This week’s Ask the Expert is about the foot position during the pedal stroke. Does the toe push down, or does the heel push down? Both Tom Scotto and Jennifer Sage provide advice on how to cue a proper foot position with your students.
ICA member Dan asked a great question about heel and toe position during the pedal stroke:
Last week I did a ride undercover…I have been instructing for 5 years and the instructor was babbling and kind of confused me. Here is my issue: I am very secure with the four pedal quadrants, but I was unsure of what the experts would recommend as far as either pointing the toe while pedaling or dropping the heel? I know it is important to put some pressure under your feet and feel the road, but what about heel and toe position…thanks.
I turned to Tom Scotto to help me answer the question and this is what he said:
Thanks for the song suggestion. I bought it and will use it next week for an initial climb. I also liked your advice on using song suggestions from class participants. If you can stand it (and it will work ok in class) use it.
I do like long 90 rpm pieces, but I prefer to put together fun, energetic tunes such as Distraction by Angels & Airwaves (5:36) and Never Look Back by Graffiti 6 (3:27).
Pru, I had this image in my files since a long time ago. I am not sure of the source, might have come from Bicycling magazine perhaps? I think the most important thing it shows is that the foot is mostly flat RELATIVE to the tibia and not the floor. If the foot was flat relative to the floor, there would be some serious dorsi-flexion (pulling the toes up) on the back side of the pedal-stroke – especially around the 9:00-12:00 position.
The other thing that it shows is that it’s not correct to cue pushing the heel down on the downstroke – which is a common mistake. When Tom writes a more detailed article, I’m going to ask him to cover that a little more. I hear instructors (and cyclists) calling out “heel down, heel down” a lot when climbing. It adds a lot of strain to the achilles, especially with a lot of resistance.
Is there a larger copy anywhere? I’d love to print this off and put it up somewhere to show the phases of the pedal stroke (and use it as a reference myself – I’ve been going wrong a bit, I think!)
So much helpful info on this site! YOU ROCK.
Great information! When can we get a pdf of the interview?
Dan, come on over to Manhattan and ride with me at Equinox. Michael Reilly
I AM ON THIS SITE MANY TIMES A DAY….I LOVE IT. THANK YOU FOR SPOTLIGHTING MY QUESTION. I READ AND HEAR SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS-I WANTED TO GO TO THE SOURCE….YOU….THANK YOU VERY MUCH…..DAN ,,,,NJ……YMCA