Cadence of 100rpm
CleeRider
Posts: 304
I've just completed a pan flat (50ft) 50 mile ride at an average cadence of 100rpm and beat my best time on that route (avg speed 18.3mph). My cadence has slowly crept up in the past few months as I have found it easier to cycle in this way. On more hilly routes it will be around 97rpm.
Just wondered if many others out there spin like this on training rides?
Is there anything wrong with this approach if my aim is to ride faster?
Just wondered if many others out there spin like this on training rides?
Is there anything wrong with this approach if my aim is to ride faster?
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Nothing wrong with it. Spinning is winning.English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg0
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^^^ spin to win!
I record over 50ft on my rollers, I know about flat living in the fens0 -
Ive been working on my cadence for a few weeks now and have got it from low 70 to mid 80s and it has made an amazing difference to my riding. Not necessarily that much quicker but less fatigue and spinning up moderate hills. And is starting to feel more natural. Not quite got to 100 yet but getting there0
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CleeRider wrote:I've just completed a pan flat (50ft) 50 mile ride at an average cadence of 100rpm and beat my best time on that route (avg speed 18.3mph). My cadence has slowly crept up in the past few months as I have found it easier to cycle in this way. On more hilly routes it will be around 97rpm.
Just wondered if many others out there spin like this on training rides?
Is there anything wrong with this approach if my aim is to ride faster?
You're doing fine. Very respectable cadence over that distance. The next step is to do the same cadence in a slightly different gear or think of sustaining 95rpm in a higher gear.
It is no good having plenty strength with no fitness to sustain it so you are on the right track - better to be fit as Eddie Soens would have said.
I have been cycling years and average only 87 over all terrains but have to admit I hate the flat so I tend to go on hilly rides and use the rollers and the odd flat route for loosening and to build condition.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
CleeRider wrote:I've just completed a pan flat (50ft) 50 mile ride at an average cadence of 100rpm and beat my best time on that route (avg speed 18.3mph).
Do you think this is solely down to the cadence, or some other factor (or factors), like improved fitness, or even a decent tail wind..?CleeRider wrote:Is there anything wrong with this approach if my aim is to ride faster?
Nothing wrong with 100rpm, just like there's nothing wrong with 80 or 90 rpm. But spinning an artificially high cadence in the mistaken belief that it is a route to higher speed is mistaken. Your speed comes from your fitness and the power you can sustain - cadence is only a small part of that bigger equation.0 -
I am also moving toward 100 cadance rides. Cadance is just one part of fitness but a higher cadance to a point allows you to generate more power.http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.0
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Improving (i.e. raising) your cadence, (within reason) is one of best things an amateur can do to improve performance.
(IMO, of course!)0 -
Thanks for your thoughts guys. Good to hear I'm not doing anything wrong by going to 100rpm.
In reply to one poster, I'm not increasing cadence to increase speed - it's more about efficiency, endurance, fitness. But I did want to be sure that it's not limiting me in my quest for greater speed though.
So next step is a higher gear to increase power/speed at the same cadence.0 -
The thing is that science is apparently finding that cadence is (surprise, surprise) very subjective and that the goal should be about finding the right cadence and that this can vary. Wiggins, for example, dropped his target cadence by a few rpm last season due to some analysis:
Wiggins’s cadence, sometimes in excess of 105rpm, was too high and not all of that power from one of the biggest engines in cycling was getting transmitted through to the bike.
This year [2013] Wiggins has dropped the cadence slightly and rides in a higher gear:
“Without boring you too much with the technicalities I averaged 456 watts for 55 minutes at the Worlds last year against Tony and still finished 1min 20sec behind. He was fantastic that day but it seemed like I should have been getting more return for my effort,” said Wiggins.
“We’ve dropped the cadence and I am trying to power my way along a bit more, get more distance per pedal stroke. It’s been working well this year and it has helped my strength generally."0 -
Interesting stuff!
Just a quick tip for anyone looking to increase cadence... I find that it's important to start at that cadence immediately as I'm rolling down our road and warming up. I find it more difficult to suddenly go to 100rpm having spent the first 5 miles at say 90.
