Cadence Question

I bought an indoor trainer for my Madone the other day to work on techniques. That way I don't have to deal with traffic, weather problems or other distractions.

I figured I'd work on cadence today and put in a TV show DVD to watch. I started out about 10 mph at 70 cadence to warm up. My understanding is normal cadence is 90. I fiddled with gear settings and worked my way up to 80 and kept at that pace. I moved up in speed to about 13-14 mph and stayed at 80 and switched gears to match that. Surprisingly I didn't bomb out after a few minutes and kept the pace. I still wanted to keep 13-14 mph but wanted to try for 85 and played with the gear settings. I did make it to 90 and was doing pretty good but it felt like I was pedaling faster but not going anywhere. Should 90 feel like that and I just need to get used to the feeling?

I also realized that my saddle needed adjusting but the Brooks saddle doesn't give for much movement fore/aft so I took it off and put on a basic saddle. Something still feels "off" and I can't put my finger on it. If I raise the saddle higher, I have more power and it was much easier to do 90 but then I know my knees will start hurting after awhile. I'll have to tinker some more, but it was nice to have the bike stationary and fiddle with things. I think I use the left side more than the ride side to cycle. I wish I had known about WSD bikes before I bought my Madone. I think one of those would fit better. I wish my LBS could order me one in for testing, but not have to buy it. I hate to sell (if it would even sell) my Madone and then not have the WSD bike fit.

So my question is, if you want to go a certain speed using the most efficient way, you need to find the gear that lets you do at least 90?

I put in about 7-8 miles today. I pushed myself to 20 mph for one mile. It was nice not to bonk out, die of thirst, or gasp for air.

If I was truly brave, I'd put my clippless pedals on and work on pedal technique tomorrow. I'd probably fall off the bike despite it being on the trainer..LOL. I'll probably give myself the weekend off to rest up.

The thinking nowadays is that ideal cadence varies for different people, and it has to do with your proportion of fast-twitch to slow-twitch muscle fiber. So if you're more of a sprinter, you're likely to be more efficient at a higher cadence; if you're more of an endurance type, you're likely to be more efficient at a lower cadence. I'd say 85-90 is on the lower end though.

Whatever your most efficient cadence on the road, learning to pedal at higher RPM is a great way to smooth out your pedal stroke. Back in the day I used to do cadence intervals on rollers - one minute at the target cadence, one minute resting. You can work into it by increasing the target cadence by 10RPM each interval, and keep going until you're at the highest cadence you can maintain for a minute without bouncing (and then working your way back down the ladder if you want).

Spinning smoothly will be much harder if your crankarms are too long for your legs, too, so that's something to think about if you already feel that your fit is off.