Cadence - whats the point?
Rudd
Posts: 264
I just got a new cycling computer which came with a cadence function. I didn't buy it for the cadence but thought since it had it might aswell use it! So whats the point of knowing your current and average cadence? How is it a trainiing aid. Do any of you try and aim for an average cadence while riding, how do you know what to target? Thanks
0
Posts
Also a good way of measuring progress/fixing variables...... for example 80rpm in 42*19 on turbo gives xxxBPM.
SB
When I got my first cadence computer, I tried to raise my cadence to about that level on training rides and it made a significant difference to my performance. On hills, it still drops to 60 or so, but that seems to be ok.
the magic figure is 92.6 (?). Boffins in Russia declare this to be the optimum cadence for a racing cyclist, but then, when was the last time they won anything?
When doing intervals, you can spin off up to 120 for a short burst, but probably not sustain it for very long.
Fast and Bulbous
Peregrinations
Eddingtons: 80 (Metric); 60 (Imperial)
I know that sounds really wooly but there are lots of other variables that affect what the optimum value should be - gradient, fitness, gearing, training goals etc....
on your recent rides what were the average cadences?
--Jens Voight
Ive just started re-training myself to ride at 100 rpm, having read this weeks Cycling Weekly I though I would give it a go having been in the 80's before, and its hard work and having to keep counting how many revolutions in 10 seconds, then times by 6 becomes a pain, esp on a hill :evil:
One of the best ideas I heard was from Chris Carmichael (Lance's coach). He advocates doing a short TT effort over a fixed distance - something that would take 5-10 minutes so I suppose about 3 miles.
Do that at 80 rpm, then 90, then 100 etc (obviously varying the gears so you are still working as hard as you can). Your optimum cadence is the fastest one obviously - he says that you should see a decrease in time as your cadence increases until there is a point where you become less efficient and then you get slower.
As we saw with Lance v Ullrich and countless other examples different cadences work better for different people.
Now just watch a bunch of pro cyclists and count their rpm - its always >80 rpm.
Alternatively, watch a novice going up a slight incline. Thrashing away at 120+ in a very low gear while the bike creeps up the gradient at a pace that allows snails to take evasive action.
I have often been overtaken on Alpine climbs by older men with legs like seasoned oak who just ease past me looking comfortable with their regular cadence. No strain, no pain, just gain. That seems to be the zen state that appropriate cadence takes you to.
Fast and Bulbous
Peregrinations
Eddingtons: 80 (Metric); 60 (Imperial)
ride well
pat5319
It can also be a great training buddy. So often we are looking at speed. I would suggest once a week you train on cadence. Set your computer to 85 or whatever you are comfortable with and try to keep it right there the entire ride. Your feel for shifting will improve.
Another large compenent is Motor-learning. The Dr's call it neuromuscular memory. In a nutshell, your mucles will learn to perform the way you train them. If you practice spinning faster, your mucles will begin to understand and adapt. In cycling going faster is a higher cadence activity. You can always tell a beginner, when on that final sprint they hammer down, stand up and pedal slow and hard. A trained cyclist goes faster by increasing cadence and pedaling harder.
The interview was with Columbia's bloke, and explained what they did, on a 4km, 7.5% gradient.
Which just so happens to be similar to my local climb.
Okey dokey, I thinks, lets switch computer to cadance (I don't use it), and see how I match up.
Unsurprisingly I can ride the first couple of hundred yards, like a pro. (80rpm)
Sadly for me, the next few hundred yards saw me hit the wind down target (50 rpm)
Although I did find having the 80rpm as a target quite useful as a 'new tool' when out and about, never knock new targets, I certainly got up the climb quicker than usual.
While most of the 'advantages' of higher cadence you quote are right you have missed out the downside which is a much higher load on the cardio vascular system. This becomes the limiting factor for prolonged high cadence. Optimum cadence is a very personal thing but you should ride with as high cadence as you can hold comfortably. We are not all Lance Armstrong (watching the T of C I don't think he is at the moment either).
Anyway, I made quicker time and my average speed was a tad higher and it felt like I kept up a better pace - the hills were somehow easier. Although i'm unsure whether this is caused by me being a bit fitter, the effect of new Micheling pro race 3 tyres, or I was just having a good day. Nevertheless I will definitely be keeping a higher cadence from now on.