Slowly slaying the high cadence myth....

[Fab Foodie]

I’ve never bought into the whole spinning/high cadence story.

As a club cyclist and occasional TT rider I was constantly encouraged to spin faster over my naturally lower cadence/high gear style.
Believe me I tried, for over season. Eventually gave-up, returned to my natural style and improved!

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a263...I&utm_medium=social-media&utm_source=facebook

 

[ianrauk]

Now aint that a weird coincidence Fabbers.
I bought a cheap cadence sensor off the bay, got it on the weekend and fitted it to my commute bike.
I guessed my cadence on my commute was in the high 70's.
For my 3 commutes to date this week my cadence has been.
87avg 118max
87avg 127max
91avg 157max

It's nothing scientific for me and i'm not looking to improve anything, cadence, speed or stamina etc
I was just curious and its early days but I am surprised at how high the figures are.

 

[Twilkes]

I'm about 85-95rpm pretty much all the time. if I try sprinting (badly) I can maintain about 110rpm for a short time, and maxed out at 120rpm once. On the 1 minute sprint segment that I tested cadences on (or at least tested different gears, which resulted in different cadences) they were all within a few seconds of each other so within the margins of a gust of wind. I was more out of breath with a high cadence and my legs hurt more with a low cadence, so the best balance will be somewhere in between.

Which is what a lot of the research shows, a self-selected cadence is best, riders with a bit of experience in the saddle tend to know what works for them, they'll shift gear if it feels too hard or too easy. This is a great video on cadence, all of this guy's videos are worth watching:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6I1z7eyXOI


The conclusion that pros pedal fast because they produce a lot of power, rather than producing a lot of power because they pedal fast, is a good one, and backs up the linked research that amateurs who will be producing less power are maybe more suited to a lower cadence, or at least maybe not suited to a high cadence (90rpm+). One thing that jumped out from the article is it didn't mention the power produced, only ventilatory threshold - I don't know what the relationship between the two is, but if they'd asked the riders to maintain the same power with different cadences then they might have seen different results.

Out of interest, @Fab Foodie do you know what your usual cadence is?

 

[cougie uk]

I have noticed that non cyclists tend to pedal at about 60rpm. So higher is better but it depends on your definition of high cadence.

 

[Blue Hills]

I'm no cycling scientist and have no great interest in speed or "training" but I had the idea that a high cadence was meant to be about reducing strain, not necessarily speed as such.
I did the Dunwich Dynamo one year making a conscious effort to spin and at the end felt as if I had pretty much floated there.
I used to use a low cadence, really pushing against the gears as I think many beginners do.
Then, cycling with some old ctc folk noticed that they seemed to have a far more relaxed pedalling style.

 

[Sterlo]

Now aint that a weird coincidence Fabbers.
I bought a cheap cadence sensor off the bay, got it on the weekend and fitted it to my commute bike.
I guessed my cadence on my commute was in the high 70's.
For my 3 commutes to date this week my cadence has been.
87avg 118max
87avg 127max
91avg 157max

It's nothing scientific for me and i'm not looking to improve anything, cadence, speed or stamina etc
I was just curious and its early days but I am surprised at how the figures are.

Same here, I've mad mine for a couple of weeks now, similar figures. I don't think there is a right and a wrong, I'll go at whatever feels comfortable. One ride I might do a higher cadence, another will be lower, I got my sensor just out of curiosity.

 

[gavroche]

I think we all have a "natural cadence" we feel comfortable with. If you look into the peloton, you will see that riders pedal at different cadence on the same terrain. Look at Froome, no one pedals as fast as he does but it seems to work for him.

 

[Salty seadog]

My cadence changes in line with the resistance fed back to me through the cranks.

I use both cadence and the gear lever to find my balance.
My average has been 0 revolutions per year since 2019. This needs remedy. 🧐

 

[fossyant]

60rpm is a bit low, but 70-90 seems to be a sweet spot. There was certainly a sweet spot on my fixed on the flat. The higher the RPM, the harder it was to keep the power down. Riding fixed did improve my cadence, as there was no choice.

I tend to ride between 70-90 rpm - like everything it's what you are used to, but going below 60 (unless climbing) is a not very efficient.

One thing I've noticed, is that on the MTB, if you are doing a 'technical' climb (i.e. rocky or with stuff to get over) you have to spin otherwise you will bog down if you hit something. Smoother climbs then you can use a lower cadence.

 

[matticus]

I have noticed that non cyclists tend to pedal at about 60rpm.

Wow.

That's about 60rpm higher than I see.

 

[si_c]

My natural cadence seems to be around the 85rpm mark - of course when you factor in coasting over a ride it drops to around 75-80 rpm depending on the ride. On an indoor trainer that does rise to about 90rpm.

One advantange I find to a higher cadence is that it's easier to accelerate from a higher cadence - this is particularly useful when hitting the front of a set of lights as it goes green

Overall I don't think it matters too much, pedal at 20mph at 90rpm or 20mph at 60rpm, you're still pedalling at 20mph so I would have thought the same energy was being expended and the same power being produced.

 

[matticus]

There are too (difficult to measure) possibel factors:
- efficiency (i.e. energy used by your muscles -vs- reaching the pedals), and
- wear/strain on your muscles joints etc

I think *most* agree that your legs stay fresher if you spin. By how much? No idea! Could be irrelephant.
Does spinning prevent injury? I'm not sure, but I've chosen to play safe, and it just *seems* likely.

 

[MrGrumpy]

High 70s for me, generally. Don`t really pay too much attention to it now. I know when I need to change gear and when I can push hard.

 

[Low Gear Guy]

Riding around with low cadence and high gears puts a lot of strain on the knees. Pedaling at a higher cadence is easier and enables me to ride longer distances with a heavier load.

 

[dan_bo]

Don't think that in 35ish years of riding I've ever met a cyclist with bad knees.