My wife gave me a set of Favero Assioma pedals for my birthday, and the results have been intriguing. I always thought my left leg was weaker, but it turns out that my natural pedalling is actually skewed 54% left and 46% right.
If I really focus on my right leg and watch the power balance on the head unit while I’m riding, I can get to an average of 51% left and 49% right over the course of an hour-long ride. It’s really tiring, though, and my total power output drops quite a bit. After working on right leg focus for a couple of weeks, I just pedalled naturally for the Tour of Innsbruck this morning, and guess what…still 54% left and 46% right.
Is there any long-term value in trying to address this imbalance, or should I just chalk this up to 40+ years of bad habits and live with it?
I ride at 45L 55R- Vectors - across multiple pairs that when used by others are 50/50 ish - i tried to address this with extra effort on the left leg - result sore back and knee - so now i just go with it
I’ve just recently found that I’m 47/53 L/R and was wondering what to do about it.
With mental effort I have made 48/52 but I have to concentrate and its not natural.
I think I’ll just live with it also.
Cheers for the info.
when you concentrate and get the balance nearer 50/50 what happens to your average overall power? are you increasing the right or actually (without realising) reducing the left? i think everyone has a natural imbalance so wouldn’t worry too much 4% either way isn’t too much anyway.
For those that are interested TrainerRoad’s podcast has discussed L/R power imbalance a few times. Certainly for anything within the 45/55 range has a recommendation to do nothing. Dont disturb your training to chase a better balance. Ideally dont even review the balance numbers so that it doesn’t get in your head.
Have you all heard of Rolfing, or Structural Integration? This is a type of massage releasing myofascial tissues so your muscles can move your skeleton through the complete range of motion. I went through a 10 session plan that worked over the entire body.
After the session that worked on the pelvis, my power meter balance went from 56/44 to 51/49, just that instantaneous. My therapist explained that the right leg wasn’t “weaker,” it was hindered from its complete range of motion. That’s what caused it to produce less power.
My suggestions: 1) some degree of physiological asymmetry is normal, so don’t sweat it too much 2) get fitted to your bike by someone good 3) go see a certified Rolfing practitioner 4) train your weaker side.