The way YOU exploit Spinning Technique ?

JimmyK

I have been focussing upon my spinning technique , in terms of my weight , I have hit a plateau where it is staying pretty constant . Ive been doing 40 - 60 mile rides and my concentration is on maintaining a comfortable to push cadence of 80 - 85 rpm at the pedals ,whether I am going on flats, uphill or downhill, I just adjust the gears accordingly . I dont want to be whirring away through thin air nor do I want a push and grunt ride either, I find that maintaining a comfortable effort to push at the cadence I mentioned is resulting in 18.5 - 19 mph average speeds and I am ok with that.

I am just curious as to how you use spinning technique, what cadence do you try to stick to and what results you have gotten from using this technique.

Jimmy

redddraggon

I don't worry about cadence

hopper1

I try to keep it around the 90-100 mark...

JimmyK

would whirring away thin air not come into play if you kept to 90 - 100 cadence ?

hopper1

JimmyK wrote:

I have been focussing upon my spinning technique , in terms of my weight , I have hit a plateau where it is staying pretty constant . Ive been doing 40 - 60 mile rides and my concentration is on maintaining a comfortable to push cadence of 80 - 85 rpm at the pedals ,whether I am going on flats, uphill or downhill, I just adjust the gears accordingly . I dont want to be whirring away through thin air nor do I want a push and grunt ride either, I find that maintaining a comfortable effort to push at the cadence I mentioned is resulting in 18.5 - 19 mph average speeds and I am ok with that.

I am just curious as to how you use spinning technique, what cadence do you try to stick to and what results you have gotten from using this technique.

Jimmy

If you change to the next 'higher' cog, you'll increase your cadence speed in order to maintain your bike speed.
I don't feel like I'm whirring away in thin air.

JimmyK

have you found that keeping to a steady cadence for the ride duration has had effect on your weight ? Im thinking in terms of staying solidly in your fat burn zone.

hopper1

I can't say I've noticed any differences, I'm not watching my weight

GavH

I too try to maintain @85, particularly going uphill. I'm averaging speeds of 16-17mph for some fairly hilly routes. I'm thinking more and more that losing a bit of weight and improving my power output is the way ahead.

oldwelshman

JimmyK wrote:

have you found that keeping to a steady cadence for the ride duration has had effect on your weight ? Im thinking in terms of staying solidly in your fat burn zone.

I do bnot worry about cadence, mine is faster on track, slower on hills.
No correlation with cadence and weight.

guv001

I don't really worry about my cadence but it usually comes out between 90 and 100, that gives me an average speed overall of 20.1 mph for all rides this year. I ride a gear until I can feel it in my thighs then change up (larger sprocket) this seems to work for me.....

whyamihere

I just do what feels right. I ride singlespeed a lot which has made my comfortable cadence fast, generally around 110rpm feels good on the flat.

JimmyK

GavH wrote:

I too try to maintain @85, particularly going uphill. I'm averaging speeds of 16-17mph for some fairly hilly routes. I'm thinking more and more that losing a bit of weight and improving my power output is the way ahead.

Lisburn through Drumbo has some rotten hills . Ive cycled Ards - Belfast - Dunmurry -Lisburn - Drumbo - Carryduff -Saintfield - Comber - Ards and by FAR the worst section is the Lisburn one . I think some of the climbs in that region warrant a biggest climbing cog in the 30 teeth range .

The Craigantlet climb in Belfast certainly warrants a rear cog of that size, epecially if you want to maintain cadence in the 85 range or alternatively a triple front set of cogs on your bike.

GavH

JimmyK wrote:

Lisburn through Drumbo has some rotten hills . Ive cycled Ards - Belfast - Dunmurry -Lisburn - Drumbo - Carryduff -Saintfield - Comber - Ards and by FAR the worst section is the Lisburn one . I think some of the climbs in that region warrant a biggest climbing cog in the 30 teeth range .

The Craigantlet climb in Belfast certainly warrants a rear cog of that size, epecially if you want to maintain cadence in the 85 range or alternatively a triple front set of cogs on your bike.

I'm not so sure. My lowest gear is 34x27 and I'm by no means the fittest or strongest climber; far from I'd imagine but I've never failed to get up anything yet with that gearing. Yes it is hard. Going up the Ballycolin Road (up towards Divis Mtn) this morning was pretty tough as was coming back over some of the hills on the B101. I hit 99% MHR and had just enough breath left to swear out loud at the top. That route saw me ascend more than 800ft in the first 6 miles. I think it's a combination of using your gears properly, spinning at a cadence that suits and maintaining as much momentum as you can by mixing up sitting with the odd standing burst. When all of that fails, all out sheer effort should win through unless it's an out and out monster. That seems to work for me anyway.

Out of interest, have you tried the Spelga Pass in the Mournes?

JimmyK

spelga is a beautiful area , ive driven past the spelga dam , but have never biked up there. is spelga a tough ride then ?

if you are into your hill riding, you gotta check out on youtube fargo street hill climb, with its 32 degree ascent , that will bring a smile to your face and tears to your eyes and then some. bear in mind that rocky road in belfast is a leg numbing 20 degrees , fargo street in the usa is 32 degrees :shock: do check out the youtube vid clip.