[JRogers]

Okay, I figured I'd spice up the Lounge by having an actual question about riding, a rather uncommon occurrence.

I end almost every ride, mountain or road, with some all-out sprinting. Feels good and helps train a bit for DH runs and DS starts. I have a lot of upper body power to use, but I'm not sure what to do with it some of the time.

Sometimes when I sprint on my mtb, I am kind of pulling the bars up and leaning back a bit. Sometimes, I do it like I do on my road/CX bike- lean over the front more and drive the front wheel into the ground with each pedal stroke.

Is there a correct upper body motion/weight distribution for maximum power or does it just depend on the bike and situation?

 

[maxyedor]

There are several way to approach this. The most comon is to sway the bike back and fourth, to gain little bits of extra speed. But for your situation, th "humping" technique may work best as it will let you take advantage of more upper body stength. The essence of this technique is that you try to pust the bike forward with your torso the move back into a forward possition and do it again. It's trick to explain, but do some experimenting and you'll be able to figure out what I mean. It is actually a quite usefull technique to use.

P.S. I am not making this up

 

[chicodude]

I've discovered that riding my DH bike to school/work everyday has greatly improved my sprinting abilities...especially on my 20lb XC hardtail....tehehehe...

I have no upper body. Mostly just legs. I throw the bike back and forth (but gotta keep straight) and pound out a smooth pedal stroke. It's nice to go all out sprint and not have your suspension move much.

 

[maxyedor]

Chicodude has a great suggestion there. I comuted on my DH bike for a few months and got nearly as fast as I was on my road bike, after switching back to the road bike I was untouchable. I am now back to being slow and out of shape. This does nothing to adress your specific question but it does work very well.

 

[chicodude]

I only did it because my XC bike was broken.

 

[sanjuro]

Keep in mind, when you are sprinting on the road, you are also pulling the bars up and back. However, unlike off-road, you can lean very forward, and not lose traction.

My sprint position on the road bike is hands on the drops, leaning forward just enough to clear the saddle nose. Then I am slightly forward, enough to keep from pulling back but not so much that I might pick up the back wheel.

Finally, the bike throw is a good technique, one you should practice if you do race.

 

[chicodude]

Finally, the bike throw is a good technique, one you should practice if you do race.

I started doing it when I was younger, after seeing Lance do it in the Tour, and it has just become habit when I ride/race. Little did I know copying Lance was making me faster...

 

[PatBranch]

I should try this. My sprints could use a little help.

 

[maxyedor]

I should try this. My sprints could use a little help.

Dude I'll come up to Los O. some time with my road bike and tape a $100 bill to my back. You'll get that sprinting thing down real quick

 

[urbaindk]

I have no idea whether or not this is a good idea but here's what I do:

I ride a mix of xc and dh. I find that when I ride xc I just spin away and my ass never leaves the saddle. Then when I do dh, and I have to stand and my legs get really tired and fatigued.

I have relatively short commute to work, like 2 miles, mostly flat. Once every couple of days I try to ride the entire way standing up. By the time I get to work my thighs are burning so bad, it must be good for something. I think it helps my stamina on DH runs.

Also back to the original topic...

When I sprint I try to find a neutral position where I don't let the fork bob up and down on each pedal stroke. Seems like I waste less energy that way, pushing the bike forward and not into the ground. Usually this means I am leaning back a bit to keep my weight off the front.

I was also under the impression that swinging the bike side to side wasted a fair amount of energy. I try to keep the bike level and my legs in a tight cadence.