- Pedalling technique is always
a controversial subject amongst cyclist.
Is smoother better?
Should we try and pedal more smoothly
or should we just leave it up to instinct
and our bodies will find the most efficient way naturally.
Well, we thought we try and do a little experiment.
(upbeat electronic dance music)
We are at the headquarters of Elite in Northern Italy
cause they have a pedalling analysis app
that utilises some of the mind-boggling array
of data that's generated by the top
of the range Smart Trainer, the Drivo.
And two top Pro Cyclist, Marco Marcato and Federico Zurlo,
are just about to walk through that door.
Do pros pedal smoothly? And does it really matter?
We're gonna do a simple test to really get a feel
for just how smoothly their pedalling
and we're gonna gauge it using the
Elite Pedalling Analysis App.
It gives us a real-time polar view
which you can see this behind me there.
It's measuring the force that Marco's putting out.
24 times per pedal stroke.
The more even output, the smoother the pedal stroke.
So to start with, they're gonna be riding 150 watts.
We should tacks them greatly Federico in particular
is probably gonna be cursing his luck
that he's in the middle of his off-season.
But then they're gonna up it to 300 watts for a minute
for finally 450 watts for a minute.
The end of each interval we're gonna get a number
which is the uniformity index
and that should categorically show
just how smooth they really are.
Marco, you ready? - Yes, I'm ready.
- Let's go. (slow electronic dance music)
- Smooth, I think. Smooth! (Marco exhaling and laughing)
Federico, you ready? - Yes.
- You ready, alright, so 150 watts
for one minute, let's go for it.
(slow electronic dance music)
I feel like a mad scientist down here
making them run at 450 watts. (slow electronic dance music)
Now before we delve to D.P. end results
as you could probably tell I can't resist
and I'm gonna have a go as well.
Clearly I don't have the talent of the other two,
but potentially there is a chance that I might be
as smooth as the other two, fingers crossed.
Who's gonna win the Crystal Crank trophy?
(triumphant music)
(moves to spiralling music) Right then.
(electronic dance music)
Okay, so on the 150 one now.
Few seconds in. (electronic dance music)
300 watts. (electronic dance music)
Right, 450 then. (electronic dance music)
Three, two, one.
Whilst we collecting loads of data, what about flat pedals?
(rhythmic percussion music)
(exhaling) Well in the spirit of data collection,
I think what we should also do
is check out a few people back at the GCN office
on our own Drivo trainer.
We let everyone select their own cadences
to minimise any external influences on pedalling technique.
The resistance levels on the trainer were also constant
so the inertia of the flyer will remain the same.
(electronic dance music)
Right we're back at GCN's HQ.
Since our trip to Italy, 10 willing volunteers,
and also Matt, have undergone the same test.
Well I say the same actually.
After seeing Marco Marcato's face
when we asked him to do 450 watts for a minute
we have lowered the target power's ever slightly.
Except for Matt, actually, we let him do 450 watts
for a minute as well.
What have we seen then?
Well, fascinatingly, or at least I think so anyway,
a Pro Cyclist seem to have a lower uniformity index.
So a less smooth, even pedal stroke
than our less experienced volunteers.
If we rank our cohort then we can see
that Federico is 7th out of 14.
Marco Marcato is 13th out of 14.
Matt is 12th. I was actually 5th.
Which is smooth perhaps but now not looking very pro.
So why then might we have observed these results.
Because, if anything, it certainly seems
that actually pedalling through the dead spot
of a pedal stroke isn't terribly important
because there is definitely a negative correlation
between performance and also pedalling uniformity.
So, I guess, the first point should be to look into
what pedalling uniformity is because it's the ratio
between the average power of the pedal stroke
and the maximum power on a pedal stroke.
Now it would be impossible for a human
to put out 100% and so at least say
that from their research a value
of about 65% could be considered super smooth.
So when our pros are pedalling in their less smooth way
what they're factually doing is putting out more power
on the down stroke and then less
for the rest of the way around the pedal stroke.
So there is one thing and that is
that we can't differentiate between positive force
and negative force using this test.
So basically we can't split the difference
between pushing down and then unweighting
on the back of the pedal stroke.
Meaning that Marco Marcato could, in theory,
actually be pulling up on the pedal stroke
which would explain why there is
that greater discrepancy between peak power
and average power per pedal stroke.
And actually there is a research paper out there
that tested pro cyclist and found
that they too pulled up as well as pushed down.
Far more than the other cyclists that they tested.
And that actually, if you look more closely
at Marcato's results you'll see
that as he puts out more power
his pedalling technique becomes less uniform.
So, in theory, then as he's putting
out more power he's pulling up more on the pedals.
Now that's controversial but what we can definitely say
is that he's not scraping through
the bottom of his pedal stroke.
If you remember though, I actually did try a run
with flat pedals instead of clippers pedals.
So if that theory was true you would
therefore expect to see a less uniform pedal stroke
with clippers pedals than with flat pedals.
Is that what we saw? No.
No when I did a run with flat pedals
that actually had a less uniform pedal stroke.
So giving a more conventional result
but not necessarily the one we would've expected right now.
Although that it unique to me, and really in hindsight,
we should've tested Marco Marcato as well.
What a topic. It's like Pandora's Box, isn't it?
We can certainly say that from our sample pool of data
that our professional cyclist did not pedal more smoothly.
Now we can't say why they pedal the way they did
but you can certainly theorise, couldn't you,
that with the great performance
and with the greater experience they have
refined their pedalling technique.
Now whether that is to include pulling up
as well as pushing down or it is pushing down
with greater force and then recovering
for longer in each pedal stroke we don't actually know.
So, more science will be needed.
And what about the a question about whether you should try
and pedal more smoothly.
There is research out there that shows
that it could well be beneficial
but certainly here at GCN we are big advocates
of playing with your cadence in training.
So doing low cadence work and also
high cadence work can be really beneficial.
Also, we think anyway.
Now, undoubtedly the comment section should light up
under this one so please do make sure you get involved.
This is a controversial topic as we said.
And also our results have been somewhat surprising.
So let us know what you think down below.
Please also make sure you subscribe to GCN.
To do that just click on the globe
and if you want to watch a couple more videos,
well firstly, if you want to see around the
Elite Headquarters which is very cool
and they have their own blast furnace.
That one is just down there.
Or for a very old but really I'm very fond of,
"It's All About Pedalling Cadence,
"Are You More Efficient at One Than Another."
That one's just down there.