Cadence...what's should we be doing?

[ragbrai40]

Hey everyone....question about cadence, what range does everyone spin in? I've been told anywhere from 80 rpm to 95 rpm. What is considered optimum? I know this varies on types of bikes, gearing and terrain, but for training purposes what range would a person use for just regular touring - not race training? Do you try to keep tyour level of cadence up for the whole ride, or just portions?

I was told last year to spin faster, that it would make riding much easier than when trying to push a larger gear.

When riding do most of you set the bike computer to watch rpm's or distance?

Thanks for any input!

[MightyMitre]

I tend to keep an eye on cadence and speed and try and keep my cadence between 80 & 90.

Using a high cadence does stop you from grinding away at big gears and risking knee injury and Lance Armstrong has made it very popular, but trying to keep a very high cadence on climbs is tricky.
It means you need to have a super-duper aerobic fitness to keep the cadence up like Lance does, and sometimes you could run the risk of just whizzing you legs round very fast, spending all your energy on keeping you cadence high, rather that getting up the hill!

Just my thoughts.

[Veronica]

On the tandem Thom and I try to keep our cadence between 90 - 110. When I was captaining with Joann she preferred a lower cadence 80 - 90. I don't have the cadence sensor set up on Fluffy (my single) but I suspect I tend to keep the cadence fairly high. I have noticed that many times I'll downshift and my speed will increase . Of course long climbs are a bit different.

Veronica

[SadieKate]

I keep on eye on my cadence but vary it alot. Typical cruising on the flat is between 85-95, but I switch up a lot because it changes how your muscles work. I sometimes shift to my biggest gear, stand up and just "walk" the bike for a while before returning to a high cadence.

I think I remember reading somewhere that it is not uncommon for women to spin at a slightly slower cadence than men. I have definitely found that doing superspin intervals on a trainer has made me a stronger rider.

[fultzie]

On the trainer i keep it at 90-ish... but when i'm on the road it tends to drop... I try to keep it at 70-80 on the flats, 60-70 on hills (sometimes drops to 50... oops!). the guy that did my bike fit at the LBS looked at my knees and said "Some people spin in easy gears, some people mash in hard ones. Looks like you're a masher"... i wondered how he could tell!
on hills, i concentrate on pulling up rather than pushing down, and that seems to help keep the cadence up (i'm still pretty new to clipless, so "pulling up" is still novel to me ). Someone told me that your calfs/hamstrings are your "climbing muscles"... is that right?

<--- just had to grin, dunno why... it's the whole talking about bikes thing. i've been in a "bike mood" the past few weeks (ie: i NEED to be out on my BIKE!!! too bad they don't have a "crazy" smiley. that would fit right here )

[SadieKate]

Yep, pulling up will help with cadence because it is second nature to push (mash) down and this will help use all the muscles. Practicing superspins on your trainer is a big help. Try some of the spinervals tapes. While Coach Troy doesn't say a whole lot about form, he really relieves in intervals and cadences. I can see terrific improvement when I use these over the winter. Keeping cadence high can protect your knees.

And, check out your fellow cyclists' calfs. Pretty sexy, huh? No other sport makes them look quite the same.

[ragbrai40]

On my ride last night my goal was to keep the cadence no less than 85 (except on the hill - 70), otherwise primarily between 88 - 95, couple times I was up to 100, so I shifted gears. I felt pretty good, but I'm wondering if I should be in a slightly lower gear but spinning closer to 85 - 90?

"Some people spin in easy gears, some people mash in hard ones.

Until recently I used to be a masher, thought the harder the gear, the better the workout - what a misconception! It's soooo much easier to spin in the easier gears!

Thanks gals!

[kelrunran]

What a great topic - one I have been wondering about.

I too keep going thinking and rethinking about my cadence. I keep trying different gears, watching my speed, just still really testing the waters for me.

My husband keeps telling me I need to spin more and stop using such big gears all the time.

[SadieKate]

This is a very long and detailed article but it is full of fascinating factoids about cadence (and other things) that are useful even for non-racers.


http://www.johnforester.com/Articles...Physiology.htm

[ragbrai40]

Here's another site that I found on Cadence - long as well, but interesting.

[URL=http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/gears.htm]

[ragbrai40]

Ooops - sorry - obviously can't do the links!

[SadieKate]

I think I figured how to post links yesterday. You click the "hhtp://" button and paste the link into it. Other forums do the conversion for you, but this site doesn't. Hopefully, this link will work.

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/gears.htm

I've printed out the article. Looks like it will be good lunch time reading. Thanks.

[Dogmama]

I think it depends on if you have more fast twitch (pushing big gears) or slow twitch (think Lance Armstrong) muscles. In TdF, Jan obviously was a masher & Lance a spinner.

[doctorfrau]

Thanks for the links.
This is all new to me -- all I've done to this point is "pedal".

But I read the articles, and at least tried to keep up a cadence in a lower gear this weekend. ( I guess I'm a masher) It was actually way more fun that way, and my thighs didn't ache so much so early. I think this is a keeper!

[SadieKate]

Good for you! I've been riding for years and have tried to keep my cadence up based on basic knowledge (because some one also told me too at some point!). It's kind of nice to know some of the science.

I did a lot of hills this weekend and shifted down even earlier than usual. Those hills whizzed by!