BIKES

Mental approach
Riding out of the saddle, or
‘dancing’ as the French call it, is
one of those quirky pleasures
unique to cycling. Bikes
typically have many gears with
which to regulate your cadence
and speed. In a car, you change
down or up, that’s it. But on a
bike there is another option —
lift yourself out of the saddle and
use your whole body, assisted
by gravity, to drive the same
gear a little bit harder.
Think of it like the powerband
of a two-stroke engine.
There is a sweet spot in any
gear where the power comes in
smoothly, and sometimes you
need to rev it a bit to get into
that band of power. Getting out
of the saddle helps you stay ‘on
top’ of the same gear and keep it
revving. Or you can increase the
revs to accelerate the bike.
Climbing hills is where you will
gain the most benefit from
riding out of the saddle, as you
may already be in bottom gear.
It also recruits power from your
arms and upper body.
Do this
Use one leg on the down stroke
to push yourself out of the
saddle and keep your weight in
the centre of the bike or slightly
forward. Hold the brake hoods
and use your arms to support
your upper body. Your legs are
also supporting your weight, so
it’s not hard on the arms unless
you start to really pull on the
bars. On a steep climb you can
lean further over the bars,
taking more weight on your
arms. From this canted-forward
position, you can shove the
pedals through a longer power
phase than you would normally
when seated.
Keep your arms bent, move
the bike from side to side in sync
with your pedalling rhythm.
That’s why the French call it ‘en
danseuse’. With a little practice,
it will come easily.
The bike
On a road bike with drop
handlebars, the position of the
brake levers is key. Too far down
the bars and you will be
positioned uncomfortably over
the front wheel with too much
weight on your arms. Too high
and the balance shifts towards
the saddle, unweighting your
arms and forcing you into a
treadmill-style with your back
too straight and upright.
For bikes with flat bars it’s
actually a little trickier to ride
out of the saddle, as your wrists
are at the wrong angle, and the
shorter reach from saddle to
bars makes it harder to get your
balance weighted towards the
front of the bike. It’s well worth
fitting bar-end extensions to
flat bars if you like riding out of
the saddle.
TORSO
Core strength will prevent
back ache and increase
your out of the saddle power
ANKLES
It’s normal to articulate your
ankles more when riding out of the
saddle, especially on very steep
climbs where you are grinding out
as much power as possible