BikeTrial Tutorial 4 - Pedaling
Pedaling, seems like the easiest thing to do. Well, in BikeTrial, there are techniques to pedaling. But for the purpose of this tutorial, we will only discuss one of them.
Our goals in BikeTrial are to navigate and overcome obstacles when riding paths or sections. Sometimes we need to navigate very small and tight spaces. We must always be ready to move forward in an instance at anytime anywhere whenever we need to. We will ride methodically and with precision.
Frequently, for the inexperienced, when moving over and pass obstacles, our pedals will get caught, or be at the wrong position where we are unable to leverage the momentum or apply pressure correctly to cycle forward. This is why we need to know how to pedal the BikeTrial way, that will help us to overcome these challenges.
So how do we achieve this? How can we always be on the ready to instantly boost our movement forward?
In this tutorial, we will learn how to pedal with our feet always at the ready to give us that boosted forward movement instantly and on demand.
Feet and Pedals Position
The placement of the feet on the pedals is very important. Similar to the track stand, you will need to position your "favorite foot" on the fore or forward pedal. See the animated photo below.
Pedaling
Typically, when we are cycling our bicycles, we will pedal the pedals at full revolution repeatedly to move forward and gain speed the faster we pedal. For the purpose of this tutorial, we do not want to pedal at full revolution. All we need is a quarter revolution (for the sake of easy reference in this tutorial, "quarter" revolution also means less or more than a quarter depending on your needs).
With both pedals aligned parallel horizontally to the ground. The "favourite foot" will lead by pedaling down applying pressure only a quarter way and then releasing pressure to bring the fore pedal back up to it's original position. Repeat the whole process to move forward. Easy as pie.. lol.
Our goals in BikeTrial are to navigate and overcome obstacles when riding paths or sections. Sometimes we need to navigate very small and tight spaces. We must always be ready to move forward in an instance at anytime anywhere whenever we need to. We will ride methodically and with precision.
Frequently, for the inexperienced, when moving over and pass obstacles, our pedals will get caught, or be at the wrong position where we are unable to leverage the momentum or apply pressure correctly to cycle forward. This is why we need to know how to pedal the BikeTrial way, that will help us to overcome these challenges.
So how do we achieve this? How can we always be on the ready to instantly boost our movement forward?
In this tutorial, we will learn how to pedal with our feet always at the ready to give us that boosted forward movement instantly and on demand.
Feet and Pedals Position
The placement of the feet on the pedals is very important. Similar to the track stand, you will need to position your "favorite foot" on the fore or forward pedal. See the animated photo below.
 |
| Like the track stand, getting your favorite foot positioned correctly is the first step. My favorite foot is my right foot. If you are left footed, switch accordingly. |
Typically, when we are cycling our bicycles, we will pedal the pedals at full revolution repeatedly to move forward and gain speed the faster we pedal. For the purpose of this tutorial, we do not want to pedal at full revolution. All we need is a quarter revolution (for the sake of easy reference in this tutorial, "quarter" revolution also means less or more than a quarter depending on your needs).
 |
| Pedaling at quarter revolution, more or less than a quarter, depends on your need. |
By pedaling using this method, you will be surprise at how easy it will be, to navigate tight and small spaces. When not pedaling down, always maintain your pedals aligned parallel horizontally to the ground while coasting or rolling forward.
 |
| Quarter pedaling will prevent the pedals from getting caught by low-lying obstacles. |
 |
| Quarter pedaling used with pivoting and hopping to ride a tight section. |
Caveat
Let me put forward a caveat, you do need to pedal full revolutions in BikeTrial as some of the advance techniques will require speed, momentum and agility. E.g. pedal up, pedal gap, bunny hops, etc.
In later tutorials, we will discuss and cover more on pedaling and pedal positioning for these more dynamic moves. If you have any questions, please feel free to post in the comment section below.
Posts