The way I learned was to set myself lower and upper limits of cadence (e.g. 96, 104) and try to keep an eye on my cycle computer - while being safe on the road of course. Having done this for 3 or 4 months I rarely need to check my cadence now. I just need to correct it once in a while - sometimes I find myself cruising at 110rpm and then I'll lower it which in turn will make me go a bit faster.
I've been cycling for less than 2 years (aged 40). So it's not really an age or experience thing.0 -
CleeRider wrote:Interesting stuff!
Just a quick tip for anyone looking to increase cadence... I find that it's important to start at that cadence immediately as I'm rolling down our road and warming up. I find it more difficult to suddenly go to 100rpm having spent the first 5 miles at say 90.
The way I learned was to set myself lower and upper limits of cadence (e.g. 96, 104) and try to keep an eye on my cycle computer - while being safe on the road of course. Having done this for 3 or 4 months I rarely need to check my cadence now. I just need to correct it once in a while - sometimes I find myself cruising at 110rpm and then I'll lower it which in turn will make me go a bit faster.
I've been cycling for less than 2 years (aged 40). So it's not really an age or experience thing.
Cadence adjusts itself in line with fitness. You may find that in another two years, you settle on a completely different number.0 -
50ft in 50 miles?0
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Interesting. Perhaps we ought to start a thread on power and strength.Wiggins wrote:“We’ve dropped the cadence and I am trying to power my way along a bit more, get more distance per pedal stroke. It’s been working well this year and it has helped my strength generally.
No, no, really, it was a joke. I'm off to jump under a bus.0 -
briantrumpet wrote:
Interesting. Perhaps we ought to start a thread on power and strength.Wiggins wrote:“We’ve dropped the cadence and I am trying to power my way along a bit more, get more distance per pedal stroke. It’s been working well this year and it has helped my strength generally.
No, no, really, it was a joke. I'm off to jump under a bus.
Don't jump under a bus until we combine the new thread with power, strength and crank arm lengths.
(Of course, when spinning at 150rpm, you'll have to wear a helmet too, won't you?)seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
Sorry, I went to jump under the bus, but realised that my Garmin wasn't working, so didn't see the point.pinarello001 wrote:briantrumpet wrote:
Interesting. Perhaps we ought to start a thread on power and strength.Wiggins wrote:“We’ve dropped the cadence and I am trying to power my way along a bit more, get more distance per pedal stroke. It’s been working well this year and it has helped my strength generally.
No, no, really, it was a joke. I'm off to jump under a bus.
Don't jump under a bus until we combine the new thread with power, strength and crank arm lengths.
(Of course, when spinning at 150rpm, you'll have to wear a helmet too, won't you?)0 -
Bobbinogs wrote:The thing is that science is apparently finding that cadence is (surprise, surprise) very subjective and that the goal should be about finding the right cadence and that this can vary. Wiggins, for example, dropped his target cadence by a few rpm last season due to some analysis:
Wiggins’s cadence, sometimes in excess of 105rpm, was too high and not all of that power from one of the biggest engines in cycling was getting transmitted through to the bike.
This year [2013] Wiggins has dropped the cadence slightly and rides in a higher gear:
“Without boring you too much with the technicalities I averaged 456 watts for 55 minutes at the Worlds last year against Tony and still finished 1min 20sec behind. He was fantastic that day but it seemed like I should have been getting more return for my effort,” said Wiggins.
“We’ve dropped the cadence and I am trying to power my way along a bit more, get more distance per pedal stroke. It’s been working well this year and it has helped my strength generally."
This is specifically in regards to TT's. I don't think anyone here is going for hour long rides at threshold...English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg0 -
100rpm cadence is great, sure. But you need to keep a high power output. I don't user a power meter but I can tell when I'm pedalling a high cadence without putting power down (as I'm sure everyone else can). You really need to think about how much power you're putting through the pedals compared to how high your cadence is.
I personally find a cadence of around 95-105 is good for me. But I wouldn't be at that constantly. If I'm racing I would but on long rides I'd lower my cadence at times to just keep pedals turning without putting much power down and saving my energy. Usually going down hill or when the wind is behind me. So it also depends if you're aiming to go flat out or not I suppose.0 -
briantrumpet wrote:Sorry, I went to jump under the bus, but realised that my Garmin wasn't working, so didn't see the point.
Doesn't really matter, as soon as that ambulance pull away someone is gonna flag your ride...
