Cadence

[IanG1]

Just back from a quick evening ride around my local route, I managed the 16.5 miles in 1:02 which is the best time I have achieved. Never really thought about my cadence just tap out a rhythm and change gear when I think I am spinning to fast of when it feels tough etc. A chap followed me tonight for a few miles on a small climb of around half mile then a steady decent then flat drag, he pulled alongside and we had a friendly chat and he commented on my cadence saying it looked high and made him feel tired just watching? I followed in his wheel and we made our separate ways a little way further on. I then decided to measure my cadence and did around 20 pedal strokes in 10 second making 120rpm on the flat. Did it a few times and got roughly the same figure. I then decided to try and pull a larger gear and slow the rate down a bit and concentrated on my pedal stroke and pulling up as well as pushing the pedals when things got tougher. I must admit It didn't feel to bad but the legs felt more tired than normal and wondered whether I could sustain it over my weekend 30/40 mile rides which I manage in around 2 .5 hours usually.
Any words of wisdom or pointers for this relative road newbie???
Thanks
Ian

 

[Rob3rt]

Words of wisdom: Forget about it.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Words of wisdom: Forget about it.

Yep. Recent thinking is that people naturally pedal at a fairly optimal rate to suit their physiology or fitness. Unless you're going racing don't worry. Spinning is generally thought to be a good thing and if it works for you that's fine!

 

[Sittingduck]

You should have told him to mind his business
Ride at whatever cadence feels comfortable for yourself.

 

[Risex4]

You should have told him to mind his business
Ride at whatever cadence feels comfortable for yourself.

Wahoo. 0 it is then!

 

[Gravity Aided]

Experts used to recommend 90 as a low cadence and 120-150 as a pace cadence. (0 to 110 was considered optimum in middle gear.) Your ability to pedal at your cadence is a help, not a hindrance, in your cycling. If you are handling 16 miles in 1.02, you're doing it right.

 

[screenman]

Things start to jiggle about at 120 rpm and the hips start to bounce then smooth out the other side of that, so I would say your count maybe a little highish, I would say if you are comfortable then you have it right, you are likely to suffer less stress at a higher speed than you would pushing harder on higher gears.

 

[IanG1]

Thanks for all the replies, I think I will forget about it and just pedal, no aspirations to race or anything just took up road cycling back in April after a few years on a mountain bike nipping around the back lanes and towpaths on shortish 10 mile rides. I soon got hooked on the road and did a 50 mile charity ride in late June and managed 750 miles since I started. Just plucking up the courage to join the local club run but like most have reservations about being out of my depth LOL
I must admit that at 45 years old I have never felt this fit for 20 years, I don't seem to be loosing any weight and hold steady at 5'11 and 80KG.
Think I might consider a cycle computer with a cadence facility in the future just out of interest to see exactly what my maximum and averages are. Being an engineer I love the numbers and science behind everything. Been using a HRM out of similar interest. Even planning on getting a turbo for when the weather goes down hill to try and maintain the fitness I have acheived so far and not have to start again

 

[ManiaMuse]

I wouldn't worry about it tbh.

It's only a problem if you think you could go faster but you're wasting energy with your hips/bum/other bits bouncing around. In which case, shift up a gear.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Ian G1, a trainer for the winter sounds like a great idea, and a bit safer than rollers. The trainer will allow you to maintain form over the winter, but it will still be a challenge to get back into shape in the spring, just because the situations of riding a bicycle are different between the trainer and the road. But that all comes back after a couple of weeks. Also, you might do a little weight lifting in the winter to maintain upper body strength.

 

[BSRU]

If you living down south then there is no reason not to ride on the roads during the winter, obviously the further north you go the more wintry the winter is but probably still possible. Even during heavy snow I still commuted to work, even managing to add on extra miles.

Cadence tends to be a personal thing, a guy at work I know has a huge front "big ring" on his bike and prefers a slow cadence whereas I prefer 90 to 100. The last SCR I was involved in my average cadence was 120rpm and I easily pulled away from someone grinding a big gear up a short drag.

 

[Eribiste]

I've recently started to practice riding at a higher cadence than I used to, in order to try and use my leg muscles in a different way as frequently recommended on these very pages. I haven't got one of those cadence detecting doo-hickeys on the bike, but I get a drift of where I am by counting rotations for 15 seconds and multiplying by four. I think I'm up to 90 now, and I think it's caused a modest (1/2 mph) improvement in the average. I've definitely noticed an improvement in hill climbing, even if I do have to use the 'wheel of weakness' a lot more.

 

[steve52]

if it feels good do it
myself anything from 85 to 110 is comfortable but can hit 180 for short spurts

 

[eevvee]

I too have been trying to improve my cadence since purchasing a Garmin 500 with cadence and HRM (late June), thanks to Nigel who suggested the 500 which is an excellent tool for monitoring rides and progress.

To begin with my average cadence was low 70's with average speed of 16 - 17 mph but my last ride was a cadence of 82 average with a max cadence of 112. These numbers seem low to some of the quoted numbers in this thread however for me it was hard work all the way.

14.9 miles in 47 mins 47 secs with an average speed of 18.7 which is the fasted avg speed I have managed. Hard work but maybe I was previously coasting along with a low cadence rate

I have set a goal of completing the same ride in a 19mph average - so much lung busting ahead...there is I am sure a touch of the masochist in bike riders.