La Vie Velominatus: Standing Grace
We are bipedal creatures. Fact. Bipedal locomotion sucks. Also a fact. This makes being a human somewhat challenging in the sense that we don’t have opposable toes or a tail with which to swing from tree limbs. Swinging from your tail seems a little bit like bliss, if you ignore the associated demotion back into the Food Chain.
We Cyclists elect to circumvent these shortcoming by pushing our legs around in circles rather than in whatever shape makes a walking pattern or a tail-swinging pattern. It’s quite unnatural, riding a bike, and even the most casual study of the common Cyclist will reveal that most are not terribly good at it.
Which is why the graceful Cyclist is such a pleasure to watch; the mastery of the unnatural. A Cyclist who coaxes the pedals about their arch with fluid grace and power is not so much an athlete as an artist. This is a creature who has dominated the nature and become something wholly of another world.
Rising from the saddle in search of more power is perhaps the pinnacle of the art. Planting our butts in our saddle provides a solid platform from which to crush the pedals; it’s a handy way to keep our limbs from setting off in independent orbits. But when we’re really on the rivet and in the search for Speed Plus One, that rump is going to have to get lifted up into the air.
The most skilled in this craft are a beauty to behold. In one fluid motion that does nothing to limit the venom in their stroke, they rise out of the saddle and allow the machine to sway beneath them in response to the power being applied by each thrust to the pedals. The saddle sways from side to side in an almost hypnotic rhythm as the rider suffers without revealing any external signs of the effort they are applying.
The only hint is that the amplitude of the saddle’s sway increases as the power does. And when the time comes to return to the saddle, the amplitude is reigned in and brought back to home with perfect precision and no loss in the pedal stroke.
Cadel Evans looked horrible out of the saddle; he gave the impression he was trying to strangle his machine for some untold afront. Sean Kelly, on the other hand, could rise out of the saddle without you even realizing he was standing, so smooth was the transition.
On my best days, my saddle returns to me in perfect unison; I am one with my machine, a symbiotic lifeform. Upon a visit with the Man with the Hammer, I almost need to coast in order to return my rump to its home on the rare occasion that I manage to lift it off in the first place.
Mastery of this art is one I continue to pursue. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
As someone who frequently sits on the front of the group into climbs to then be dropped by the smart-arse climbers who draft the entire way there when I get out of the saddle I always try to make sure there is no break in pedal stroke to avoid taking out those behind. The same cannot be said the other day when I reeled back in one of the guys where I sat on his wheel to regather myself, only for him to stop pedalling to get out of his saddle, change gears and start wildly swinging his back wheel. I found my front wheel being taken out at that point but was able to catch myself before hitting the ground. Sure, I was too close by my mate’s technique really could do with smoothing out…
As someone currently nursing a saddle sore, thanks for this. Will provide the needed motivation to get my ass back in the saddle for the weekend. Going to find the biggest hill the flatlands have to offer.
So much awesomeness in this photo…a glorious old school funny bike( minus crank bolt covers I am sure!), and Sean Kelly full tilt out of the saddle. Kelly was one of my all time favorites..such that my son is named Sean! But I digress. One way for any Velominatis to help improve rising and returning to the saddle would be to spend some time on the glorious banks of my favorite cycling spot…a velodrome. Track racing is very unforgiving to those who do not have smoothness of stroke. When racing a full tilt…gliding up out of the saddle and caressing the pedals for more speed ends up all for naught if you cannot return to the saddle smoothly. When one just “plops” back to the saddle after winding it up, you can watch a couple of mph of speed get scrubbed off by the impact of them dropping back to the saddle. It takes a bit of practice to launch, then return to the saddle while still churning out that smooth power through the fixed gear.
From the same 87 Tour TT- Roche was also a master at this…an Irish thing perhaps?
If you’re “on the rivet” your rump is on the edge of your Brooks saddle, so it can’t be in the air.
Ah, but if you’re already “on the rivet” and you need more, then up it goes. Sorry Frank.
@Haldy
Everything about this photo rules. The backwards cap, the chrome fork, the bidon, the massive Big Ring. His face – suffering but ever so focused. Even the shifters are bloody PERFECTLY aligned. FFS.
@Matt
+1
@Matt, @piwakawaka
Agreed – perfection. The Delta brakes… those brake levers. The gumwall tires. The ‘V’ shoes…
The only thing that puzzles me a bit (although it doesn’t distract from the awesomeness of the photo in any way whatsoever) is that he’s wearing shorts branded “Peugeot” while astride a Battaglin bicycle. Some of the wise ones who frequent this site may be able to enlighten this student on why/how that can be? (Could be that they simply are his favorite shorts, of course – or that Peugeot acted as some sort of ‘overall’ sponsor at the time…?)
@Matt
However, he’s promoting Peugeot but is riding Battaglin? Kit confusion?
@ErikdR
hi Erik, our posts crossed. Seems his shorts are Descente though.
