How to find the right cadence rate

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Andyfromdonny

Active Member
only into my second week back on the bike and the bug is beginning to bite. I know I shouldn't worry too much about times and speed etc but what bugs me is on the 5 rides I have done my average speed is dropping gone from 26.9 to 23.9kmh.
As I have progressed I have found my self trying to get in a higher gear once I have some momentum and maybe I should keep to an higher pedal rate to avoid burning out
Do you have my reccomendations on high pedal rate rather than shifting to higher gear..not sure whether I should have high cadence rate or lower and how have you jewbies found this out?

Thanks

Andy
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Experiment and see what suits you best!
 

Joffey

Big Dosser
Location
Yorkshire
Average speed is dependant on lots of things, don't fret. Your later rides may have been hillier, windier or you may have been tired.

Cadence is individual and unless you have a cadence sensor it will be hard to judge. Do what feels good but don't be wearing yourself out in a massive gear. Those in the know suggest cadence of between 80-100 for efficient riding but everyone is different.
 

Buck

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
It's more what you're comfortable with. I tend to go for higher gears rather than a faster cadence but that's just me.

Key with any ride is about pacing yourself and getting in the right gear for you based on your fitness and the road conditions etc.
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
@ColinJ is right on the button. Just try different gears and see which one suits you best for any particular terrain, and for your mood at the time. There are no hard and fast rules.
 
Be careful with a higher cadence, until you're body becomes 'bike stable'. What I mean is that I see too many people, who are relatively new to road riding, who's muscles don't seem to have yet adapted / stabilised to the way they work on a road bike, trying to pedal at a high cadence, and the result is that, not only do they not go any faster, but they also 'squirrel' ( move about in an unpredictable way ), which puts them at higher risk of getting caught up in an incident with a passing cyclist / other road user. I'd personally say that you may want to concentrate on keeping the Cadence rate steady, to begin with, then increase the Cadence speed as you get used to it.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Experiment and see what suits you best!
Average speed is dependant on lots of things, don't fret. Your later rides may have been hillier, windier or you may have been tired.

Cadence is individual and unless you have a cadence sensor it will be hard to judge. Do what feels good but don't be wearing yourself out in a massive gear. Those in the know suggest cadence of between 80-100 for efficient riding but everyone is different.
I recently got a garmin with cadence and it seems my natural speed is mid 80s
 

pclay

Veteran
Location
Rugby
only into my second week back on the bike and the bug is beginning to bite. I know I shouldn't worry too much about times and speed etc but what bugs me is on the 5 rides I have done my average speed is dropping gone from 26.9 to 23.9kmh.
As I have progressed I have found my self trying to get in a higher gear once I have some momentum and maybe I should keep to an higher pedal rate to avoid burning out
Do you have my reccomendations on high pedal rate rather than shifting to higher gear..not sure whether I should have high cadence rate or lower and how have you jewbies found this out?

Thanks

Andy

do you have a cadence sensor?
 

RoubaixCube

~Tribanese~
Location
London, UK
I recently got a garmin with cadence and it seems my natural speed is mid 80s

same here im between 80-92rpm, my average speed is between 11-14mph depending on the conditions. I remember when i first started to commute 4days in a week and it would completely wreck my legs. Now i have to crank it up a gear to get a workout.

A game that i play when im commuting home is 'follow that cyclist'. when i see a faster cyclist whizz past me, I try and play catch up and see how long i can stay within two bike lengths of them. More often then not i dont last even 5mins :tongue:
 

leedsmick

Well-Known Member
Location
leeds
How would you manually check your cadence? If you timed it, is it the number of full reveloutions of the pedal?
 
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