Cadence ??? Plus numb feet!

Total newbie to the world of road biking. I went on my first road ride today and rode 47 km. I'm riding at an average speed of 24km/hr. The LBS told me to ride around a cadence of 90. According to my trip computer, I'm riding around 64. I tried to speed up the cadence, but it was killing me. It felt totally unnatural and awkward. Its comfortable for me to ride with the cadence of 60-70. So now I'm wondering what speed and cadence I should be riding at? Today's ride was a mix of hills and flats (more flat). As this was my first road ride, it was also my first experience riding clipped in. After about an hour my right foot got tingling and kinda numb and then the left foot started feeling numb. The bike shoes feel like they fit. I kept riding but unclipped the shoes and the numbness went away. I'm thinking I must be doing something wrong. Anyone else have these issues?

The cleats may be in the wrong place and causing your foot issues. What pedals are you using? The contact area might be too small, so it puts a lot of pressure on your foot.

As for cadence, it's not something that I pay attention to. The whole 90rpm-for-max-efficiency thing has some useful basis, but I wonder what proportion of its fame is due to some pro doing it. :rolleyes: It really doesn't take into account people's individual physiology or fitness. Many people have to work up to being able to spin (pedal at a high cadence) "properly".
Another possibility is that you were trying to spin in too hard a gear. That kills me for sure. If I don't feel it on the ride, I will certainly feel it the next day.

Provided your knees don't hurt at the end, you should be okay.

I would say find a cadence you like, and get proficient at changing gears often to stay within that cadence. What feels comfortable for you now probably is the most efficient for you now. After a while experiment with changing cadence a little. You may find that you can spin a little faster and that it has some positive effects, or maybe you find it's not worth the hassle. Unless you're racing there's no need to stress about it. I don't have a cadence meter, but I know that my cadence is a bit faster now that when I started riding, and it gives me a little more leeway to adapt to quick terrain changes.

There's no "right" speed, it all depends on terrain, wind, riding position, group/solo, weight of your bike etc. :) 24 km/hr sounds great to me for a first ride.

Wow! That's an amazing first ride!! Way to go!

At the start of riding, IMO, you shouldn't worry about things like cadence. You should just get out and enjoy riding. Some people are built to spin (higher cadence) and some are not. The key is to do what feels best to your knees. And as you ride longer, you will start pushing bigger gears at higher cadences naturally. You may never spin at 90+, but if you listen to your knees, you'll do what your body is intended to do. Work on it some, but mainly enjoy the ride.

I remember back when I used to ride before my hiatus, it was all the rage to spin like Lance in the late 90's. He maintained cadences of 130+. Everyone was spinning like Lance. I'm sure there were some knee injuries, too.

As for numb feet, it may be a matter of getting used to being clicked into your pedals and remembering that you can still move your feet some (assuming your pedals have some float). I adjust my straps a time or two during my rides, too. You don't have to keep the straps the same throughout the ride. If your feet start to go numb, try to wiggle them some and maybe loosen the straps a mm or two. Good luck and way to go on a first ride!

Thanks for the response, and great advise. I'm going back to the LBS and have them take another look at the bike and pedals. Hopefully it won't take to long to get the kinks worked out.

The only real rule of thumb I've been given regarding cadence is just to make certain it is over 65 - below 65 is too hard on your knees. After 2 years of riding my average cadence is 79-83, and that seems to work fine for me. You will find what works best for you, as others have said.

When I'm riding for a long time, my feet will start to go numb, but I just make sure to wiggle things around frequently and that helps a lot.

I'm a fairly new rider and am comfortable riding at a cadence between 80-90, but at any hint of wind or a bump of a hill, I drop down to about 70.

It sounds like you're doing amazing on your first ride. I'd not worry about cadence just yet, and just enjoy getting out there and having fun for now.

Be patient with cadence - 90 is the magic number suggested. That said, it takes time to build up to it. Find a cadence you can ride at and focus on it. With time your cadence will increase. Enjoy your bike!

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Originally Posted by Wasp

Total newbie to the world of road biking. I went on my first road ride today and rode 47 km. I'm riding at an average speed of 24km/hr. The LBS told me to ride around a cadence of 90. According to my trip computer, I'm riding around 64. I tried to speed up the cadence, but it was killing me. It felt totally unnatural and awkward. Its comfortable for me to ride with the cadence of 60-70. So now I'm wondering what speed and cadence I should be riding at? Today's ride was a mix of hills and flats (more flat). As this was my first road ride, it was also my first experience riding clipped in. After about an hour my right foot got tingling and kinda numb and then the left foot started feeling numb. The bike shoes feel like they fit. I kept riding but unclipped the shoes and the numbness went away. I'm thinking I must be doing something wrong. Anyone else have these issues?

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I was wearing different shoes when my bike fitting was done & I started having some foot numbness with nerve pain. It was also sometimes bothering my hip. I finally realized it was a positional problem & it was resolved by raising my saddle a bit & my cadence improved as well. Maybe something similar for you?

IMO, your foot numbness can also be attributed to the low cadence. If you are grinding away, pushing down on the pedals instead of spinning and focusing on using your entire leg you could be putting quite a bit of pressure on your feet. When pedaling try thinking about "kicking" your lower leg out using your upper leg and see if it makes any difference. that may be confusing but think about the walking motion which typically doesn't involve smashing your foot down onto the ground :)

I am a newbie here (just found this great forum today) but thought I'd post what worked for me.

My toes used to get numb too. My bike shoes lace. I thought I was lacing them loosely, but found that if I loosened up the laces a bit more the numbness went away. They also have a pretty firm sole.

Cadence: I've ridden for a quite a few years, and my ex always told me my cadence was too slow. It felt comfortable to me, and I couldn't seem to speed it up for any length of time..I had to think about it constantly. This summer I rode with him again, and he mentioned my cadence and my speed was up from when we last rode together (a couple of years ago). I think it's due to the fact that I have been riding alone and not chatting! I haven't tried to up my cadence, but it naturally went up. I also have become more fit in the last year, so maybe your cadence will rise as your fitness level rises.

I'm learning a lot reading this forum!

I went back to the LBS, and they adjusted the cleats further back, plus sold me a different insole for $70. I get out on my bike, and less than an hr my feet are tingling away going numb again, sooooo frustrating!.
I ended up making the laces just above the toes as loose as possible, plus I replaced the insert with my old orthotic's and the problem substantially reduced. I think the shoes needed a breaking in period, it seems they are stretching out with wear making them more comfortable. I also started wiggling the toes around every 15 min and that seems to help a lot.
Managed to get my first crash out of the way. Got way to cocky with the clipped in shoes, and didn't give myself enough time to unclip. Ended up sprawled on the pavement with the bike on top of me. If this has ever happened to you, you know it's quite difficult to unclip your feet when your in that position. The good news is the bike is fine, however my elbow and hip ended up with road rash. The hubby offered up his hockey elbow pads as a solution for further crashes. I told him he was retarded, to which he muttered something about he wasent the one with skin missing......:)