manual63
06-18-2003, 07:50 AM
I got a new one for ya all. When was the last time you heard a Minnesotian say "Ya All"?
Timing the pedals and cranks so you don't hit things with a pedal and so you have max power in some situations is actually a very important skill. Last night while working in the rock gardens at Lebanon, I saw a bunch of rocks with scrapes on them. Some from sprockets, but most from pedals. I notice that when I am tired or not paying attention, my pedals hit things more often.
The key here is to keep in mind, you do have a freewheel. Most of the time you can't pedal forward to keep from hitting things, so pedal 1/8 or 1/4 of a turn backwards. Also, before you work on this, read the level pedals tip and make sure you ride with your pedals level (parallel to the ground) when coasting through stuff.
After playing in the rock gardens a few times, I find myself back pedaling an 1/8 or 1/4 of a turn in the middle of my pedal stroke to avoid having my pedal line up with a rock as I am powering through some sections (especially the uphill rock gardens), I call it ticking. Trials riders use this technique a lot. You can propel yourself forward without doing complete pedal strokes. Just back pedal 1/8 of a rotation from the level position and push forward about 1/4, then back 1/4, then forward 1/4.....you get the idea. You can do this once just when neccessary or several times when a section is tight and technical. Learning to do it with either foot forward helps give you more options, but learn it first with your strong leg forward.
Practice this and learn what gears are best to be in. I like to be in a middle gear. Too low and you can't keep up with the prongs on the freewheel, too high and you have no power.
This technique is also used to do drops at slow speed, ride logs sometimes to be more balanced and even powering over log piles if they are big or awkward enough.
Timing the pedals and cranks so you don't hit things with a pedal and so you have max power in some situations is actually a very important skill. Last night while working in the rock gardens at Lebanon, I saw a bunch of rocks with scrapes on them. Some from sprockets, but most from pedals. I notice that when I am tired or not paying attention, my pedals hit things more often.
The key here is to keep in mind, you do have a freewheel. Most of the time you can't pedal forward to keep from hitting things, so pedal 1/8 or 1/4 of a turn backwards. Also, before you work on this, read the level pedals tip and make sure you ride with your pedals level (parallel to the ground) when coasting through stuff.
After playing in the rock gardens a few times, I find myself back pedaling an 1/8 or 1/4 of a turn in the middle of my pedal stroke to avoid having my pedal line up with a rock as I am powering through some sections (especially the uphill rock gardens), I call it ticking. Trials riders use this technique a lot. You can propel yourself forward without doing complete pedal strokes. Just back pedal 1/8 of a rotation from the level position and push forward about 1/4, then back 1/4, then forward 1/4.....you get the idea. You can do this once just when neccessary or several times when a section is tight and technical. Learning to do it with either foot forward helps give you more options, but learn it first with your strong leg forward.
Practice this and learn what gears are best to be in. I like to be in a middle gear. Too low and you can't keep up with the prongs on the freewheel, too high and you have no power.
This technique is also used to do drops at slow speed, ride logs sometimes to be more balanced and even powering over log piles if they are big or awkward enough.