Substitute for hill training?

[Dusty Bin]

Ok, if following what you say why have good climbers such as Froome and Nibali kept a high cadence and lower gear, they can literally drop other riders struggling with heavier gears on a climb or even in the same gear. Armstrong (doper) used to ride a high cadence as well. You surely see this can't you? If you push a heavy gear on a climb you ain't going to make it to the top or you'll quickly get dropped. Sprinters and TTers have big engines and can push heavier gears but climbing you definitely do not want to be pushing too heavier a gear. Think Cancellara not a good climber but can certainly push a big gear in a TT. If your cadence falls as you climb it is getting steeper or you are tiring so you drop to a lower sprocket preferably the next lowest so you MAINTAIN your cadence.

300w is still 300w, regardless of cadence. What matters is the power you can sustain, not how fast you can pedal. Some prefer higher, some prefer lower. Armstrong's 'high cadence' was nothing more than a myth perpetrated by his team as a means to explain his performances - his cadence was not significantly higher than anyone else's - you only have to look at a few vids of back in the day to see that. Froome's cadence is noticably high, no doubt about that. But it doesn't follow that is what everyone should be doing.

Finally, you don't drop a gear to maintain your cadence - you drop a gear to maintain your power.