cadence

[paxterg]

Just got myself a Garmin with cadence. What sort of cadence should I be aiming for? At the moment it is around 80, I have always been used to riding big gears but over the winter i have been trying to spin more, but asthey say it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks!

 

[the_mikey]

Some say 90 rpm is where it's at, but I tend to run a higher cadence generally, so for me, 110rpm is where I spin.

 

[Edge705]

Go with what you feel suits you best but consider this. The bigger gear you push at a lower revolution the more pressure you put on your knees which may not affecct you until your later years. I for example find a 50 tooth big ring is ideal for me whereas a 53 tooth causes me knee pain. Also jumping out of the saddle pushing a bigger gear can and usually is slower than sitting in the saddle with high cadence in a lower gear none more so over rough terrain or poor road surfaces. I only ever get out of the saddle to stretch my legs I much prefer higher cadence around 100. However I too pushed much bigger gears at lower revolutions for many years I found 80 was ideal and felt comfortable in those gears but now I would suffer both knee and hamstring issues

 

[PpPete]

I don't think there is any "right" cadence that suits everyone....no harm in working on improving your spinning though.

 

[Keith Oates]

We are all different but I find that keeping the cadence around the 95 mark is where I feel most comfortable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[old bell]

I also just got a Garmin with Cadence and find I am spinning at about 50 most of the time, which I guess is where I feel most comfortable. Should I aim for higher cadence or is it OK to continue as I am.

 

[BSRU]

I also just got a Garmin with Cadence and find I am spinning at about 50 most of the time, which I guess is where I feel most comfortable. Should I aim for higher cadence or is it OK to continue as I am.

A cadence of 50 is grinding not spinning, your probably using to big a gear.
You should be looking at something about 80 at least.

 

[HLaB]

Go with what cadence suits you. I don't usually bother with mine but if cycling with the ERClub, I'd average in the mid 80-90's, with the DCClub who usually take hillier routes I only average around 78-85rpm. I usually peak at relatively a high cadence (130-160rpm's) and would be reasonably high on the flat I think but my average falls dramatically with downhill sections where I prefer to freewheel Also when in groups travelling at a slow pace I prefer to drop my cadence than drop the gears, to be more responsive to traffic, etc, however when I'm in fast groups I will spin in a low gear, to also be more responsive to pace changes

 

[PK99]

Just got myself a Garmin with cadence. What sort of cadence should I be aiming for? At the moment it is around 80, I have always been used to riding big gears but over the winter i have been trying to spin more, but asthey say it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks!

excellent article here >>>> http://beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=433


Excerpt

Physiology

Low cadence cycling requires us to push harder on the pedals, but what does this mean at the level of our leg muscles? To generate that higher force contraction, your leg muscles must recruit more fast-twitch muscle fibers vs slow-twitch fibers.

Slow-twitch fibers:

• Primarily burn fat for fuel, an almost limitless supply of fuel for even the leanest athlete.
• Are very resistant to fatigue: they are built to go and go, all day.
• Recover quickly when allowed to rest.

Fast-twitch fibers:

• Burn glycogen for fuel. This glycogen is stored within the muscles and is in relative short supply, about 2000 calories for a well-trained, well-fueled athlete.
• Fatigue quickly, are NOT built to go all day.
• Take a long time to recover before they can be used again.

 

[GrasB]

A nominal cadence of between 60 & 100 rpm is a nice place to be biometrically speaking. This makes some assumptions about power output relative to your maximum sustainable output, terrain, gearing & crank length. In general terms the more power you produce in a sustained manner the higher your cadence will tend to be, conversely the steeper a climb the lower your maximum cadence for a given leg load will be. It's generally better to spin past 100rpm than it is to drop bellow 60rpm.

In response to what PK99 said, there's very little muscle use difference between 0.9 & 1.75m/s foot speed. On 'normal length' (170mm) cranks that equates to 49 to 96 rpm.

 

[amaferanga]

excellent article here >>>> http://beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=433


Excerpt

What's that got to do with cadence?

 

[SquareDaff]

I tend to spin in the 80 to 90 range. ALthough I have begun increasing my cadence now the weathers improving and will level out around 90-100 average I suspect.

 

[lukesdad]

Of course there is nothing wrong with low cadence against low resistance. ( i.e. touring mode )

 

[col]

90 is supposed to be the number to aim at, but everyones different and I am generally comfortable at 80 ish.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

I dont think I can get a cadance above 130. I bet your legs are a blur at 160