CYCLE FASTER? IMPROVE YOUR CYCLING TECHNIQUE WITH THESE 3 TIPS
Want to cycle faster? You certainly don't have to train harder right away. Cycling technique is perhaps the most underestimated factor. Cycling effectively is different from cycling efficiently. By learning to brake, shift gears, and corner better, you can maintain more speed with the same power. In this blog, CUBE Stores ambassador Levey shares practical techniques that will make you cycle faster and more efficiently immediately.
Through Levey's many years of experience in downhill and mountain biking, he has always been consciously engaged in improving his technique on the bike. Skills such as braking, shifting, and cornering are continuously put to the test during technical trails. "When I later started competing in road races and events, I noticed something. Many participants could pedal incredibly hard but simultaneously lost a lot of speed in corners, descents, and technical sections. This is precisely where much improvement can often be gained, without having to train harder or exert more power." We start with perhaps the most important skill: cornering.
Cornering: how to lose less speed
To improve cycling technique, I'll cut straight to the chase: the keyword is looking. Not looking at where you are now, but at where you want to go. Your head can move independently of the rest of your body, and that is a huge strength on the bike. Therefore, always look for the next corner instead of continuing to look at the corner you are currently in.
It sounds simple, but we often unconsciously steer towards where we are looking. So don't focus on that post, that curb, or that tree you want to avoid. Direct your gaze to the ideal line and the exit of the corner. By looking further ahead, you can also anticipate better. You see what's coming sooner and have more time to, for example, brake or shift gears. A simple exercise I often use is steering with your navel. Point your navel to where you want to go. You will notice that your shoulders, hips, and eventually your bike will follow automatically.
Cornering almost always goes hand in hand with speed control. Therefore, try to enter the corner at an appropriate speed, so you can accelerate out of it quickly. Braking hard in the middle of the corner not only costs speed but also disrupts your balance and flow.
EXERCISE: Look through the corner
Goal: experience how strongly your bike follows the direction of your gaze.
- Find a quiet street, parking lot, or bike path with a wide bend.
- Ride the corner a few times consciously while only looking at the point just in front of your front wheel. Then ride the same corner again, but direct your gaze to the exit of the corner or even the next point after that.
- You will notice that the corner feels smoother and that you automatically ride a better line.
When should you brake?
Many cyclists feel insecure during descents because they do not sufficiently master their bike braking technique. The first important rule: your front brake is your most powerful brake. During braking, weight shifts forward, giving the front wheel more grip and thus more braking power. Yet I still often see cyclists who almost exclusively use their rear brake. The result? A skidding rear wheel. But a skidding wheel brakes less effectively than a rolling wheel with grip.
Braking is also not an on-off switch. Between fully released and fully squeezed, there is a large area where you can accurately modulate the braking pressure. That's where the control lies. Many people are afraid of the front brake because they know stories of cyclists going over the handlebars. In reality, this usually happens when you are sitting passively on the bike and not actively absorbing the forces. When braking hard, your body still wants to move forward while the bike slows down. Therefore, it is important to ride actively. Keep your center of gravity low, slightly bend your arms and legs, and effectively push the bike under your body towards the ground. This way, you work with the bike instead of being a passenger.
One last tip: brake before the corner, not in it. Braking hard in the corner causes the bike to straighten up and lose grip. By controlling your speed beforehand, you can ride the corner much smoother and faster.
EXERCISE: Emergency stop without skidding
Goal: build confidence in the front brake and learn to brake at the limit of grip.
- Find an empty piece of asphalt and slowly build up speed to about 20 km/h.
- Then brake as hard as possible without your front or rear wheel locking up. Focus on gradually building up braking pressure instead of immediately grabbing the brakes fully.
- Repeat this several times and try to brake a little later each time and shorten your braking distance.
Extra challenge: try to shorten the braking distance more and more without skidding.
Shifting: save energy by timing
If there's one area where many cyclists can save free energy, it's shifting gears. The biggest pitfall? Laziness and lack of skill. Many cyclists shift too late, too early, or sometimes barely at all.
My first principle is simple: you are constantly reacting to the environment. Wind, inclines, corners, and terrain are constantly changing. That's why I constantly shift during a ride in search of the ideal cadence. Regularly ask yourself: does a harder gear cost me a lot of extra energy or does it mainly provide more speed? When the effort increases sharply without you noticeably going faster, it's often smarter to shift to an easier gear. Good shifting helps you to use your energy more efficiently and prevents you from unnecessarily getting fatigued.
My second principle revolves around timing. Many modern shifting systems can skip multiple gears at once. Make use of that. Think ahead. Shift before a corner, before a technical section, or before a climb. The latter is perhaps the most important lesson. I still often hear cyclists riding up a hill with a heavily rattling drivetrain because they only shift when it already feels hard.
The moment you think: "I should really shift down," you're usually already too late. Anticipation is therefore key. Shift before resistance increases. This way, you maintain speed, keep your pedaling rhythm, and use your momentum much more efficiently, allowing you to cycle faster.
EXERCISE: Shift before you need to
Goal: anticipate instead of react.
- Choose a route with a number of bridges, viaducts, or short climbs.
- During the entire ride, try to stick to one rule: shift before you feel it getting hard.
- Many cyclists only shift when their legs are already under pressure. By shifting earlier, you maintain a more consistent rhythm and lose less speed.
Practice, practice, and more practice
Many cyclists think that cycling faster is mainly about getting stronger. Of course, higher power helps, but technique often yields the easiest gains. By improving your cycling technique, you can cycle faster without having to pedal harder. Consciously practice cornering, braking technique, and shifting, and you will notice that you maintain more speed with the same effort.
And the best part is: you can start immediately on your next ride. You don't learn good technique by reading about it, but by consciously practicing it. During your next training session, choose one of the exercises and spend five to ten minutes on it. You will be surprised how much difference small adjustments can make. In addition, taking a technique course or cycling workshop is definitely recommended.