riding out of the saddle can be a tricky
skill to master and even longtime
cyclists may find they're not actually
as comfortable out of the saddle as they
are in it but it might just be that a
quick hint or tip is all you need to set
you right
now one of the reasons for getting out
the cell in the first place
is to use your body weight to help press
down on the pedals which is great but
number of you tell us but actually you
find on flat roads your pedals end up
getting away from you they turn faster
and faster and faster until you've got
to sit back down so how do you control
it well the key is to not just press
down with your front foot but also apply
a bit of pressure with your back foot so
I mean is use the exact same principle
of standing with your pedals level you
also just put enough pressure through
that back foot when the pedal is coming
up to control the front foot and the
pedal going down practicing this is
actually quite simple we're going to do
is knock it into a really easy gear and
so with almost no resistance just
concentrate on pedaling really slowly
and you'll very quickly pick up on the
action needed
when you start put these hints and tips
into action it's a good idea to practice
them on a gradient and that's because
when you get out the saddle you're
automatically going to have to move your
bodyweight much further forward and so
that can feel a little bit disconcerting
doing on a gradient is going to make the
whole process that little bit easier now
one issue that we hear crops up quite
regularly is not being able to get clear
of the saddle so you literally hit your
bomb on it every time you try and pedal
and that's particularly prevalent when
riding in the drops there's a couple of
things that you can do firstly and most
importantly you need to move your weight
forward so that actually your hips are
further forward than the saddle and that
can be disconcerting and what will
really help is if you keep your head up
so you're not staring at your front
wheel and then the other thing is to
potentially subtly alter your pedal
stroke so what I mean is if you normally
pedal heel down if you pedal toe down
that gives your hips just a bit more
clearance over the saddle literally
raising you up by two to three inches
most riders will find they want to pedal
slightly slower when they're riding out
the saddle so before you rise up out of
the seat just click up one or two gears
and that should make the transition
seamless then when you get back down
into the saddle again just click down
one or two gears and then you are sorted
now in terms of what is the correct
cadence to pedal out of the saddle
there isn't one it's entirely down to
the individual and it will also change
depending on just how hard you're
pressing on the pedals the harder you
press the faster you will want your
pedals to turn my max sprinting cadence
is probably about 120 rpm but yet when
I'm just gently stood out the saddle
going pretty steadily I'm at around 60
oh yeah your upper body should stay
pretty still when riding out a saddle
knowing your hips are going to move up
and down slightly but your shoulders
should be pretty fixed relax mine but
just not moving about and it really
helps at this point to rock the bike
from side to side so you want to tip it
away from the side that the foot is
pressing down on it so when you're
pressing down with your left foot then
your bike goes through right and
vice-versa
it tells that how much weight is
actually going through my arms the
answer it's not very much if you were to
take them away right now I would fall
over but it's not like I'm doing press
ups or anything and in fact the harder
you ride out the saddle the less weight
you put through your arms up to the
point where you actually start pulling
on the handlebars to really get more
power out as we get towards the end of
this video I would like to take the
opportunity to make a public service
announcement and that is that if you're
getting out of the saddle and you're
riding in a group you need to be quite
careful because you get out the seat and
you move your body weight forward it's
actually your bike that moves backwards
in relation to everyone in the group so
you'll find you could end up taking out
the front wheel and the rider behind you
and that will cause absolute chaos and
it does happen so the trick is when you
get out the saddle you actually put in a
couple of strong pale revolutions as you
get up and that should stop your bike
moving backwards I think it's worth
mentioning that riding out the saddle is
going to tend to use more energy than
sitting in the saddle and spinning for a
given speed so it's probably worth using
it sparingly even when you get really
good at it and it's also worth
mentioning that it is a skill like any
other and so if it's not coming national
to you now and keep practicing and soon
it will do just remember the key points
move your body weight forward point your
toes
when you're pedaling rock your bike but
not your upper body and then also that
key skill of using your back foot to
control how fast the front foot goes
down there we go it's as simple as that
now for more videos that are entry-level
here on G C and then why not click up
there or down there for how to improve
your cycling confidence and how to cycle
more safely both really key points and
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