Leg imbalance - whats the cure?

I was slower than I THOUGHT I should be because I thought I was averaging ,say, 230W up a hill I was actually only doing 205W

Gotcha. I had a similar issue when I had a single side pm. I carefully planned this KOM attempt, missing the power target by a hair, but still behind in time like almost 2 minutes. I knew something was up. So it turns out Iā€™m also 53-47. Im a regular in snowboarding and I kick the ball with the right leg. Wonder if thereā€™s any relationship there.

In BMX we used to say one of our legs was our ā€œchocolateā€ leg.

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Iā€™d got a bike fit booked with guy who was the physio for Sky but the lockdown put paid to that

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yeah i think everyone has an imbalance to some extent, itā€™s just about the size of it and whether itā€™s a problem.

If there are problems, a good bike fitter should be able to help you figure this out. Lotta people think they have a leg length discrepancy and itā€™s actually a functional issue (e.g., hip torsion or something like that) and they can tell the difference by putting you in traction on a physio table.

I have what looked like a leg-length asymmetry and it was causing, um, ā€œsoft tissue issuesā€ as i needed to move forward on the saddle in order to reach down far enough on the right side. A good bike fitter discovered the torsion issue and completely fixed it by giving me a saddle that is way wider than i ever used before and wider than my sit bones, on the theory that itā€™d give me more room to twist a bit (i.e. accommodate the issue rather than fix it).

I asked him if doing yoga would correct the imbalance, and he said heā€™s had his own imbalance that he hasnā€™t fullycorrected after 20 years of trying despite being a strength and conditioning coach, which puts things in perspective a bit.

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Go big. Amputate.

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Itā€™s just on the longer rides when tired, right leg pays the price. Iā€™m also starting to get some right hip pain and wondering if I could balance the legs woukd the pain rescind. Thinking longer term. I can live with it dor now but the sooner I start better habits to balance the sooner they become my normal cycling style.
Itā€™s interesting you say one legged drills will not help. There seems to be a lot online saying thatā€™s the first thing that should be done. Why do you think it will not work?
Thanks

Well if youā€™re experiencing pain on only one side then perhaps there is a problem. [I do wonder, though, whether overuse injuries in cycling are any less common now that tools exist to quantify L/R balance, versus back in my dadā€™s day when you had to, e.g., nail your own cleats on.)

Anyway, the reason I donā€™t think that one-legged pedaling would be helpful is that coordination-wise it isnā€™t at all like pedaling with two legs. So, while that leg may get fitter if you work it more, it may not help when you add the other leg back into the mix.

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Interesting. I have you added a shim to my right leg (the stronger one) as being measured itā€™s a bit shorter than the left (properly measured On a bench by a physio. Possibly different for reasons of bio mechanics as I am very tight in the lowe back and legs)
Itā€™s thought the extra kick to dip the right leg down to the bottom of the stroke may have caused the imbalance.

Did you shim the stein or weak leg?

Same as you, it is my dominant leg that is shorter.

Edit: The imbalance caused my tendons to tighten up which are all linked to the back via the glutes. Hopefully thatā€™s all sorted now, I canā€™t even remember which IT band became tight (left or right)

Itā€™s interesting to note that Eganā€™s Bernal back issues are related to this. I saw some footage of him doing single leg work and using some attachment in his pedal.

Which pedal?

I think it was the right one

Sorry, I wasnā€™t clear - I meant was the attachment on the pedaling side, or the non-pedaling side?

In particular, there used to be a place Down Under selling a weight that you attached to the non-pedaling side, to help the cranks get 'round. I was wondering if he was using something like that.

It was in the pedaling side, I believe. But it was a really quick shot. I could be wrong.

@old_but_not_dead_yet
Iā€™m interested in if something was used on the off side as well, and what. Iā€™ve got twisted hips but donā€™t know if the original cause is actual length discrepancy or something more functional (I suspect functional as I was a baseball pitcher through college and weighted heavily to the right leg). Single leg work without something on the other pedal just creates an unnatural motion that I believe further screws things up.

I dug around, and could not find the product Iā€™d seen before.

However, it seems like it would be simple enough to rig something up using an old pedal spindle and some plates.

My assioma Duos show that I start the power phase earlier and finish it later on my stronger leg. I have a suspicion that my stronger leg is shorter too

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My shorter leg starts earlier and finishes later too, but produces a bit less power, especially below FTP.

As others noted, if it is not causing any problems, donā€™t worry about it.

We all innately believe that a 50/50 balance is optimal, but why? AFAIK, there are no studies indicating that. The reality is likely that we all have some imbalance.

Isolated legs drills wonā€™t workā€¦unless you are doing VERY long sessions. Doing ILD for 30-60ā€ just wonā€™t train your muscles for rides that last hours long. It may provide a mental realization of what the muscle activation feels like in the hips / glutes, but that is about it.