SKILLS: How to pedal and brake at the same time

Words: Jared Rando | Photos: Nick Waygood

Pedal and brake at the same time? What! While it does seem like a bit of a strange concept, there really is a time on the trail where pedalling and braking at the same time can help you carry some serious momentum through flatter sections of trail where keeping the power on is critical. This skill is more useful for XC and trail style riding but can also be used on descents where it might be fit for purpose.

The pedalling while braking part isn’t about actually pedalling, but turning the cranks over as you brake so you can be in the right gear to accelerate out of the next corner and not lose any momentum with gear changes. Effectively it’s a technique used when setting up for a corner so you can increase your exit speed by pedalling out efficiently and early. On smooth, flat and twisty sections of trail it’s a fantastic technique that can keep you rolling at a higher speed. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1 – Look up early as you enter the corner

As you are coming up to the corner, look up early and scan the entry and exit. This should give you a good idea of how many gears you need to shift up. Also have a good look for crank monsters – those little gremlins which come out of the ground and grab your cranks causing you to fly over the handlebars. If the coast is clear, pick your line and keep rolling.

Step 2 – Sit down and brake

As you brake, you’ll want to be seated to allow you to turn the cranks over. Being seated gives you some stability as well as some extra traction on the rear wheel. As you brake, turn the cranks over slowly and shift up gears at the same time while looking ahead to get a gauge of the final gear you want to be in. Remember this is only something you want to do on the appropriate sections of trail – smooth, relatively flat and clear of anything which you could tag your cranks on. With the extra weight from being seated, you’ll find you can brake a little later and harder as well.

Step 3 – Make the most of the entry

On the right sections of trail, you can pedal almost right into the corner. Learning how to do this can be great on really tight and twisty sections allowing you to get an extra crank and gear change in almost anywhere as you enter. You’ll also notice that the technique actually makes you feel quite stable on the bike with the combination of being planted on the seat and the extra traction on the rear wheel.

Step 4 – Stop pedalling to corner

Once you are in the right gear, you want to stop pedalling and hit the corner like you normally would. Sometimes even I like to stay seated if I don’t need to dig too deep for traction as it can be a great energy saving measure and allows you to get the power on even sooner as you exit. Look ahead to the exit or next turn. Here I’m setting up for a quick left after the initial right and by shifting gears early I’ll be able to pedal out in the right gear.

Step 5 – Power out

As soon as you can, get on the cranks and power out. With the gear change done early the idea is that you can be in the perfect gear to get the power down and keep your momentum going. Like in this pic you can also get the power down while you are still finishing up your turn for that little extra bit of speed. And if you really want to get old school, you can throw in a power wheelie too!

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