The ability to rise out of the saddle every now and again is something I am working on. I tend to keep my arse firmly plonked on the saddle whenever I can, and this is not ideal for speed and not ideal for my arse.
Interestingly, I had an issue with my rear derailleur on a route I did a week or so ago which features two of my steepest local climbs, whereby I could not shift to my biggest sprocket. I was forced to stand up to take on the climbs more than I normally would.
The net result? I went faster. Changes to my bike are being meditated to enable better (harder) gearing.
@ErikdR & @KogaLover
Stephen was a great one for contractual wrangles…. When he bailed out on Peugot for Carrerra he did not do so on the best of terms. The upshot of all the legal wranglings was he had to continue to wear his Peugot shorts while racing for Carrerra.
@Haldy… would that it was an Irish thing. I have wings that make Evans & Froome look sleek. I spend most of my rides conciously swinging them back in to spare my neck. I have had the pleasure of being overtaken by Kelly while attempting to climb The Shay Elliot complex… The advice he bellowed at me is now a personal mantra:
“Keep Breathing”
I am not fully conscious of how I am doing this at present but will pay more attention now.
Am I right in saying your knees need to be able to withstand the changes in application of force whilst elevating and lowering the rump?
Also – any insights on how to keep pedaling circles while out of the saddle? I keep trying to ‘scoop the ice cream’ out of my pedals but it feels less even when standing.
Roche had legal issues with Peugeot when he left their team in 1983. This carried on when he was at La Redoute and was rumored to carry through 1987. I have seen several sites that listed Peugeot as a title sponsor Carrera-Vagabond-Peugeot.
@ErikdR
The year previously he’d ridden for Peugeot and was still theoretically signed with them for ’87, but Carrera headhunted him and he jumped ship to the Italian team; part of the deal that was thrashed out between the two teams and Roche to avoid a full legal stoush was that he’d wear his old sponsor’s shorts for the 1987 season.
@Haldy
Hear hear. But no need for a velodrome, just the time-tested early season miles on the fixed gear road bike to regain the smoothness lost during the previous season (or off-season).
re: The first couple paragraphs . . . while riding the last few days, temps in the mid-90s, watching bipedal runners suffering like dogs, I’m glad to be on a machine if only to have some 30km air flowing over me. Funny that the same thoughts of (non) evolution/adaptation crossed my mind.
@Oli
Cheers Oli!
(@KogaLover: See…? I was hoping a Wise One would chip in – and almost immediately, it came true. Just one of the many, many things that makes this such a great site. (*Insert happy emoticon here*). By the way, I still owe you and the rest of the brethren a reasonable pic of my 63 cm, ‘Champagne’-colored, 1980 Koga Miyata Roadspeed. I’m still working on that – i.e. procrastinating – but stay tuned…)
@Phillip Mercer
Phillip pointed out many issues here — concur. Never allow the bike to throw itself backward. It takes a good deal of practice, but control that glide into position. On the front of the line, at the “now” moment, the bike will even carry forward with me as I push up. There is a short version of this too where I lift entirely off the saddle all within one stroke (carrying forward) just to circulate stuff.
@Apex Nadir
Edge meaning the nose.
@Joe
I wholehearted agree. Not many folk are willing to do the fixed thing in training these days in the off season though. Another great place to work it on it..on a set of rollers!
@KogaLover; @Oli
Gents, the deed is done. Long overdue picture of my 1980 Koga Miyata Roadspeed (in the color that, at the time, was referred to as “light gold metallic”) has been uploaded under “the Bikes”
I have definitely found myself considering if the Saddle Sway I was engaging in was rhythmic and artistic when out of the saddle.
Was traveling last week and wasn’t on a bike for five whole days. My Tuesday morning commute felt weird, like I’d never ridden a bike. Legs were all herky-jerky, nothing felt smooth. After a proper evening road ride on Thursday, I was back. Love the smooth, calm feeling on the bike when doing it right!
The looking good out-of-the is a puncheur thing:
Being an Irish puncheur, Dan Martin makes it look great, but I can’t find a great pic. Valverde looks fantastic out-of-the-saddle, but I won’t post a pic of that.
Re the lead picture: that Vitus is in a world of pain.
@unversio
I find the ninja throw of the bike backwards happens when you transition to standing on one downward stroke of one leg. You use the effort on the pedals to force you up higher, but it throws the bike back in the savage ninja chop we all know and love. God knows how many muppets back wheels I have missed by being close, but aligning just to the inside of their back wheel, allowing room to move to the non-gutter side if the wheel in front comes flying back at me.
I find the smooth stand up is a 4 step process, and you have tension throughout your legs and core to make it the smoothest, as you attempt to keep the full turn of the crank as smooth as possible. First, change up gear so you are overgeared, this is key to prevent the ninja chop. Secondly the downstroke on one side is the tiniest rise out of the saddle. Thirdly the corresponding downward stroke on the other side rises you to about halfway (legs get a burn on here, core tight). Finally the following downward stroke on the initial side gets you all the way up.
Then still body while swinging the bike beneath, torque the bike beneath you with your arms for a bit more power, rather than just letting the rock of the bike passively follow the application of power from your legs. It is kind of like as the crank is through the horizontal on the front of the downstroke, pulling in the opposite direction with your arms to the way the bike is rocking adds power. If you do it right, you feel like the bike surges ahead (but not backwards) of you because of the surges of power from your arms. It’s what I do when I’m tapped out climbing seated and standing and need a bit extra, or if there is a ridiculous steep pinch in a climb, because a change is as good as a holiday…
@Beers
Not forgetting to move to the drops first.
@Teocalli
well, that’s an entirely different sort of standing than what we are discussing here, standing with hands on the tops, (although, Kelly of course is neither on tops nor drops), now standing in the drops, there’s a whole other tread for that!
In the drops it’s about power rather than grace, you torque the bike from side side to side like you want to tear it’s head off, standing is more like you’re trying to dance her ass off
Thursday evening ride last night…and I made sure my Regal saddle was ticking like a metronome when I climbed.
Kelly is the original Danger Man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztwlbrAxmA
@Haldy
Something else they share is the Rolls saddle, certainly the most beautiful saddle ever made, and arguable the most comfortable.
Not to mention their resistance to the clipless pedal.
@Haldy
The skill involved in track racing is crazy. And I can’t imagine crashing with the added pleasure of splinters.
@Matt
Roche was a master aesthete for sure. The cap wearing is most perfect.
That rear mech was also the pinnacle of style as far as I’m concerned. They’d only just left the boxy design behind and really invested in machining the derailleur for one reason only: beauty.
You gotta love those Italians.
@frank
Ok…posting against my own post is not cool but I just can’t stop. Check out the inner chainring too. And the block. That is some burly gearing he’s crushing and I bet the course wasn’t even pancake flat.
@RobSandy
That’s a shocker!
I’ve oft contemplated the 42T inner chainring, and I’ve gone so far as to buy one. I have not mounted it, and I don’t know why not; I’m very rarely in my lowest gear.
@frank
Clearly not…he’s cresting a hill in the middle of the course here. I was going to mention the chainrings as well..one wonders why they even bothered having the inner ring! I doubt he ever touched it.
@unversio
Yes, preventing the rearward bike throw when standing is hugely critical and I would say that’s pack-riding 101; if you can’t pull that off, don’t stand.
I’ve heard it referred to as “pedalling over the top of the stroke” when you stand, which I think describes it well. It feels to me like an extra-smooth motion and I focus on keeping pressure on the stroke as I rise out of the saddle. At this point, I even do that when I’m riding solo, just out of habit.
@piwakawaka
Standing on the tops? Oh for fucks sake, please tell me you mean standing on the hoods.
@frank
Of all the crashes in that video..the one that amazes me is the Madison crash with Kenny DeKetele( the belgian who hits the deck) 30 guys on the track all doing 30+ and he’s the only guy who falls! I much prefer to watch track videos where folks don’t fall down. Like this one from this years Madison at World’s. Watch the string of exchanges that happen at 1:15 into the video…bear in mind all of this is at 30+mph! I will be engaged it just such an event next Friday night! Though not quite as fast as what’s on offer here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mBjJaP8NOk&list=PL7NFlV830crPzl5QysaoIIln3ns4Yblu7&index=16
@Ron
Isn’t that awesome; lately I get on the bike and just feel the awesomeness of easy smooth pedalling. This is why we do it, people.
@The Grande Fondue
Gobbles’ grace with power is among the best ever. Such a smooth rider.
@frank
42 I’d reckon, eh? Which means that Big Ring has gotta be, what, 54? SUR LA FUCKING PLAQUE. And can’t be more than 23 out back.
@Matt
That inner ring is larger than a 42!
@frank
hoods hoods hoods hoods hoods hoods…
@Haldy
Looks like 19T 8 speed and 44 runs with 54 — I don’t know.
@Haldy
…and the 48 was clean as a whistle.
@Haldy
I imagine many people would watch that event with the same bewilderment as with which I watch Cricket.
@Matt
I’d say 46 or 48 at least. 42 is only a bit bigger than 39 and there is no air between the 54 (or even a 56?) and the inner ring!
And I’d bet my left big toe that there isn’t anything bigger than 21 on the back. Maybe even 19. 23 back then was the mountain gear.
@frank
So here’s what I’ve gathered…
Less Big Ring: V
Big Ring: VV
Cassette: V – VV
@frank
Indeed. It is often fun to see the puzzled look on the faces of some of the crowd that come to watch on Fridays, when I am rolling “relief” and high on the banks waiting to get flung back in. Although it’s the fans in the beer garden that want to hand me up a beer that are the best! :-)
You need to come watch the Madison live and in the flesh next week. Come see for yourself what the ultimate interval session looks like.