- What is it that makes professional cyclists
look so good, so slick on their bikes.
- It's probably the kit mate.
I mean it's like everything matches
and it all just looks really well fitting and it's crisp.
- [Dan] Yeah that's not, that's not the only thing.
- All right, speed.
I mean everyone looks good when they're going fast
and it especially if, as a pro,
you're probably ripped and you're tan.
- Yeah, I take your points
but there is also more to it even than that
because even at slow speed,
pro cyclists just look so smooth
and so stylish on their bikes
and I've actually got some good news for you.
- You've got some good news, for me?
- Yes, even we can look better on our bikes
without getting fitter or faster.
All you've got to do is work on a few bad habits
that you might have got into since you started cycling.
So today, we're going to be talking through things like
bouncing up and down on the saddle
or bobbing up and down and around with your body
or riding with your knees out
like you're some kind of chopper on a chopper
or riding with your elbows out,
plus solutions to those problems.
- Hang on a minute mate, you definitely do the whole elbows thing
and I bob up and down, from time to time.
- I know I'm very self-conscious about my elbows
so hopefully I will also learn something on today's video.
- All right.
- We'll start with the most common one,
bobbing up and down as you ride along.
Now I mean, there's nothing inherently wrong with this.
I've learned that, but it's a waste of energy.
But it just kind of looks a little bit ungainly.
- It's not very graceful. - No
- There are pros who bob.
I mean Eddy Merckx bobbed up and down
and proof's in the pudding.
He wasn't that bad, was he?
- No
- But there aren't many pros these days
and if they do they kind of stand out like a sore thumb.
- Cyril Gaultier
- Most of them are as solid as a rock in the saddle
even when they're very close their physical limit
- How do they do that?
- Well practice, that is very important one.
Actually just recognizing that you might be susceptible
to bobbing up and down a little bit
and then remembering to stop whenever you begin to do it.
It's definitely an element of being
a learned behavior I think.
But certainly with professional cyclists
the trend now for doing core work
certainly helps keep that upper body rock solid.
- [Dan] The theory goes that a strong core
allows you to keep your back and neck
stable whilst riding,
which in turn means that almost
all the power you are producing
goes through your glutes and legs
and therefore directly into the pedal stroke.
- [Simon] And we've got a few videos here on GCN
with cycling specific core workouts.
The other area though
that you will obviously want to work on
is on the bike.
- Now, in terms of things to do on the bike,
we have two recommendations.
Firstly, cadence drills and secondly, riding the rollers.
- I think cadence is super, super important.
Firstly, pedaling slowly makes you
more susceptible to bobbing up and down
so, no cadence like this,
you find you can just grind it out
whereas the faster you pedal,
the faster you'd have to bob up your upper body.
So therefore, it theoretically,
becomes more difficult to do so.
- So, try this session a couple of times per week.
What you want to do are five minute efforts
starting at 80 RPM for the first minute
and then raising 10 RPM per minute until you're done.
All the time, concentrating far more
on keeping a still upper body
than the power you're pushing through the pedals.
Get five to six reps in per session, a couple per week
and you should soon start to notice a quite big difference.
The rollers trick is a really good one too.
The less you bob and move your body on rollers,
the easier it is to ride them
so you will naturally start to move your body less,
just to make things simpler for yourself.
Set your rollers up in front of a mirror
and concentrate on keeping as still as possible on the bike
for 10 minutes at a time.
Our next terrible technique is bouncing,
i.e. those riders who bounce up and down on the saddle
and some people, even with a still upper body,
can find themselves doing this.
- It's often associated with higher cadences.
That's perhaps why it's quite common sight
in spin classes as well.
Just like with our first poor technique,
this one can also partly be solved at least
by cadence drills and practice.
- [Dan] Now, since this bouncing
generally starts at higher cadences,
the first thing to do
is bring your cadence down to the point
where you aren't bouncing
which will probably be around 70 RPM.
Spend five minutes riding
at the cadence which eliminates your bouncing
and then increase your cadence by five RPM
every two minutes.
- Now personally, I always find that
I'm susceptible to bouncing in the saddle
where my cadence is really high
but the resistance so,
effectively the power I'm putting out, is really low
and that's definitely, definitely noticeable
when I'm riding on rollers.
I find that when I'm spinning a high cadence,
I do tend to bounce
and so, actually practicing on rollers
isn't a bad idea if you've got access to a pair.
And when you're on there
you'll find the sensation is one of kind of
trying to control the upstroke of your pedals.
You'll see when you do it.
It's quite hard to describe, isn't it.
Now we don't wanna sound pedantic
but there is a fine line
and that if you make yourself too rigid,
too immobile and too rock-solid
kind of also looks a little bit strange.
- Yeah, you almost look a bit robotic, don't you,
if you're too still.
So what is that balance then Si?
