On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 2:28 PM, Olin Lathrop w= rote: > >From my own subjective experience, it feels like more work to deliberate= ly > raise the trailing foot. =A0It's something I do when I want a burst of po= wer > for a short time, not for long term efficiency. IIRC studies on pro cyclists show that they don't actively lift the rear pedal in normal riding. Whilst I wouldn't take everything pro cyclists do as gospel I'd think something as basic physiological as this they'd be doing the right thing. As you say, there is no net effort involved, as the weight of the front leg is sufficient to raise the rear leg. The muscles used to raise the leg are smaller and ess efficient than the nice big ones powering down the front one. Chris --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .