Ankling

The most difficult but most rewarding thing I've been working on lately is ankling.  There is a good primer on the technique (what I read a few months ago) here: cycling tips .  If you want to see this technique in action, see Richey Port in the final uphill time trial of Paris-Nice... this is when I decided to 100% learn how to do it.

The page/Port got me started, and although I could immediately feel the gain in efficiency I did not have the muscular endurance to keep it up

I started ankling up small inclines, I noticed I could maintain my speed much better this way but at first I was unable to keep it up... I could at first ankle for about as long as I could stand/sprint.

After getting the general idea it has taken about a month and a half (note ~2000 miles) and a serious focus on form/feel to be able to sustain ankling for long periods.  When I have a mental lapse, and then start ankling again, every single time its a ~10% increase in speed without any increase in effort, amazes me everytime.


I think the gain for me is that once I start getting my ankle into the mix I naturally pedal circles, while this is of course inherently more efficient I also feel like I'm using many more muscles... the use of more muscles is what made it difficult at first - but over time the strength/endurance has come and the benefits are very real.

@ very high cadences I still angle the toe down and keep the ankle stiffer, ankling above 110rpm doesn't seem as fruitful, but for general riding I am doing it more and more and seeing my ability to hold speed go up and up.  The technique is also an excellent way to let other muscles recover, right now I'm transitioning from using it for recovery/acceleration/hills to using it nearly all the time.

Give it a shot, a REAL shot... I'm sure some pedal like this very naturally, and perhaps for some it just won't work... but I think its definitely something to at least know how to do even if its only used in limited situations.