I don't know if I'd worry too much about your pedal stroke but it you want to smooth it out I would just try some high cadence work. Do some group rides and stay in your 39-15 or lower and learn to pedal smoothly without bouncing in the saddle. Some sustained work at 130+RPM should help.

I have my own observations on pedal strokes over the years. Highly debated so I'm staying out. BUT do you mind answering one question?

Do you like your saddle? As in do you really load it up and sit on it 'heavy'?

Quit worrying about how you pedal, it doesn't matter.

Hear me now, believe me later.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Most research has shown that you can't really do a quick fix for poor pedalling mechanics, but that just increased riding time will increase efficiency. But how you pedal definately "matters".

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Styrrell

Powercranks.

Well yes you need to pedal HARD ;)

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I was waiting for that!!!!

Sorry.

Although single leg drills can be used to identify some poor pedaling mechanics, they can also indicate an improper bike fit. Over the years of doing hundreds of bike fits, I have seen many instances where the rider is set up with too closed a hip/back angle at the top of the pedal circle. This is a really common problem for riders that add a standard set of aerobars to their existing road bike position. If the hip/back angle is narrower than the riders flexibility then the rider will not be able to fully lift the leg over the top of the pedal stroke. When pedaling with both legs this problem may not be noticeable because the opposite leg will push the leg over the top of the pedal circle. But when you try to pedal with only one leg your range of motion may be less than required to lift your leg over the top of the pedal circle. I see lots of riders able to do single leg pedaling drills quite well when sitting more upright on the base bar, but are then unable to complete even a single rotation when in the aero bars. Opening up the hip/back angle either by increasing the effective seat angle, raising the arm rest stack, shortening their crank arm length, or some combination of the above can usually solve this problem.

A pure pedal stroke matters....if you want to improve your power output and efficiency on the bike work on it like you work on your swim stroke. With a pure pedal stroke, riders can deliver the same power but at a lower HR (5 or more beats) than a poor pedal stroke....this will help your bike and run.

As mentioned high cadence riding (without the bounce works) but I would buy some rollers and start/end each ride with 20mins on the rollers. Repetition for muscle memory is key. MTBing and track/velo are also great along with long seated climbing.

Eight weeks will see a dramatic improvement...but you also need to consciously think about your pedal stroke when you are on the road....check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcDA8Jp_4tk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bC5GR9VarY

Did you have a mass attached to the other pedal equivalent to your single leg mass? If not, then your single-leg pedaling "drill" is telling you NOTHING about how you actually pedal.

The 2 legs connected by a crank are a "balanced" system. You can't take one of the masses away and expect things to be the same.

Here's the only thing you need to know about "pedaling mechanics": If you want to put out more power, press down harder.

It's that simple. Everything else is BS.

The ONLY single-leg pedaling drills that are worth ANYTHING (IMHO) are with a mass attached to the opposite pedal equivalent to your leg mass. This allows your pedaling leg to pedal normally AND has the benefit of there being a higher amount of O2 available to the exercising muscle. It's sort of like O2 supplemented intervals without the O2 equipment, which could be a benefit for people living at altitude. The downside is that it would take twice as long to do your workouts ;-)

Single leg pedaling drills without the counterweight mass are worthless. Without the counterweight your pedal stroke is changed (by necessity) to something that doesn't reflect how you actually pedal. Nobody races one legged...that has 2 working legs, that is...

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

If it's possible for you, get on the track or do a solid winter's work on a fixed gear bike. Mountain biking is also great for developing an even pedal stroke as you can't maintain traction if you just mash. As for people saying that a smooth and even pedal stroke doesn't matter... absolute nonsense.

It's another religious argument as you have to have faith that a smooth pedaling stroke results in more power. There isn't really evidence available that working on your pedal stroke improves anything. It seems like it should but there haven't been any studies able to confirm it.

Prove it.

The main difference between a swim stroke and a pedal stroke is that in one case the movement is unconstrained and in the other it's constrained by a mechanism. That's a HUGE difference.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Prove it.

See how that works?

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

If you want, I can dig up the pedal force plots of a person pedaling with and without the counterweight and then compare them to the pedal force plots when pedaling 2 legged.

You then can see for yourself which condition matches 2 legged pedaling.

I don't quite have the time to do it myself right now, but if you'd like I'll look for them later...

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Not really the point....you said those drills were worth something. Pedal force plots showing a correlation between the drills and two-legged pedaling forces doesn't show value, just correlation.

And I don't really care....I got no dog in this fight. I just find it amusing how the "Prove it" / "Pubmed" card gets continually played....'cuz we all know that everything there is to know about exercise physiology has already been proven in lab and field tests.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Well then, how about the plots that show that trained cyclists who put out more power do it by basically JUST PUSHING DOWN HARDER? :-/

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Sure, that would be awesome....if I was actually saying something different than that. You saw the "I got no dog in this fight" statement above, right?

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I did...but then you keep calling to question of whether any of that constitutes "proof" either way. What more do you need? Actual measurements aren't good enough?

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

http://www.roadbikerider.com/...erfect-pedal-strokes

"Martin cited 1991 research by Ed Coyle, et al, involving regional level competitors and elite racers -- pros and U.S. national team members. Coyle found that elite cyclists pushed down harder and pulled up less than the less-accomplished riders.
Surprisingly, the elite riders were more efficient even though they were pedaling less smoothly."

Tell me how to pedal tiger! I told you how to swim,lol! I love unconvential techniques! One rule: make it simple and specific!

I'm guessing this is the part you think I'm missing. I'm not. I said they were worth something because of the additional O2 allowed with that configuration. The correlation (or, lack, in this case) between non-counterweighted one-legged pedaling and 2 legged pedaling just points to the futility of the non-counterweighted drills. Training is all about specificity. Non-counterweighted one-legged pedaling is NOT specific to actual coupled 2-legged pedaling. Period.

Counterweighted pedaling actually allows one to pedal at higher outputs in a single leg than if one was pedaling with 2 legs. IIRC, Jim Martin has data demonstrating this. The benefit isn't from any pedal stroke manipulation, the benefit is a training benefit with a device that allows a normal pedal stroke. Like I said, this could be of use for folks living at altitude, in that they could work out their leg muscles in conditions mimicing the O2 delivery of 2-legged pedaling at higher air pressures (i.e train at higher power levels for a given interval -> higher training stimulus). That's the value, albeit fairly limited in scope.

So...I've got data backing up everything I've asserted in this thread. Show me the hard data that one-legged pedaling drills show ANY benefit to cycling power output.

Non-counterweighted one-legged pedaling drills are basically "tradition" based on mere supposition.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/