Basic Skills

1. Posture

The correct cycling posture is: lower the upper body, head slightly tilted forward; arms naturally bent to facilitate the waist bow flexion, lower the body's center of gravity, while preventing the impact of the car bumps to the whole body; hands lightly but powerfully grip the handlebar, hips sit firmly on the seat.

2. Pedaling

There are three methods of pedaling for cycling: freestyle, toe-down and heel-down.

a. Freestyle pedaling method: At present, some excellent athletes mostly use freestyle pedaling method. This kind of stirring method, is the foot in the process of rotating a week, according to the different parts, the ankle joint angle also changed. Freestyle stirrups, in line with the principles of mechanics, the direction of force is consistent with the circumferential tangent formed when the stirrups rotate, reducing the knee and thigh action amplitude, which is conducive to improving the stirrups frequency, naturally passing the critical area and reducing the dead spot. The thigh muscles can also be relatively relaxed. However, this method of pedaling is difficult to master.
b. Toe down stirrup method: The stirrup is characterized by the fact that the toe is always down during the whole stirrup rotation process. This method has a smaller range of motion of the ankle joint, which is conducive to improving the frequency and easy to master, but the leg muscles are always under tension, which is not conducive to passing the critical zone naturally.
c. Heel down pedaling method: The heel down pedaling method is toe up slightly and heel down 8-15 degrees, this method is rarely used in normal riding, only a few people use the heel down pedaling method when they make excessive transferring force during the riding process. It is characterized by a short period of time in which the muscles change their state of exertion and get a short break to restore the purpose of muscle fatigue.

Turning skills

1. Tilt method: the car body as a line, tilt toward the curve.

• Body weight based on the car tilted toward the corner, the human car to maintain the same tilt angle.
• Straighten the outside knee and subconsciously put some force on it, as if you were going to push the pedal down (but don't come to us if you really push it down).
• Use your inside knee against the beam, this is a good way to adjust your trajectory, reduce the pressure to reduce the bend.
• Pull up slightly on the handlebars with your outside hand.

Two good times to use lean.

You can use a less sharp turn (less than 45 degrees) to accelerate

You can clearly see the front but not familiar with the corner

Two drawbacks of leaning on wet asphalt.

In the rain, although this turning technique can give you a good traction, its angle and weight distribution and arrangement are not very conducive to wet roads; the tilt technique is not as sensitive as the corresponding twist.

2. Put the direction method: keep the car upright and tilt the body towards the bend.

• Move forward until the nose and brake handle are in line.
• Keep the car upright and tilt the body toward the inside of the curve (enough to straighten the outside arm)
• Tilt the handlebars to the inside side of the bend.
• Bend the elbow of the inner arm to pull the handlebar back, while the outer arm pushes the handlebar out to turn the handlebar direction.
• Keeping both knees buckled in, continue pedaling.

Bicycle Uphill and Downhill Riding Techniques

The uphill and downhill riding technique is an important basic technique of road bicycle.

1. Uphill riding technique

Uphill riding should maintain the normal pedaling action, not sudden force, in general, should not use the standing riding or pulling riding method, otherwise it will consume too much energy. When you encounter a short distance slope, you should make full use of the inertia principle of object motion, pedal easily, and use standing riding when you are almost at the top of the slope to increase the speed as much as possible and create favorable conditions for downhill acceleration. When encountering a long uphill, adjust the transmission ratio according to your physical condition in time, don't wait until you can't ride and the speed is completely reduced before changing the transmission ratio, and resolutely avoid the phenomenon of restarting. When the slope is long or there is a steep slope, you can alternately use the standing riding method to transfer the force parts and let some muscles get rest.

Do not follow the car too close when going uphill. Because of the uphill force, the line often swing around, with the car too close, may occur collision. Moreover, the speed drops significantly when going uphill, and following the car will instead restrict your riding method.

2. Downhill riding technique

Downhill riding to achieve the desired effect, we must be brave and resourceful, bold and careful, concentrated, eyes closely watching the road ahead, ready to decisively deal with any situation on the road; not only to make full use of the car movement inertia glide, but also to dare to take the initiative to pedal, increase the speed.

When turning, the body and the car should be consistent, tilt inward, the upper body and the car to maintain a straight line to overcome the centrifugal force. The tilt angle depends on the speed and the size of the curve, but generally not more than 28 degrees, otherwise there is a risk of slipping.

Control the speed of the car before the turn. Decelerate gradually by using the point gate method, when braking, use the front and rear gate at the same time as far as possible, the front gate can be slightly advanced, using the front gate, the direction of the front wheel and the direction of the car forward are required to be consistent, otherwise, it will cause a fall due to the rider's weight and the car inertia is restricted. Release the gate after entering the curve to avoid unnecessary deceleration. Do not use the rear brake too hard on the bend. Otherwise the car may turn around or slip.

Tips for braking

The front brake can provide you with very good braking power, but it can also turn you into a trapeze artist, so we will tell you how to brake.

1. Shift your weight back when using the front brake

When you use the front brake, your center of gravity will naturally shift forward due to inertia. You must practice consciously shifting your center of gravity backward when you start braking (lower your body and move your butt back). The more you move your weight back, the more braking power you can use.

You can practice on sandy or somewhat slippery flat surfaces, picking up speed and using different forces to depress your front and rear brakes to learn how to control your brakes. Or ask an expert how he uses his brakes while riding.

2. Reduce the power of the front brake when turning

As with driving a car, you have to reduce your speed when turning. If you press down hard on your brakes while turning, you will create a sideslip and lose control. Use both your front and rear brakes to reduce your speed while turning. Your front wheel response will be reduced when braking, so reduce the front brake force and your turn will be perfect.

If you are in a sharp downhill turn and need to use your brakes, try to use the rear brakes as much as possible. If you are on a flat surface, lower your weight back at the last minute and use 30% of the front and 70% of the rear braking force to apply the brakes.

3. Don't over-press the front brake

"Inertia is your friend". You need speed to get through rocks and obstacles. Otherwise the wheels will stop turning and throw you over the handlebars. Excessive pressure on the front brake will shift your center of gravity forward and cause the front end to dip.

If you are using the front brake in a tight downhill turn, you must control your front and rear brakes at the same time, not pressing them too hard all the time.