Hi Cadence Never Worked for Me

[Lewis Moon]

I was always told that the high cadence "revolution" came about because, on EPO, you could make up for small leg muscles by spinning high gears...

I use a bunch of different cadences. For climbing constant grades on smooth roads I try to keep it ~90 (I have long legs and swing 175s). However, on bumpier flat roads, I'll dip to ~80. It really seems like lower cadence helps in those circumstances. If it's a smooth road and I'm really hammering, I'll go about 85.

[redir]

Originally Posted by Ti Designs

And I'm gonna guess that your strength is climbing...

Well at 190lbs in the heyday of my racing 'career' climbing was not the best but I did get 3rd, as a cat 3, in a race that had an 8 mile finish climb. I was more of an all rounder, could not sprint to save my life. TT's were actually my best.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by William

Mash gears at a high cadence, that was my bag baby!

What was that old saying? Think it went:

New riders mash big gears
Good riders spin little gears
Great riders spin big gears

M

[BobbyJones]

In the 80's, I don't remember anyone pushing high cadence for "efficiency" reasons. It was all about being able to respond to pack changes quickly.

However, that could've just been the characters I was hanging around with.

[msl819]

Originally Posted by redir

I never used to pay attention to cadence until I started doing Zwift workouts this winter. Zwift is always reminding me to keep a 'cadence of 90 - 100." That seems incredibly fast to me. Just last night I was doing a workout where I had to do 275 watts for 4 minutes rest at 175 and then do 330 watts for four minutes, and so on. What I found was that trying to keep 330 watts at a 95 cadence I'd watch my power meter jump from 290 to 310 back to 300 up to 320 and so on. But if I clicked on one more gear up and kept the cadence at 85 I could ride 330 watts plus or minus 5 no problem.

Now, maybe that just means I suck at keeping a proper cadence, but I liken it to what this article says and that I should go with what feels natural to me. And for the record I'm a cat 2 and have been at this for 20 years

Having just picked up zwifting this winter too, I’d be curious what FTP you are working off of. 4 mins at 330 sounds like a doozy of a workout

[tsarpepe]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

No wonder so much junk science gets pedaled around nutrition and sports.

It would be nice if science, esp. about cycling, is PEDALED. But I think you mean "peddled."

[steelbikerider]

Seems to me, the cadence issue isn't really an issue. The majority of 1 hour records on the track are set at a cadence between 95 and 110 rpm. You can google and look it up. I have before but am too lazy now.

While admittedly that kind of leg speed over time is beyond most cyclists' capabilities, you do get a standard time reference, a large sample size, lots of testing to find optimum gearing and cadence and similar testing conditions.
I am talking about elite cyclists under 50.

[Clean39T]

It is not efficient for me to spin my tree-trunks and size-15 feet at over 100rpm...at least not with my current level of motor-skillz...

I settle in to something in the mid-80s most of the time, and that seems about right.

Little gears help me stay in that range when the gradient hits 15% - and I consider going up hills like that with anything more than 70rpm to be "high cadence".

But spinning on the flats at 110rpm. Fuggedaboutit.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Ti Designs

And things like this form people's opinions about what can or can't be learned or changed.

Try this simple test: Take 20 people, hand them all 3 items and tell them to juggle. Those who haven't learned won't be able to, and yet the chances are that one of them will (the one who at some point had way too much time). You could at this point throw out the person or persons who could juggle as outliers and them make the assumption that people can't juggle, or you could realize that motor skills can be learned...

What I really want to know is how so many studies are done at centers for higher education, and yet they forget about the learning process...

I'm not saying that learning how to pedal faster will make you more efficient, but there's always going to be a trade-off between muscle tension and the number of times the muscle is fired. In other words, being able to spin faster is never going to harm your performance. Motor skills don't weigh anything, and here's the amazing thing - learning another motor skill isn't going to cause one you already have to fall out of your head.

Few new riders can spin that well because they've learned many of their motor skills from walking. To better understand why new riders tend to sway side to side (which can't work at higher cadence) I spent a morning watching people run stadium steps. The big rowers (who were doing specific workouts based on technique) went straight up without any hip rotation. Most people rotated their hip over the next step, which is exactly what they do on the bike.

I am intrigued by this. How do I entrain better motor skills so I'm not fighting myself? Kick, pull? Work on releasing tension in my body (hands, etc.)? Better core strength?

I've been riding for almost 30 years, but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing it wrong the whole time.

Though I do still think I'm at a disadvantage with being tall, with a northern-european bone structure, and gigantic feet. At least I'm part Welsh, so I know how to suffer.. Me and G. It's what makes us good climbers. Lolz.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by Waldo

"...Well, after 33 years of riding, which includes 26 double centuries, I know what works for me and it ain't high cadence..."

Concur with your post.
I will bet many riders with track cyclist physiques (and competent on the road) don’t spend the whole ride spinning tiny gears.

[Joxster]

I’m happiest riding around 100rpm, on adult gears. Keeping a decent rpm keeps the lactic away.

[mt2u77]

I don't think I really embraced a high-ish cadence until I started riding big miles every day. Low cadence with high peak forces always made my knees sore for the next day's/afternoon's ride. Increasing my cadence and decreasing peak force seemed to help my recovery. I typically find myself around 90 rpm if I self select.

Of course there is a limit. I sometimes play around with cadence during erg workouts, and I notice an ever so slightly higher heart rate for the same power starting around 110 rpm. Thrashing your legs in circles is not free.

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by steelbikerider

The majority of 1 hour records on the track are set at a cadence between 95 and 110 rpm

this is what I was about to post and yes it is a true statement. while under the tutelage of Joachim, I was taught to ride at a higher cadence. yes, I was your typical masher, starting out in the late 80's, being on the smaller side size wise, I would grind up hills and flats and had a pretty powerful sprint; at that time

I now spin, or should I say, my cadence is almost always above 90. what I've found is that it does take a bit of mental aptitude and perseverance, but now a habit or my standard. spinning at higher cadences does "save my legs". Also, those big power efforts, esp over longer durations, are perceived to be somewhat easier.

once while getting a bike fit the fitter told me, "a person can use to anything". I do believe that habit has a way of telling us what is "right" or at the very least, "what is right for me".

[jimoots]

I’m under 140 pounds, do loads of k’s (10-15 hours a week consistently) have a pretty decent FTP and absolutely LOVE to mash a big gear.

How big a gear?

I find it a lot more comfortable doing hard efforts between 60-75rpm. If my cadence gets too high, perceived effort goes through the roof for the same wattage.

What does that mean? Absolutely nothing.

I’m convinced we all have our own preferences as to how we ride. What works for me may or may not work for you!

[godfrey1112000]

Originally Posted by Waldo

Well, after 33 years of riding, which includes 26 double centuries, I know what works for me and it ain't high cadence.

👌
The same after 31 years