Pedalling styles

I've noticed that regardless of speed, many cyclists have different pedalling styles. Some prefer a high cadence in a lower gear whereas others prefer a lower cadence in a very high gear.
Personally I find a slightly higher cadence in a lower gear easier, but why is beyond me.
As stupid as the question may seem, why could this be? Is it related to mechanics or power? Or both?
Thanks
ps.. what is your pedalling style?
Personally I find a slightly higher cadence in a lower gear easier, but why is beyond me.
As stupid as the question may seem, why could this be? Is it related to mechanics or power? Or both?
Thanks
ps.. what is your pedalling style?
0
Posts
Stretching & Workout Vids
Depends on what you mean by "working more" and "pushing hard". If you have stronger legs in genral, you wont have that same buildup of acid and you can push that larger gear with ease; having a strong heart helps with this as well.
Some people just push the big gear because they can and feel no need to spin; it's all relative to your fitness anyway.
Compared to slower cadences, the higher pedaling speeds are more economical and burn more fat during exercise. Ultimately, the high pedaling rates also preserve greater amounts of glycogen in fast-twitch muscle fibers, leading to more explosive "kicks" to the finish line in closing moments of races.
I used to ride around the 75 mark but have started to improve my cadence since I've gotten a garmin to track it. 80-85 is the sweet spot for me.
Find me on Strava
Do they? 75rpm is borderline mashing.
http://philsroadbikingblog.blogspot.co. ... teeth.html
I've just always found it much more comfortable to spin rather than mash.
I also find spinning a small gear on hills to be better for me than mashing or riding out of the saddle. Most of the pro's spin high cadence. The exceptions seem to be the more powerfully built riders in the peloton, so if you are that body type, naturally, pushing big gears might work for you.
Benefits
I've developed much better seated acceleration, which is far more efficient than trying to accelerate out of the saddle in a high gear.
Much less fatigue, which is important for me as I typically ride 6 days a week (commute plus weekend ride).
Better aerobic workout. If I want to focus on strength training, then I do specific workouts to improve strength.
I need to get back to working on it though as I took up track this year and found myself spinning out on one of the club bikes (48-16 I think and trying to hold 130ish for 1/2 lap. Bounce, bounce, bounce...).
:roll: Most agree that 75 - 85 is on the slow side
NO
lactate acid is produced when your muscles are burning more fuel " glucome" then can be supported by the available oxygen delivered to the muscles within the hemoglobin .
Spinning at a high cadence when you haven't got a cardiovascular system developed enough to support it will produce lactate acid. Not pushing big gears.
Seriously though - 85 cadence on the slow side?
This is absolutely true. I have a low lung capacity (stove in chest*) and find that my legs ache more at a higher cadence than at a lower. Fortunately I have many years fell-walking behind me which have given me relatively strong leg muscles. Hence I'm a bit more of a grinder than a spinner, especially uphill where I'm actually more comfortable at 45-55 RPM up a 12% than doing the same speed at 70-80.
*did worse even than the smokers at underwater swimming at school.
I also like the option to change down and spin more if I feel I won't make it grinding. Much easier to go from grinding > spinning than the other way around.
http://www.pedalmash.co.uk/
I beg to differ. One of the sports best ever climbers, cant remember if it was Charlie Gaul or Lucien Van Impe, who said it is best to start a climb in a lower gear than you think. It is physiologically easier to shift up a gear, If it feel too easy, than to shift down when the climb becomes too much, as by them you will already be struggling and have to ease off.
I might give that a try. When i'm on a Strava segment and I think i'm on for a great time I have been known to shift up a gear in the last 50 metres or so of a hill and that was never too much of a struggle.
I suppose it's an expansion of that theory to fit further distances.
http://www.pedalmash.co.uk/
Tried this technique on my commute to work this morning. Heading up the big hill I started in a smaller spinny gear and increased as I got higher, even to the point of getting out of the saddle and keeping high cadence.
When I got here I checked Strava - smashed my PB on the segment by 35 seconds :shock:
If that's not convincing I don't know what is! Didn't feel any worse for it at the top of the hill either!
http://www.pedalmash.co.uk/
Hey that's brilliant Reane. I had not done a specific trial of this method of climbing, I was merely quoting an old pro, and it made the hills seem easier for me. It's nice to have the data you got to prove that its actually faster. At least for you and me anyway.
Cheers mate.
Now that I've been riding with cleats for a week or so, I've been trying it a bit on some of my usual hills and it seems to make quite a difference.
I tend to pull a bit, and thereby need to push a little less on the downgoing pedal. This seems to enable me to carry on at a higher speed for longer, and arrive at the top with less in the way of a near-death-experience.
Only short hills though - not tried any long ones yet.
I find that shifting back in the saddle and pointing my toes on the downstroke helps too, as does completely relaxing shoulders and elbows.
Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks