Decided to start a new thread on this topic. The OP in the new and full of questions thread asked about cadence. There was some great advice there to try to work up to a cadence in the 85-100 rpm range. I'd been counseled by some biking friends to use my gears to keep a steady cadence, but had not sense to how fast I actually was pedaling.

With the new bike I got a new bike computer, and now can measure cadence. On my first long ride on the new bike, I did nearly 27 miles, used my typical pedal speed. Discovered I ride in the 65-70rpm range. And naturally up-shift when I start pedaling over 70rpm. Told this to a couple of bike friends, who universally expressed concern that I was using too high of gears, pedaling too slowly / too hard to take advantage of any pedal momentum/spin, and could damage my legs/knees. I meanwhile realized I was never going to develop any real speed without a much higher average cadence.

Which lead to last night's ride. Intentionally focused on cadence, keeping it up around 85rpm. OMG, I could barely breath. Sure it's easier to pedal (from a leg pushing point of view), and was in lower gears. But aerobically it was tough. Really surprised me.

So how do I build cadence....I'm guessing doing exactly what I did, and the aerobic piece will come. Probably answering my own question. Maybe the real question: Is this common to for a beginning biker (too slow cadence)? Is this much aerobic affect (heart rate up, breathing hard) normal as you push higher cadences? Will I still build leg strength if I solely focus on the higer pedal rates and lower gears?