Cycling is a great exercise that can transform your body in many ways. You don’t have to go to the gym or work out with weights to get fit; cycling does it for you! Although cycling can become repetitive and monotonous, some cyclists consider it a good enough reason to adopt bad habits.
Cyclists who regularly hit the roads feel it’s okay to cut themselves slack and ride however they want—as long as they are pedaling hard. But most cyclists don’t realize that they develop bad habits when they stop taking their workouts seriously. These can make training less efficient—even after a serious effort is put forth.
Even though it might be very satisfying to let your shoulders slump and rest for a while, doing so repeatedly or as an ongoing practice is not normal. But you may do a few bad cycling habits, even though you don’t realize it. So, let’s look at a few bad road cycling habits and how you can stop doing them to become a better cyclist more quickly:
4 Bad Road Cycling Habits
1. Bobbing
If you’re bobbing your body excessively, it can make the bike unstable and also expose you to attacks from other riders as your energy level declines sooner. It wastes energy to bob up and down on hard tires, which you may have to do even more often if you’re out of breath. This looks awkward in front of others, so be sure not to do it. One way to fix this problem is by training your upper body balance. You can also practice using a bike roller for the purpose of doing so.
2. Bouncing
Bounces often occur when road cyclists do higher cadences. This habit is not very good because it will drain the cyclist’s energy very quickly. One way to overcome bounce is by reducing the cadences until they no longer bounce, and then gradually increasing them again (for example, within 5 minutes of keeping 70 RPMs with minimal bouncing—then slowly increasing it back up to an increased pace).
3. Knees Out
When road cycling with knees out, it will slow down the cycling speed of the cyclist but with the same effort. There are things that must be considered to overcome this habit, namely by checking the position of the cleats & saddle height. Because the condition of the saddle that is too short can cause the knee to come out when pedaling, and it is very ineffective.
4. Elbows Out
Swinging the elbows out from side to side as you balance in your seat does several things: it looks silly, puts you in a terrible position for attacking or defending, and makes climbing hills difficult. One of the causes of elbows out when cycling is because the road bicycle size is not suitable. You can do bike fitting as a way to deal with this happening, so it doesn’t become a bad habit when you’re cycling. To get the right size, you can visit a bike shop that provides professional bike fittings like Rodalink.
To avoid cycling elbow disease, you should do three things: firm up your core muscles so that your upper body doesn’t sway when you ride; keep a tight stomach and back to anchor yourself in the saddle. Letting the bike do its job of balance for you can help you stay upright with little extra effort or unnecessary movements, as opposed to constantly fighting against your own body weight. Lastly and most importantly, relax those hands! Instead of gripping the handlebars tightly and forcing yourself still in the saddle (which isn’t possible without putting excessive strain on your neck), loosen up—trust that the bike will hold you.
Tips To Look More Pro
There are several tips you can do to overcome the 4 bad road cycling habits above, including:
- If you are used to doing bounces, you can practice improving and optimizing your cadence. You can use several tools such as a bike computer or cadence meter to monitor your cadence while cycling.
- Bobbing while cycling will only drain your energy excessively. Do balance exercises on your upper body, or you can practice using a roller bike.
- To overcome the habit of kneeling out in road cycling, you can adjust the height of your saddle and make sure your cleats are positioned correctly to overcome this bad habit.
- The right bike height will eliminate all bad habits related to cycling style. To deal with elbows out, you can do a bike fitting to find the right size bike. You can visit the nearest trusted bike shop like Rodalink.
Poor cycling habits can make you look like an amateur. With some practice and guidance, however, you’ll be able to ride with confidence and perform at a high level. Choosing a road bike that is suitable and according to your size is also important as mentioned above. For that reason, you need to consider carefully before choosing a road bike to accompany your activities.
If you live in Singapore and have recently been looking for “bike shop near me or a road bike“, you can visit the Rodalink Singapore website. Rodalink provides quality road bikes or any type of bike from trusted brands. Don’t worry, you can find various promos at Rodalink, starting from 0% OCBC Installments, Free Delivery, and the Shopback program to various ongoing promos that you can check directly on the Rodalink website. Not only that, you can also get various benefits by becoming a member of Rodalink Singapore. What are you waiting for? Let’s start your cycling journey with Rodalink Singapore!
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