learn about climbing is to watch what works for the greats: Pantani, Armstrong et al... There's a lot on YouTube (Road to Paris is good, although it hasn't got a lot of climbing in it).

 

[NeoCaesar]

I'm not hugely technical in my sports pursuits but I find that logic is the best way to learn something -if you see the benefits of doing something you are far more likely to do it. Similarly, if you can see the pitfalls you will far more likely avoid that...i.e. Don't do that or you will die. Ok, I will avoid that. Strong example but you get the point.

 

[totallyfixed]

Watch someone who is an expert at anything in life and it will always look effortless and that's the point I am trying to make, technique triumphs over power. My better half dr_pink was first lady up the Shap hill climb, I know she doesn't generate the power that one or two of the other ladies have, yet she beat them, including the hill record holder and a lot of men, how? By having very good technique, she also suffers from asthma and has a very poor peak flow, which makes her 17.2mph average up a 9.1 mile hill climb even more special. [can you tell I am proud?].

 

[NeoCaesar]

By having very good technique, she also suffers from asthma and has a very poor peak flow, which makes her 17.2mph average up a 9.1 mile hill climb even more special. [can you tell I am proud?].

Rightly so.

 

[GrasB]

Watch someone who is an expert at anything in life and it will always look effortless and that's the point I am trying to make, technique triumphs over power.

Do you mean 'technique trumps over strength'? Good technique is what helps you develop more power for the same effort or keep up the same effort for longer.

 

[totallyfixed]

Without getting into a war over words, and I do see what you mean, I still say that power and strength are useless without a good technique. A more high profile example of this is Victoria Pendleton who regularly comes up against riders on the track who have a higher power / wattage than she does, yet invariably she beats them. There are two reasons she isn't supreme any more, the first is that every other female track rider in the world must have studied her style and technique, the other reason is that her head is full of gremlins, the biggest of which is Anna Mears.
Week in, week out I watch very good riders compete who would benefit hugely from a better riding style, but I aint going to tell them. Anyway we have the National 10 mile TT on Sunday so we are obviously concentrating on that right now.