Bouncing at high cadences

any tips to stop me bouncing on my saddle like a fool at high cadences?

i found relaxing my grip on the bars and relaxing my shoulders seemed to make me a bit looser, if i started to bounce consciously using more of the back part of my pedal stroke seemed to make things smoother.
i think being tense makes you bob.

relaxing and mentally detatching your legs from the waist down
thinking "circles"
and stuff like that I have heard, it seems to help

Bigger gearing.

Blashphemer

i love that there rodeo bounce - yeehhhaa y'all

Martin rower7 Bigger gearing.

not an option. on my ride to college there are some fairly long hills that I have no other option other than to go up them.

i forgot to mention, it's on a singlespeed (fixed in a couple of weeks!) and i mean actually pedalling at high cadences. a couple of my non-ss/fixed gear friends already think i spin real fast, but on flats i feel that i could spin even faster if it wasn't the stupid bobbing. im geared 42/18.

i'll try loosening up as smithy said.

42x18 is pretty easy, are you sure you would be able to get up the hills on something a bit meatier?

not rideing on cobblestones would help

singlespeed will be bouncier than fixed as there is more likely to be a pause at the top of the stroke, not enough to engage the freewheel but it will feel different than on a fixed.

I find relaxing the grip on the bars, hold them firm but not tight, relax the hips and think moving your feet in circles and getting them out of the way of the pedals as they come up on the back stroke., Powering into it can help especially if near the bottom of a hill.
Sitting slightly further back on the saddle can help too.

I also find that there are almost harmonic cadence speeds as I start bouncing a little bit around 130-140rpm then it smooths out and start bouncing again around the 170 - 180 rpm, anything higher than that and everything is so manic that bouncing is the least of your worries :D

The angles of your frame can effect it I can spin high cadences on my Ron Cooper but on my Holdsworth I just can't spin it up.

Pull up ALL the time don't push down. Scoop your pedels.

42 x 18 ?

Do you live in the Alps ?

pedal faster.....

jesus christ fixedwheelnu...... what cycling terrain in London has you pedalling at 180?

winston pedal faster.....

jesus christ fixedwheelnu...... what cycling terrain in London has you pedalling at 180?

The Norf Downs :)

my max has been 199rpm once on Riverhill Sevenoaks and 198 several times Ide Hill and when on Audaxes elsewhere.

It has to be a combination of feeling loose and brave enough on the day a steep straight hill with a smooth road surface and preferably one that dips out and rises again :)

I must admit I shit myself once trying to get 200rpm on Ide Hill once, I knew 40mph on 68" should do it and was hanging on thighs burning when the back wheel skipped out at 38mph on a patch of gravel on the slight right hand bend halfway down, I locked up skidding the bike straight again but couldn't go from 0rpm back to 180+ instantly and got thrown up out of the saddle and locked it up again skidding the other way.

I looked like a rodeo rider on a Bucking Bronco until I got it back under control at about 25mph, all I kept thinking was I'm in lycra this is gonna fukin hurt.

My mate Mike behind me said "did you see the skidmarks back on the road" I said "there nothing to the ones in my shorts right now"

I usually get 160-170 down Gravel Hill on my commute to work I had 180rpm yesterday morning

Take spin classes.

Bouncing at high cadence is not balance or the bike, it's your muscles not being able to cope with expanding and contracting at that rate, and it is those muscles that inadvertently cause you to wobble and bounce.

The more you spin, the less you bounce when you spin.

if your on a single speed STOP pedaling ! that'll stop the bounce

Have you checked your saddle height? That can also be a source of a bouncing if its too high etc

or on springs...

RPM 42x18 is pretty easy, are you sure you would be able to get up the hills on something a bit meatier?

It is is pretty easy - on flats - but I really do prefer to spin up hills rather than mash. On fixed I'll probably get a 16t cog rather than 18t, because I'll have the bike's momentum to help climb that you don't get on a ss.

I went out for a 20-odd mile ride yesterday and tried things you had suggested:

scooping the pedals through the stroke - definitely works. where you have the pause of the cranks when they get to the top, if I kind of drag or scoop the pedals through it minimises the bounce a bit.

thinking circles - helps but not as much as scooping.

Nah, I don't have a springy saddle. Nice bontrager race one instead.

I suggest you apply yourself to all of the above.
Since you only have one gear but don`t ride at a constant speed, the manner in which you pedal provides your variation. Longer rides are good for learning this since you may be forced to account for fatigue, which can be dealt with by using good technique. If, when riding, you find yourself without the distraction of heavy traffic, then apply your focus to your pedalling. After all, your not doing anything else so concentrate on what your doing and improve your movement.
If you gearing lends itself to only one type of pedalling (powerful and slow or quick and smooth) then your missing out on acquiring a wider range of skills.

Time to Lazarus this thread.

I've recently moved to a much lower gear- 50/18 rather than 49/15.

This was to give my Achilles a chance to rest a bit.

It does of course mean that I have to spin the pedals a lot faster when travelling at the speed I was used to- and I now find that I am bouncing slightly in the saddle.

In direct opposition to some of the advice above I find that really grasping the bars firmly can stop it- but not totally, and more because I am holding myself onto the saddle if you see what mean.

I am sure it is mainly poor technique- but is there anything that will assist in the short term whilst I learn how to spin without bobbing like a nodder?

lower your saddle 10mm

relax your upper body

Relax. Practise.

What frame are you using Dammit? It's a Fuji track, isn't it?

I get this bounce now that I've got the Charge but I'd put it down the the steel frame. Old bike didn't do it but it is 501, which is a bit stiffer I think and it's HEAVY. Like MTB heavy.

I guess if you hit the resonant frequency of anything then you will get a bounce effect (take the Tacoma Narrows bridge - that famous old B&W footage of the suspension bridge wobbling and ripping itself apart). But I thought an alu frame would be stiff enough to resist that.

Bounce and flex from the saddle rails? Mine is noticeably less bouncy since I changed the saddle from a Charge Spoon to a wide Specialized Alias.