I don't think I know what I'm doing on the bike.

[Alex321]

No i am not a body builder.
The max speed I have cycled (50/11) was about 36 -38mph. I imagine the credit should go to gravity not to me?

These days I rarely use the 11th gear unless I am going down hill . I always used to ride in the small chainring. When in the small chainring I was needing to use the top 3 highest gears for almost all the ride. I was finding that peddling in the first 8 gears was too easy. Maybe I am fitter than you think, or maybe my legs are stronger than I realise - I don`t know?

If I had continued riding in the top three gears (9. 10 . 11) I would have worn them top three out and needed another cassette. So, to ensure even wear of all the gears of the cassette I ride in the large chainring one month and small chainring the next month.

This month I am in the large chain ring and will only need the middle few gears of the cassette, untill I am climbing a hill. Next month I will be riding in the small chainring, but that means I will need to be basically using the top 3 highest gears.

Hope I have answered your questions. If not let me know you what you would like to ask. I am always interested to receive advice/information from those who know more than me.

It really isn't worth trying to vary the gears for the sake of not wearing them out.

The choice of gears is there to enable you to always be in the "best" gear for the terrain and the speed you want to ride at, and you should always be in the gear that allows you to ride at a cadence you find comfortable (which will be lower uphill than on the flat or downhill).

 

[night cycler]

There is certainly some truth to this.

But in the early days, it is worth trying to push your cadence higher, otherwise you will alwys be working inefficiently. As I said above, when I first got back into cycling, 60rpm seemed like a fast cadence. But I knew I used to ride higher than that when I cycled previously, so I worked on getting it up a bit. And I now find I am most comfortable between 80 and 90, lower on a significant hill.

If I had carried on at around 60RPM, I don't think I would have got as much enjoyment from my cycling as I do, as it would have seemed like too much hard work.

What are the general methods of measuring the cadence? Your self (and other members)?

You can count each rotation for a minute from a watch on the bar that has a second hand. But I would imagine there are gadgets available for this specific purpose? I would be interested in such.

 

[fossyant]

What are the general methods of measuring the cadence? Your self (and other members)?

You can count each rotation for a minute from a watch on the bar that has a second hand. But I would imagine there are gadgets available for this specific purpose? I would be interested in such.

Bike computer.

 

[Alex321]

What are the general methods of measuring the cadence? Your self (and other members)?

You can count each rotation for a minute from a watch on the bar that has a second hand. But I would imagine there are gadgets available for this specific purpose? I would be interested in such.

Yes. A cadence sensor shouldn't cost more than @20-£30, attaches to the crank arm, and interfaces with most bike computers that have ANT+ or bluetooth.

I use this one - £15 from Halfords. And I have a Wahoo Elemnt Roam computer, but it will interface with any GPS bike computer I know of.

 

[Alex321]

Many years ago, before GPS bike computers came along, I had an old style one which gave you speed and distance from a fork mounted sensor with a magnet on the spoke, and the one I had also had a cadence sensor (which also used a magnet on the crank).

One Similar to this, though not as expensive (this was about 35 years ago)

 

[presta]

I assume you meant a 100rpm as a proposed cadence as something easy for Olympic athlete's to achieve. Even though the charts you provided suggest slightly less than 80rpm for a optimum cadence for knocking out 300W.

At 80kg all-up weight on a 20% grade 300W will only give you 4.3mph, Olympic athletes would manage more than that wouldn't they? Either way, the graphs are an average for the cohort in the study, and the optimum for any given person also...

depends on the individual

Their purpose is to show optimum cadence wrt power output, not wrt different riders.

This copy of the same graph shows the data from another study appended, in which the subjects were untrained, and unaccustomed to higher cadences:

uphill cadence is generally lower than down hill cadence

....because most racing bikes don't have the 14" bottom gear that you would need for 4.3mph at 100rpm, and/or because when climbing, the priority is more likely to be achieving maximum power, not maximum efficiency (which are not the same thing).

to ensure even wear of all the gears of the cassette I ride in the large chainring one month and small chainring the next month

If you're not going to pick the best gear for the job, I wonder why you have gears at all.

the ideal cadence for you is what you do without thinking

Having looked into cadence, and tried a computer with a cadence function for a while, I stopped bothering about it when I found that the cadence I'd been finding intuitively without thinking was already the optimum, as defined by Coast & Welch above.

