which cadence for tts

love2ride

Hi
I'm 14 and I have been cycling for a few years. I can do a 10 mile tt in 23mins.
What sort of cadences should i be doing so that I don't mess up my knees.
thanks

nick hanson

About 90 rpm would be good to aim for.
What size gears are you using at the moment?

joshposh

Is this on a tt bike?

love2ride

It is on a tt bike(planet x). I have a 53 on the front and a 12-25 on the back. I might change it to a 11 23 next year.

Floodcp

Are you allowed to ride a 53x12??
I thought youths gears were meant to be limited. Looking at the rules you should be riding no more than about 53x17 (6.54m)

jimycooper

for tt's there is no restriction.

Floodcp

Really?? I am based in Ireland and I am pretty sure there are restrictions for TTs over here but I may be mistaken.
Surely the reason for not pushing big gears is as valid for TTs as Road races??

jimycooper

yes i totaly agree with you, it could damage some young riders knees. Hence restrictions in road races ect..
should be changed i think

SBezza

There is a gear restriction in the GHS IIRC, but not generally in TT's. As for cadence what ever feels most comfortable. The really fast TTer's are probably 95+, and this would probably be better for a youngster, than pushing big gears.

love2ride

what is the gear restriction for the ghs? are you sure that there is one because some people turn out 21:xx

SBezza

I have had a quick look in the CTT handbook, and there is no mention of any gear restrictions for any event inc the GHS races. I was thinking more of the GHS final itself rather than the district rounds, I know one of the lads in my club doesn't ride with any gear restrictions in open TT's

Don't worry about the times people have set, they will be set of differing courses, some will be more sporting than others

nolf

Cause you're younger I'd err on the side of higher cadences.

90 is what most people do, but have a practice doing some at 100+rpm.
It'll help devlop a smoother pedal stroke. Try some track workouts for getting good at high cadence high power workouts.

At your age, and with some obvious talent, try getting in contact with a coach, he'll have a lot more useful advice and point you in the right direction.

joshposh

Im 14 too btw. I tend to spin at 100+ partly because i do tt's on my normal road bike with youth gear restrictions and partly because im lean/tall and cant push a big gear! I can manage a 23.15 on a medium course on my normal bike with no aerobars or anything using just youth gears which shows how important cadence can be!

huggy

love2ride wrote:

Hi
I'm 14 and I have been cycling for a few years. I can do a 10 mile tt in 23mins.
What sort of cadences should i be doing so that I don't mess up my knees.
thanks

What course did you get your 10 mile time on? Was that with NFCC?

Nearby so interested to do a proper 10.

Mark Alexander

Yes, you're right about the racing gear limitations. A friend just turned 18 but until this year had to race on a max of 52 x 13. He found that he was spinning out on descents!

He also managed, a few weeks ago, to get his cat 2 licence 8)

nick hanson

Mark Alexander wrote:

Yes, you're right about the racing gear limitations. A friend just turned 18 but until this year had to race on a max of 52 x 13. He found that he was spinning out on descents!

He also managed, a few weeks ago, to get his cat 2 licence 8)

He must be fast!
I know its going back a long while (before tri bars & any aero stuff) I used that top gear to do a couple of 54's & 21's,& people thought i was a bit of a big gear pusher :shock: (mind,i did tend to ride 52x14 into most any headwind!)

Mark Alexander

yes.. He is... :?

kieranb

Isn't Cancerella known for a high cadence? Also most of the world hour records were set using a cadence around 110rpm?