Cadence question

[Catrin]

While starting to slowly ramp my riding up as weather allows, I noted something in my 4 rides last week that I am wondering about. I was quite pleased with how I felt during those four rides - my assorted injuries from last fall are healed :D

As I am not yet ready to try clipping in again just yet, I am back to my BMX pedals, and those were what I used for most of my long rides and metrics from last summer. I may try it again once I have regained my leg strength, but that is something I will decide at a later time. I do think that going clipless when I did was the final straw that pushed my injuries over the edge.

My routes last week were relatively gentle - I avoided the really steep short hills in my area but did ride the longer more gentle inclines and the less steep hills to test my legs. I had no problems keeping my cadence between 80-90, even when I was going uphill - a couple of times in the easiest of gears.

I am unsure why I don't seem to want to shift to the little ring on a steep bit - but I did make myself do so in order to save my knees. I strongly dislike the feeling of spinning in an easy gear when I can't feel "enough" resistance. I find that I want to try to power up the hill in a harder gear - which may not be so good for my knee. So if I am maintaining that higher cadence in a harder gear - is this a dangerous habit? Part of me wonders if it IS "too high" a gear if I can maintain that higher cadence.

I am just trying to recognize bad habits that I may be carrying over from last year - curious to read what the collective wisdom thinks.

[LivetoRide]

Congrats on your progress since your injuries :)

While I'm no expert I think the main thing in regards to being kind to your knees while cycling is keeping your cadence up; So, if you're able to keep your cadence up (it depends on what your usual avg. cadence is, but say 80-85+) in a harder gear, it seems as though it'd be OK.

And I'm not sure if it's a ride you already do but I have to recommend the Hope Ride out of Hope, Indiana if you're planning on doing more organized rides this year (it was in Sept. of last year). The ride is put together extremely well and it's flat to gently rolling without any very steep climbs (which is what reminded me of the ride in the first place, but I do hope you're back completely before then :)).

[indysteel]

Given your overuse and knee issues, I think you should concentrate on spinning, but based on your OP, I wonder if you might be choosing too easy of a gear. When you say you were using your "easiest" of gears, do you mean that you were using your 26-32 or 26-34 gear? On what you describe as "gentle inclines"? If so, I'd suggest that those gears are perhaps a little to easy for that terrain. It's no wonder that you didn't like how little resistance you had. Remember thay your bike's gearing is intended for loaded touring.

To me, spinning up a hill does not mean that my cadence doesn't slow down from my usual flatlands cadence. One suggestion I read is that you should aim for a cadence that's 75% of your usual. In your case, I might bump that up a bit to protect your knees, but it is okay to slow your cadence down a bit. Just try to avoid being in a gear that requires you to push or grind your way to the top (unless that's the only way to get to the top, like in Brown County).

Certainly, if you feel any twinge in your knees, shift to an easier gear. You might want to try some hill repeats, too. Pick a moderate climb and experiment with different gears, paces, and cadences. What feels "good" to you?

[Mr. Bloom]

FWIW, my knee injuries came from spinning too fast...while I've gotten away from consistent mashing like I used to do, I could never be small ring on a gentle incline.

My injuries came when I became over focused on thinking about it and improved when I followed my instinct and did what felt right.

PS: I've not found my Garmin 305 yet...but I'll go look at my other house in a couple days...

[indysteel]

FWIW, my knee injuries came from spinning too fast...while I've gotten away from consistent mashing like I used to do, I could never be small ring on a gentle incline.

My injuries came when I became over focused on thinking about it and improved when I followed my instinct and did what felt right.

PS: I've not found my Garmin 305 yet...but I'll go look at my other house in a couple days...

Your post made me recall the Horsey we did together, Mr. B. That ride on Sunday was one of the best rides I've ever had! We kicked some butt!! We gotta do that again someday.

[Catrin]

...
And I'm not sure if it's a ride you already do but I have to recommend the Hope Ride out of Hope, Indiana if you're planning on doing more organized rides this year (it was in Sept. of last year). The ride is put together extremely well and it's flat to gently rolling without any very steep climbs (which is what reminded me of the ride in the first place, but I do hope you're back completely before then :)).

