Improve Cycling Efficiency With Pedal Stroke Quadrant Drills

You are currently viewing Improve Cycling Efficiency With Pedal Stroke Quadrant Drills

If you go for a two-hour bike ride, and maintain an average cadence of 85-90 rpm, then you will take over 10,000 pedal strokes. So, wouldn’t you want to improve your pedaling efficiency?  One way to do that is through pedal stroke quadrant drills.

A perfectly balanced pedal stroke, would apply equal power to the chain throughout the 360 degrees of each pedal cycle.  This is almost impossible to achieve, but even a slight improvement in where pressure is applied while peddling, will help.  Efficient pedaling spreads the load of pushing power over more muscle groups, which helps reduce fatigue in long races.

The four quadrants of a pedal stroke are:

  • The Front Quadrant – This is the downstroke from roughly 2 o’clock to 5 o’clock.  Most people are strong here. It’s where we mash the pedals hard to push power.  This action in very dependent on your quad muscles, and an over reliance of this part of the pedal stroke will tire those quads.
  • The Bottom Segment – This is where you transitions work from you quads to your hamstrings by way of your calf (roughly 5 o’clock to 7 o’clock).  People can be lazy here and a good drill is to focus on this part of the cycle. Pull your foot gently backwards as you move through this quadrant; imagine you are trying to scrape gum off the bottom of your shoe.
  • The Back Quadrant – This is where your hamstrings do the work. I like to focus on raising my knee and pulling up my foot slightly. Using your hamstrings on this part of the cycle, helps relieve work by the quads on the opposite leg (which is in the front quadrant at this time).
  • The Top Quadrant – This is often the ‘dead spot’ in most people’s pedaling. A good drill here, is to focus on lightly ‘kicking’ your toes into the front of your shoe, as you transition back to the front quadrant.

A good overall pedal stroke is something you can achieve. You just need to do pedal stroke quadrant drills and other drills, like single leg drills, on a regular basis. Doing drills regularly will eventually make an efficient stroke second nature, and you won’t even have to think about it.