tajimirich

I adapt my speed depending more on traffic conditions and turns, etc, manoeuvring, than output

Also, re: climbing, it's undoubtedly because I'm a noob I'm sure but when climbing my sole focus is finding a cadence, gear weight and speed that I can sustain, patiently, all the way to the top. If I pushed myself I'd just end up dismounting and probably wrench my lower back and knees.

From memory, in Le Tour the descending specialists pedal all the way down, but the sprinter pack at the back coast, so I guess it's just a taste/emphasis thing.

Seattle Forrest

​​​​​​Are we talking about training, or turning group rides into races?

spelger

what is soft peddling when you're descending at 40+mph?

there is a certain hill I can just barely get to 50. I get pretty wasted when I try.

LarrySellerz

If youre keeping up with the pedals enough to where you aren't quite spinning out but not really applying much force I think thats soft pedaling. Happens a lot on bikes without high enough gears

genejockey 

Hey, Larry! That was me heading North on Canada as you were heading south, right at 84. I waved.

spelger

yes, my point exactly.

cxwrench

You are completely and totally unclear on the concept of 'soft pedaling'.

LarrySellerz

did I wave too? I was getting dropped by penvelo tonight

ofajen

Cycling: Uphill and Downhill

tomato coupe

If you're not applying any force to the pedals, you aren't producing any watts.

Clearly.

koala logs

Because it keeps your heart rate up and the blood flowing. Very important to avoid lactic build up - your worst nightmare for endurance riding.

It's even more important when you're maintaining high power output. Even just coasting for one minute can set your heart rate back and you'll need to build that up again (warm up) if coming up on a climb. If you have to warm up, it will slow you down. But you can't avoid warming up or else, you'll burn out.

This is why it's important to have at least a heart rate monitor. Maintain a heart rate that works best for you, don't let it drop too low unless you're stopping for coffee and cake.

indyfabz

Around my parts, soft pedaling is something you do when someone falls behind, perhaps because of a traffic light. You pedal softly until they catch up. It has nothing to do with descending.

PeteHski

Read this.

https://cyclingtips.com/2016/09/how-...ariable-power/

TLDR: You need to put out more effort on the climbs than the descents if you want to be fastest overall. On a pan flat course constant power works best.

From the link:-

Key points

Here’s what we can glean from these two studies:

– The flatter the course, the smaller you want your power variations. Constant power is king, especially if wind is also a minor factor.

– On a hilly course, it is imperative that you increase your power in conjunction with increases with gradient. With shallower gradients it’s not as important. A 5% power increase, at 200W, yielded a 16.36 second gain on a gradient of 1% over 2.5km. However at 6% that 5% rise gained the rider nearly a minute and a half (78.42 seconds). As the gradient increases so does the rider’s need to up the power from baseline.

– It is imperative that you choose a power increase that is within the range you’re able to hold for the duration of the uphill. While performance is improved with increased power, going too hard and not being able to maintain a 20% power increase, for example, is ultimately more detrimental to your time than maintaining a 10% increase along the length of the uphill. In effect, constant power is again king.

– The frequency of variation in power needs to be taken into account. Each increase in power (assuming the rider is already pacing close to threshold) will decrease the rider’s anaerobic work capacity, and therefore the ability to hold a variable pacing strategy further into the course.

GhostRider62

Once you get close to top speed down a hill, it is better to tuck as best you can and recycle the mess in your legs from the climb.

The way I look at it is the climb doesn't end until that point.

How hard can one overextend oneself on a series of climbs and not blow up? That one is hard to precisely calculate.

bampilot06

This.

ofajen

No external work is being done, but if you recall my posts regarding the internal work of pedaling, there is a work load on your CV system just from moving your legs and feet at a given cadence before any external work can be applied to the pedals. This internal work is a sharply increasing function of cadence and the power requirement runs about 1.0 Watts/kg at 110 rpm. Formenti at Kings College has published several papers on measuring this within the last decade.

Otto

ofajen

The article I linked agrees and gives the same guidance.

Otto

Mojo31

This video shows the best way to go down hill (starting at about :10). The more you can get your body into a NACA foil shape, the more lift you will generate which will enable you to go faster.

prj71

When you're riding in a time machine way far into the future, don't stick your
elbow out the window, or it'll turn into a fossil.

spelger

that's fair and makes sense. i ride alone so never soft pedal for that purpose. but i do soft pedal on descents, during shifting on ascents, approaching red lights to time them, or when i am just a bit pooped.

genejockey 

Yeah. You did. You were behind three or so other riders.

cxwrench

But it can...people 'soft pedal' on descents to keep their legs turning over but not putting a bunch of pressure on the pedals. When I was a kid and learning 'how to ride a bike' the experienced riders/racers wouldn't come over the top of a climb and just coast. They'd always accelerate to the point where coasting would be fast enough but they'd keep their legs turning over to keep them feeling good during the descent. I did it constantly during races, I wanted to keep my legs going all the time but when you are right behind another rider sometimes the draft works too well and you get sucked right up to them so...soft pedal so you're always ready for the next surge. It's not just for letting someone catch back on.

genejockey 

Also what you do in a group when it's bunched up and not going very fast.

LarrySellerz

I think of it more as moderating the pressure you put into your pedals to better make small changes in speed to follow a wheel without hitting the breaks. If you need to pedal at like 150 rpm or something just to keep up soft pedaling takes a lot of effort

mschwett 

the physics is pretty clear, as explained by several posters… but the physiology problem is quite variable depending on the rider.

while the fastest time might result from “shifting” watts to the climbs, for some of us those watts simply aren’t available because they’re past a sustainable peak. so while going up at 400 and down and 0 would certainly be faster (assuming a big enough hill) than going up at 300 and down at 250, the more consistent and lower peak effort of the latter suits my heart and lungs better. of course, i’m not racing anyone but myself and prefer long gradual climbs and descents (or rollers) to really steep stuff.

a huge spread in gearing is key for this kind of riding.