I did this ride last year and loved it - it was also the ride when it started becoming apparent that I had injured my hamstring :o (I had been ignoring things). I fully intend on doing the century at Hope this year :)

I was avoiding hills last week because I am only now just getting back on the bike and wanted to test the waters. I think it went fine...just have to prevent further overuse injuries as I come back...


Given your overuse and knee issues, I think you should concentrate on spinning, but based on your OP, I wonder if you might be choosing too easy of a gear. When you say you were using your "easiest" of gears, do you mean that you were using your 26-32 or 26-34 gear? On what you describe as "gentle inclines"? If so, I'd suggest that those gears are perhaps a little to easy for that terrain. It's no wonder that you didn't like how little resistance you had. Remember that your bike's gearing is intended for loaded touring.

It is difficult for me to describe a hill - it wasn't as steep as Fishback, it was on Lafayette Road just south of Kissel going south - I don't know if you remember much about that area. It is long, (for central Indiana), and I was riding straight into a strong headwind. I do not normally drop down from the middle chain for that area but was trying to give my knee a little relief from the wind. There was a point when I dropped all the way down to my 26-34 gear, but I can't remember if that was on Lafayette Rd or on the hill in Eagle Creek. That wind was just wicked - and I forgot to mention that in my initial post.



To me, spinning up a hill does not mean that my cadence doesn't slow down from my usual flatlands cadence. One suggestion I read is that you should aim for a cadence that's 75% of your usual. In your case, I might bump that up a bit to protect your knees, but it is okay to slow your cadence down a bit. Just try to avoid being in a gear that requires you to push or grind your way to the top (unless that's the only way to get to the top, like in Brown County).

Certainly, if you feel any twinge in your knees, shift to an easier gear. You might want to try some hill repeats, too. Pick a moderate climb and experiment with different gears, paces, and cadences. What feels "good" to you?

This sounds like a good plan, now WINTER needs to go away so I can get back out and practice this :) I know that I need to work on my shifting anyway, so this will be a good time for that. From the start of all this I have had a tendency to want to push myself to the top of the hill, so I need to figure out the difference.


FWIW, my knee injuries came from spinning too fast...while I've gotten away from consistent mashing like I used to do, I could never be small ring on a gentle incline.

My injuries came when I became over focused on thinking about it and improved when I followed my instinct and did what felt right.

PS: I've not found my Garmin 305 yet...but I'll go look at my other house in a couple days...

Thanks for checking Mr. Bloom, it is greatly appreciated. I am a member of the 'over-thinking' club as well so will try and remember this.

The wind was quite wicked Sunday, I could not even coast downhill :eek: Lafayette road has a couple of nice sections where I can normally pick up some pretty decent speed (well, I think so) coasting downhill but I had to keep pushing it downhill just to keep going. I think the wind was the reason I found myself shifting so far down.

Thanks for the advice and tips, it is appreciated!

[marni]

I can remember pedaling as hard as I could in order to maintain minimum momentum to keep from falling over while going down some fairly steep grades in the Netherlands. Good times.




The wind was quite wicked Sunday, I could not even coast downhill :eek: Lafayette road has a couple of nice sections where I can normally pick up some pretty decent speed (well, I think so) coasting downhill but I had to keep pushing it downhill just to keep going. I think the wind was the reason I found myself shifting so far down.

Thanks for the advice and tips, it is appreciated![/QUOTE]

[Catrin]

Thinking more about IndySteel's advice - it helps to have an idea how my climbing cadence should compare with the flat road. So far I've paid more attention to my climbing cadence, but obviously I need to know what it is when I am not climbing so I can judge properly. I am hoping the next time I ride there won't be such a headwind to deal with, that really does change the shifting equation...

Thankfully my new bike will have the same range of gears in the back, though it will have a different (mountain) crank so I am sure there will be some re-education needed - outside of having twist-shifters :)

I know I need to focus on shifting better this spring. I don't want to over-think things, and learning to shift better/more efficiently is probably a process that never ends.

[Mr. Bloom]

Your post made me recall the Horsey we did together, Mr. B. That ride on Sunday was one of the best rides I've ever had! We kicked some butt!! We gotta do that again someday.

It was a blast, wasn't it? I think we were both at peak condition on that day! I recall reflecting afterward that we were screamin' fast and passed everyone...but then realizing it was a tour, not a race:eek::D