My legs cant spin quick enough

Jonny_road

So downloaded myself a Sufferfest training video which not only has effort but cadence on the screen. My problem is I can't make my legs spin quick enough to reach the 100 cadence. I always thought I had a low cadence and turned a big gear but this has confirmed it. It doesn't seem natural for me to spin my legs that quickly in a low gear when I know I can more comfortably turn a bigger gear at a higher speed for longer.

Is this something that will come with fitness and training hard or should I stick to my more natural cadence? What benefits are there from having a higher cadence?

phreak

Whilst I suspect there is a point where your cadence becomes too low to be good for you, I suspect the fashion for a high cadence is merely a reflection of the success Lance Armstrong enjoyed in the Tour.

You're not him so it seems sensible to assume that the same things may not work for you as worked for him.

cougie

Most pro cyclists seem to have a natural cadence of 80 or so from what you see on the television.
Most novice cyclists seem to have a much lower cadence - 60 or so from what I've noticed on charity rides.

100rpm is only 20% higher than the pros and I'd not really class that as particularly high anyway. I'd persevere and work on getting your speed up to 100 or so for short bursts.

ilm_zero7

work at it - I used to do 60 rpm, but on the turbo do 94-108 ish on average. I have found this is slower on the roads, but a noticeably higher cadence then i used to have and it has transformed by climbing ability from useless to mediocre ! -(well OK maybe above avarage).

As PHREAK said - it wont suit everyone, but my natural cadence is higher, and performance better. try it ... I have never heard anyone yet say " you know you would not beat me if you pedalled faster"

racingcondor

There comes a point when you can't co-ordinate your legs any more (I struggle to sustain above 145 but then I average about 90). I think most people develop a low cadence because they start with trainers and it's hard to spin if you're not attached to the pedals.

It's only really important if you race and find that you're getting dropped because you can't match the accelerations.

jgsi

Practice with Cobo going up the beasty Angliru in the 2011 Vuelta at 100 rpm... you can find it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulViOm2PqR8
it was a 34x32 apparently.

brettjmcc

phreak wrote:

Whilst I suspect there is a point where your cadence becomes too low to be good for you, I suspect the fashion for a high cadence is merely a reflection of the success Lance Armstrong enjoyed in the Tour.

You're not him so it seems sensible to assume that the same things may not work for you as worked for him.

Actually, I'd probably say not. Our club coach had us doing a session where we were doing 100/110 and then switched down to 80rpm with extra gears put with more effort. There was minimal power increase for a lot more effort.

To the OP, I would say work on it. I used to have a problem getting up to 100+ but can do it now, though after some weeks off the bike a quite a few ounds in weight is mean I am having to get used to it.

Also, in the past I may have had my seat a little too high so when I tried to get faster I was rocking/bouncing on the saddle which doesn't help.

phreak

I'm not advocating pedalling at 60 revs a minute here, but so long as your cadence is above 80 I really do think you just need to find a rhythm that suits you and your body. What works for some of us might not for others.

Cadence should be a means to an end rather than the end itself.

cougie

I don't think anyone is advocating using 100rpm all of the time, but a decent cyclist should be able to adjust their RPM by a small amount without too much hassle. It just takes a bit of practice.

twotyred

Work at it and it will come. You will naturally find your cadence increasing, probably not to 100 rpm but it will increase.

Fast cadence pedalling also teaches you to pedal smoothly and efficiently as 100 rpm or higher is impossible to do for any period of time if you are mashing down on the pedals.

Jonny_road

Thank you for all the replies very useful. Looking at some of my ride data from earlier in the year my average cadence is 80rpm so maybe not as low as I though.

General consensus seems to be work on it so time to put in a bit of effort on the trainer and work on my pedal stroke.

Pigtail

I started cycling in late 2010 as an older recruit and did a lot of time on a gym bike over the winter. I struggled to hold a cadence of 76 when I started. Gradually over months I built it up until I sit very comfortably at 96 or so and can hold over 100 at quite a high resistance. I've had a Garmin for about 5 months and got the cadence sensor for Christmas. I've done about 5 rides on the bike since and seem to be averaging 80 - 84, which is less than I was expecting. Sitting around 92- 94 on the flat requires quite an effort. So you can build it up, but don't expect to do it all at once, it takes time and effort for your legs and brain to adjust.

phil s

Pigtail wrote:

I've done about 5 rides on the bike since and seem to be averaging 80 - 84, which is less than I was expecting.

Is that because the Garmin also includes freewheeling, i.e. zero pedal stroke, into the final average?

Rule74Please

answers here

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/cyc ... 2#Section3

Tom Dean

Jonny_road wrote:

Thank you for all the replies very useful. Looking at some of my ride data from earlier in the year my average cadence is 80rpm so maybe not as low as I though.

Just to clarify your original question, it sounded like you cannot hit 100rpm at all even at lower resistance, is this right? It seems highly unlikely if you are averaging 80rpm on the road.

When I have done high cadence drills on the rollers in the past I always found warming up very important. Warm up for at least 10 mins at your normal rate and do 30s bursts maybe increasing 5rpm each time, dropping back down to 'recover' inbetween. This should get you used to using higher cadences. (I am not saying this will make you any fitter or faster on the bike)

Jonny_road

I can hit 100rmp but can't really maintain it for any length of time. The Sufferefest video I'm using has long periods of 100rpm. To get up to the 100rpm and keep it going fells really unnatural no matter what gear or resistance I'm using.

Will give short bursts ago on the trainer tonight.

Pigtail

phil s wrote:

Pigtail wrote:

I've done about 5 rides on the bike since and seem to be averaging 80 - 84, which is less than I was expecting.

Is that because the Garmin also includes freewheeling, i.e. zero pedal stroke, into the final average?

I'm not sure - but I don't think it does. No I think there is a difference between being on the road and on a gym bike!

I found pretty much the reverse when I got my Heart Rate Monitor. The gym bike showed heart-rate by holding the bars. I used it to do some specific workouts there, but rode my bike by feel. Then I got a heart-rate monitor and discovered I was pushing myself quite a bit harder on the road than I expected, and riding at a heart-rate I would have struggled with in the gym.

cougie

Hard to compare gym bike to road bike anyway - different position, and more importantly its a lot warmer in the gym so you feel as if you're working harder than you really are. Out on the bike you have a nice cooling draught.

cyco2

Worth a try....Alter your position on the bike so you are more over the down stroke of the pedals. Raise the seat a little and move it forward. Get the foot so the heel is slightly higher. Also, it is more difficult to spin with long cranks. So, check that out.

oldwelshman

Dont worry about it or think about it too much.
There are way too many people on here worry aboput cadance, fast or slow, climbing in or out of saddle, use power meters or not hr meters or not.
At the end of the day you will find a natural rhythym and as you cycle more it will end up around 80 to 90. There is no benefit in trying to train to go faster or not and no need to, just enjoy your training and riding.
As you get more experienced and ride more you will also find that your able to vary cadance depnding how you feel and if your training hard or on recovery ride etc.

Jonny_road

@cycro2 Did a bit of a DIY bike fit last night and yes my saddle was to far back and my cleats weren't on the balls of my feet. Will be trying out the new position over the weekend so will see if it effects how easy it is to spin.

Although think I might take @oldwelshman's advice and not worry about it too much.