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#16
05-16-2022, 05:42 PM
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Back in the 80s when I started doing triathlons, various articles were recommending a cadence of 110 to maximize efficiency. I worked my way to that level and made it my base while frequently going higher.
I now ride at 80 - 90, but I no longer race or even ride for fast times, I simply ride for fun.
__________________
"I ride, therefore I think." 
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#17
05-16-2022, 07:27 PM
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I've found that my natural cadence tends to fluctuate depending on leg strength and general freshness. Basically, I spin faster to make up for muscle weakness or fatigue and my body just does this without me thinking about it too much.
"Normal" cadence for me is around 105 - 110 in the flats. If I'm tired or run down I actually spin faster (usually around 115). If I'm feeling especially strong or frisky (or I'm climbing) then somewhere in the 95 - 105 range is where I settle in. If it's a steep or long climb then I may drop as low as 80. Lately I've been focusing a lot more on leg strength and I've noticed that all of those values are coming down a bit (~5 RPM). I started up with a new coach a while back and he was sure that I must be bouncing all over the place to hit those numbers until he saw me ride in person. Now he has me doing cadence drills once a week. There's nothing like 90 seconds at 140RPM to get the heart pumping 
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#18
05-16-2022, 07:51 PM
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There is no normal or optimal really because cadence is such a personal thing.
I've been riding 45 years and while I'm a big wattage rider (mostly cuz of my size) I spin on the trainer at any given speed at about 90-95rpm. I don't ride with a cadence sensor but last year I borrowed a buddy's Assiomo pedals to see what my power output and cadence would be. Buddy said to expect to see lower cadence than what I spin on Zwift, to expect it to be lower, which I thought odd given my years of riding. Sure enough, on the road my cadence averaged 95 on the few rides I did on the pedals. I also grew up using rollers and participated in roller races in the winter where cadence would normally peak around 150 or more. I will say that being able to have 'leg speed' is key in responding to pack accelerations and or attacks.
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#19
05-16-2022, 07:56 PM
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My club used to put on a weekly roller race series in the winter. Roller racing is gear limited (maximum development of 7.69 m, or 96.4" gear), and ball bearing aluminum drum rollers have very little rolling resistance, so doing well is all about spinning very high cadences. In the two distances we raced, my best times were about 45 seconds for 1 km, and 2:40 for 3 km. That meant average cadences of 173 rpm for 45 seconds, and 145 rpm for 2:40. While balancing on 15" wide rollers with the wheels spinning at 50 mph.
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#20
05-16-2022, 10:02 PM
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cadence is motor skill (pedaling), where efficiency is trainable to a certain extent. 100rpm today maybe not as efficient compare to after 3 months of training.
motor skill .. cognitive --> associative --> autonomous. keep pushing the limits until you found them.
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#22
05-17-2022, 01:07 AM
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Quote:
Higher cadences work better with higher oxygen carrying capability. They must have invented EPO in the early 90s when higher cadences became stylish amongst elite racers 
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