:?0 -
I'm trying to bring my cadence down. I was really struggling with hill climbs, I got a heart rate monitor and found that I was pretty much at my max all the time. To be fair, I was cycling at around 115rpm.
I've reduced it to around 90-95, it hurts my legs a lot more, but I hardly feel like I need to breathe at that cadence. I guess everyone has their sweet spot for cadence, its about getting a balance between fitness and muscle strength.0 -
janp wrote:I got a heart rate monitor and found that I was pretty much at my max all the time.
Not physically possible - unless your rides only last for a matter of seconds, or your MHR number is wrong..0 -
CleeRider wrote:TKF wrote:50ft in 50 miles?
Yup 47ft to be exact. We live about 53ft above sea level and the other 49 miles are about 6ft above sea level. So if we didn't live so high up it would probably be about 0ft over 50 miles
Blimey. The flattest ride over 50 miles I've ever done still involved 2,529ft of climing!0 -
Imposter wrote:janp wrote:I got a heart rate monitor and found that I was pretty much at my max all the time.
Not physically possible - unless your rides only last for a matter of seconds, or your MHR number is wrong..
I haven't worked out my MHR, other than the usual age based calculations which are bound to be slightly wrong. But before I reduced my cadence, I was around 175-180BPM on the flat, and 180-190BPM when climbing.
Riding at a reduced cadence (90-95rpm), literally feels like I'm not even trying, and my BPM stays at around 140-145BPM. It does creep up a bit when climbing, but nothing compared to when my cadence was ultra high.0 -
janp wrote:Imposter wrote:janp wrote:I got a heart rate monitor and found that I was pretty much at my max all the time.
Not physically possible - unless your rides only last for a matter of seconds, or your MHR number is wrong..
I haven't worked out my MHR, other than the usual age based calculations which are bound to be slightly wrong. But before I reduced my cadence, I was around 175-180BPM on the flat, and 180-190BPM when climbing.
Riding at a reduced cadence (90-95rpm), literally feels like I'm not even trying, and my BPM stays at around 140-145BPM. It does creep up a bit when climbing, but nothing compared to when my cadence was ultra high.
ok - but unless you know what your actual MHR, or LTHR is, then referring to HR is fairly pointless, IMO. In any case, I would be more inclined to base your ride anaylsis around speed and/or effort, as opposed to cadence - especially if the HRM is not providing useful data.0 -
Imposter wrote:ok - but unless you know what your actual MHR, or LTHR is, then referring to HR is fairly pointless, IMO. In any case, I would be more inclined to base your ride anaylsis around speed and/or effort, as opposed to cadence - especially if the HRM is not providing useful data.
So what would you advice I do? Work out my MHR/LTHR, and use the HR monitor to train? If so, do you personally recommend a method for working it out?
How would I go about analysis by speed/effort? For example, my average mph is probably about 2mph slower this month, mainly because I've been throwing in a lot more hills to my rides. Plus, my speed greatly depends on the amount of traffic for that particular day, along with other factors such as weather conditions.
I find watching cadence pretty much essential. I broke my sensor a couple of months back, and it took me around 2 weeks to replace it, when I got the new sensor my cadence had crept all the way up o 135RPM :O0 -
135rpm?! For how long?seanoconn - gruagach craic!0
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janp wrote:when I got the new sensor my cadence had crept all the way up o 135RPM :O
Have you considered pushing a bigger gear?I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles0 -
pinarello001 wrote:135rpm?! For how long?
Presumably for weeks :P
I went for a bike fitting, and the guy said "You do realise your pedaling faster than Lance does, have you been taking EPO?"
I got a new sensor, and he was right I was at 135rpm. I've got it down to around 90-95rpm, but it's a challenge, if I stop looking at my cadence for more than 5 minutes, it begins to creep up again.0 -
janp wrote:pinarello001 wrote:135rpm?! For how long?
Presumably for weeks :P
I went for a bike fitting, and the guy said "You do realise your pedaling faster than Lance does, have you been taking EPO?"
I got a new sensor, and he was right I was at 135rpm. I've got it down to around 90-95rpm, but it's a challenge, if I stop looking at my cadence for more than 5 minutes, it begins to creep up again.
Next time it creeps up - change gear.0