Slightly relaxed upper body at arms.
- Yeah I think - Fairly still upper body
- The key is to have relaxed arms, relaxed shoulders
but maybe keep that core nice and solid.
- Hope that's clear.
- Next up is riding with your knees out.
Now again, even if you're not bothered at all
by the aesthetics of cycling
and that is absolutely fine,
riding your knees out slows you down
because they generate so much more aerodynamic drag
that you will end up not going as fast
despite putting the same amount of effort.
- One thing that you should definitely not do
to try and remedy this bad technique
is alter the position of your cleats
to try and force your knees back in and straight,
that is a recipe for injury.
We've all got our own natural foot position as we walk
and as we cycle and you shouldn't be trying to change that.
- Instead, what you should look at is your saddle height
so you will find it very difficult
to ride with your knees out
when your saddle is in the correct position.
So therefore, if you are susceptible
to riding with your knees out,
perhaps simply a case that your saddle is too low.
Now, it's actually quite straightforward
to check that you're at least in the ballpark
for correct saddle height.
Find somewhere very safe and very quiet to ride your bike.
You should just about be able to turn the pedals
with your heels resting on them.
Now, it is gonna feel very uncomfortable,
your pelvis is gonna be all over the place.
So if you find that you can do it
actually with a relative amount of comfort
then I suggest your saddle it's probably too low.
- We spoke to EF Education First
chiropractor Matt Rabin about this
and he said that the problem here could be, and I quote,
"Down to having shorter and or tighter
gluteus medius or maximus
or possibly poor pelvic function and stability.
Additionally it could be weak adductor muscles
or simply the way your hips sit in their sockets."
- Now diagnosing yourself can prove tricky
so if you are bothered about this,
you might want to go and seek out a cycling specific physio.
- As Si kindly pointed out at the beginning of this video,
I always tend to ride with my elbows slightly out.
Yeah I've always wanted to change it
but to be fair, I haven't really put that much effort in.
- Now, and I can see why, I mean,
Chris Froome rides with his elbows out.
Although I suspect, it's probably the reason why,
despite winning four Tours de France,
people often point out that he actually
doesn't look that good whilst he's doing it.
- Yeah, I feel a lot better about myself now.
- Well, I mean you should mate
because he has still won four Tours de France
so it can't be that detrimental to performance.
- No, that is true although that said, it must also carry
some kind of aerodynamic penalty
albeit less than having your knees out.
So, I reckon it's worth working on.
- [Simon] There are a few things you can look at here.
Firstly your reach, i.e. the distance
between your handlebars and your saddle.
If that length is too short
then you're gonna to be forcing yourself
into a hunched position.
So, your elbows, they've gotta go somewhere.
- [Dan] The other thing to look at here
is your handlebar width.
The current fashion amongst professional riders
is to adopt narrower bars in order to get more aerodynamic
but if you are a rider with broad shoulders
that can encourage a more elbows-out position.
- Now, if neither of those things seem to help
as they don't appear to have done for Dan,
then it might just be that it's your body's natural position
and there's not very much you can do about it
so not worth worrying.
- Yeah hold your horses there, Si
because I also spoke to Matt Rabin about this,
he did say it is my body's natural position.
I'm probably adopting this slightly elbows out position
to try and get more leverage through my torso
and ultimately more power through the pedals.
- More power to pedals, I think there's a flaw
in his logic there Dan when it comes to you.
- Alright.
Anyway, it did give me a couple of things
I can work on to try and remedy this.
Firstly, working on my posterior chain
and lower back strength
but also on my pelvic and shoulder stability.
- So more core work then?
- Yeah, yeah it does seem like core work
is the answer to a lot of these problems, isn't it.
- Now one thing that we have deliberately
not gone into much detail on so far is your bike fit
because that has a huge bearing on your ability
to adopt the correct technique.
So, if your saddle is too high or too low,
too far forwards, too far backwards,
the reach to the handlebars is too long or too short.
All of those things are going to compound
any issues you have.
- Yeah, you could, though, go, of course,
to a professional bike fitter
but it's our opinion here at GCN
that you should be able to get reasonably close
to the perfect cycling position
through your own research and trial and error.
And in fact, we do have a number of videos
that will help you get into the correct a cycling position
and once you do find that right position,
you will instantly look more professional.
But more importantly,
you're going to be far more comfortable.
- Yeah and the other thing
that is definitely worth a mention
and indeed has a bearing
on your comfort and position on the bike is your flexibility
because if you don't get comfortable on your bike
then you're gonna be fidgeting and it's far more likely
that you'll slip into any kind of bad techniques.
So, in addition to your newfound core routine,
you may well want to think about
adding some stretching in the mix as well,
maybe just do yoga, that would sort it all out.
It's actually harder than you think.
- If that guy in the car was a cyclist
he'd think "(bleep) choppers."