The bottom line is that if you're worried about your cadence, look at your HRM, because if you're using the gear that gives you the lowest HR at that particular workload, then that's minimum effort, and hence the optimum for that workload. Just remember to repeat the process each time the workload changes.

 

[Dadam]

Yes. A cadence sensor shouldn't cost more than @20-£30, attaches to the crank arm, and interfaces with most bike computers that have ANT+ or bluetooth.

I use this one - £15 from Halfords. And I have a Wahoo Elemnt Roam computer, but it will interface with any GPS bike computer I know of.

Thanks for that, I work near a Halfords so will pop in next time I'm in the office. I am semi interested in my cadence for general interest not training but never really looked into it; always assumed I'd need to fit a cadence sensor to each bike. But that one can swap over easily. For 15 it's worth a punt.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It's a fun thing to monitor and to know about. I know that when I'm feeling sprightly and the hills are not too tough then my cadence will be around 90-odd. Later in the same day when I'm worn out and every incline is a mountain and it has probably started raining and I'm regretting having chosen the route I'm on it will be down to 70-80-odd. But I knew these things anyway I suppose.

 

[cyberknight]

Thanks for that, I work near a Halfords so will pop in next time I'm in the office. I am semi interested in my cadence for general interest not training but never really looked into it; always assumed I'd need to fit a cadence sensor to each bike. But that one can swap over easily. For 15 it's worth a punt.

i have used the same one for a couple of years , still going strong
I assume you have a bike computer than can link with it ?

 

[vickster]

There is certainly some truth to this.

But in the early days, it is worth trying to push your cadence higher, o

Don’t think it’s early days cycling for the OP though, he’s been on the forum since 2009

Picking a gear based on an attempt to preserve the chainrings does seem a little unusual. Why not just use the right gear, chainrings last thousands of miles surely?

 

[Dadam]

i have used the same one for a couple of years , still going strong
I assume you have a bike computer than can link with it ?

Yes, Edge 530

 

[cougie uk]

Did you get the cadence counter OP ?

What was the result?

 

[grldtnr]

Don’t think it’s early days cycling for the OP though, he’s been on the forum since 2009

Picking a gear based on an attempt to preserve the chainrings does seem a little unusual. Why not just use the right gear, chainrings last thousands of miles surely?

Skimming through this thread a lot has been said about gearing ,ratios ,computer gizmos to read heart rates and Cadence.
Really , a lot of tosh !
Simple fact is, if the OP is finding it easier to ride on the flat , then he is becoming fitter, he will get fitter ,faster , stronger, if he rides a lower gear at say 80% or less of a maximum.
Being able to 'spin' a gear comfortably, over all terrains is the ultimate aim.
Do my thoughts and advice is now ,Dutch multiple gears, ride a single gear or Fixie i.e a track bike, you will improve your bike handling, fitness , endurance, no end , added benefits are simpler maintance, longer component Iife.
It was common in the good old days for Club racers, to ride throughout Winter and the off season a fixed gear, to maintain fitness and suppleness, then when rscing get back to gears.
I used to ride fixed throughout the year, swapping over to a heated bike for touring. Trust me it works!

For all the new fangled Carbon go re ,high tech stuff, yes perhaps it works, for the infinite micro seconds that the 'Pro' needs for the win, but in the end its all about the bike fitness, not the bike, the'Pro' still tap out the miles on single speeds and fixed gears, it's what works.
So, if your finding it easier all to the good, there are limits to what gears can achieve.
In the end it's all about you and not the bike

 

[cougie uk]

He says. Telling the OP to get a different bike.

:-)

Fixed is a good way to learn to spin though and you keep warmer in the winter too I always think.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

a heated bike for touring.

Sounds great for winter commuting, that. Where can I get one?