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  • This SPD business
  • mudshark
    Free Member

    When using flats is there a little bit of downward pressure on the up stroked required to keep the foot in contact with the pedal?

    IIRC hamstrings should be about 2/3 the strength of quads so when used correctly could be of benefit when cycling but I’m not sure how much of this power can be utilised.

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    Thats funny. every time i have tried flats i end up pulling my feet of the pedals as i always pull up on the pedals when climbing or accelerating for me its the whole point of being atttached to the pedal.

    Technique. The more you use them you’ll stop using SPD techniques for riding on them and your muscles will develop differently also. When I go to flats from a long period without using them my shins hurt.

    When using flats is there a little bit of downward pressure on the up stroked required to keep the foot in contact with the pedal?

    No. The weight of your leg will hold it there. Your more likely to use the muscle on the upstroke to take pressure off the pedal so you aren’t pushing it up with the leg putting the power in. (Goes for both SPDs and Flats)

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    simonfbarnes – Member

    Its clearly much more efficient even for an amateur bimbler like myself.

    unfounded. You cannot get away from the fact that the foot lifting muscle is always going to be way smaller than the body lifting muscle. As for ‘efficiency’ might not extra bulk on the main pushing muscle be more efficient than on the smaller muscle ? I think it would be very hard to determine, or there might be no difference whatever. You should not confuse subjective feelings with objective fact. If you like the sensation of pulling up on the pedals, that’s all well and good, and in many ways your mental states are more important than mechanical details [:-)]

    Merely going on the fact that I can clearly see muscle development on the front of my leg that pulls the toe up since riding SPDs. Clear objective evidence that I am using more muscles with SPDs than wth flats

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    I saw more muscle development around the front of my shin area when I spent most of a year riding flats on singlespeeds and full sus bikes.

Viewing 4 posts - 41 through 44 (of 44 total)

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