Pedalling Style

[starthms]

Hi Everyone,

been thinking for a bit on how i cycle, the style of cycling by that i mean a high cadence seated position to say out of the saddle bigger gear. Not just for hill climbing but general cycling, is there a best way to cycle or do different body types naturally fall into one camp of cycling.

 

[mjr]

"Best" depends on what you're trying to do. I think the common claims are 90-100rpm cadence for maximum speed (think of Sky Pro Cycling riders spinning up hills), or 50-80rpm for maximum endurance, but I could be wrong and I'd expect it varies a bit by rider, bike and fit.

 

[Rob3rt]

This old chestnut, just turn the cranks!

 

[Sea of vapours]

mjray - can you add anything to the '50-80 rpm better for endurance comment (links to articles maybe)? I'm wondering if my attempting to pedal at 90+ is perhaps inappropriate given that I'm interested in endurance, not speed and that's the first time I've read that idea.

 

[Saluki]

This old chestnut, just turn the cranks!

That's what I do.
I just pedal and I get to where I'm going. I do tend to have a high-ish cadence (for me) when slogging up hills. I'm a Norfolk girl so I'm a bit lot pants at hills. Unless the going gets really tough, I keep my bum on the saddle. If I'm on my MTB I tend to get out of the saddle to go up hills but that's a bit different.
The long and the short of it is that I make it up as I go along but as long as my feet are going round and round, I'm happy.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

mjray - can you add anything to the '50-80 rpm better for endurance comment (links to articles maybe)? I'm wondering if my attempting to pedal at 90+ is perhaps inappropriate given that I'm interested in endurance, not speed and that's the first time I've read that idea.

Endurance will come with more cycling and longer in the saddl (or out of it).

 

[steveindenmark]

I spin like hell on low gears. Jannie has no idea what a granny wheel is for. But we both get to the same place around the same time.

In short, it is what you are comfortable with.

 

[mjr]

mjray - can you add anything to the '50-80 rpm better for endurance comment (links to articles maybe)? I'm wondering if my attempting to pedal at 90+ is perhaps inappropriate given that I'm interested in endurance, not speed and that's the first time I've read that idea.

I've not got many links on this because it's not an aspect that has caused me trouble. I just turn the pedals in a way that feels as nice as possible, depending on the conditions and what I'm trying to do (pootling around, rushing for a train or appointment, whatever).

http://www.ismj.com/pages/311417173.../optimal-cadence-selection-during-cycling.asp is a literature review that contains phrases like "During ultra-endurance cycling (i.e. >4h), performance might be improved through the use of a relatively low cadence (70-90rpm), since lower cadences have been shown to improve cycling economy and lower energy demands" and has quite a bit of detail with lots of caveats under the "Efficiency and economy" heading, but I expect you can find others by searching for terms like: endurance cadence pedalling abstract journal

 

[ColinJ]

I had a singlespeed bike with a 39/15 gear and felt fine riding that between 10 and 20 mph, corresponding to cadences of 50-100 rpm. Beyond 20 mph felt a bit too spinny for my liking but I was ok to 120 rpm or 24 mph. I could also drop down to 25 rpm or 5 mph on steepish climbs but that felt like a tough grind.

I generally like 80-100 rpm but it depends on what the road surface is like, which bike I am on, what the weather is doing, how tired I feel, whether I am in a hurry or not, whether I am riding solo and so on!

The numbers are probably different for you anyway, so why not just experiment and see for yourself?

 

[starthms]

the sitting and spinning i do find boring and i dont see a lot of diff in times but i enjoy getting out of the saddle just a shame i cant keep it going for long. Maybe i speed up standing. hoping with more riding ill get better and be dancing like contador lol i think not.

 

[jack smith]

Everyone tells me to spin but i find i can push a 54 11 at a steady cadence and go faster than the people telling me to spin, it works great for me and i dont tire so its best just to try a few and find your preference. Then again my legs are abit abnormal in size.

 

[Rob3rt]

Everyone tells me to spin but i find i can push a 54 11 at a steady cadence and go faster than the people telling me to spin, it works great for me and i dont tire so its best just to try a few and find your preference. Then again my legs are abit abnormal in size.

How fast are you going in 54:11?

 

[Rob3rt]

the sitting and spinning i do find boring and i dont see a lot of diff in times but i enjoy getting out of the saddle just a shame i cant keep it going for long. Maybe i speed up standing. hoping with more riding ill get better and be dancing like contador lol i think not.

The metabolic cost of standing is much higher, as is your CdA in this position, you will therefore be expending more energy just to maintain the same speed!

 

[Sea of vapours]

I've not got many links on this because it's not an aspect that has caused me trouble.

<snip>

Thanks very much for the link and comments. I'll read that and have a hunt around. And it's nice to know that I've been doing some 'ultra-endurance cycling' :-)

 

[ColinJ]

The metabolic cost of standing is much higher, as is your CdA in this position, you will therefore be expending more energy just to maintain the same speed!

I used to sit down all the time when I was fat - it was too much of a strain on my legs to stand up for long!

Now that I have lost a lot of weight, I stand more often, usually to get up short steep stuff. I still prefer to sit down most of the time though.

Oh, and the other time I stand is when my back starts to ache and I want a change of position for a few seconds.