Gears...If you got'em use'em...Cadence is the key to distance, speed, and efficiency.
I just had to come out and say this because the number of people on geared bikes that doesn't shift are just hurting their health, fit, and the traffic flow on LSD Trail. It doesn't matter if you have 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, or 30 gears, cadence should be kept in mind. although it is especially important for us recreational riders and racers.
First, what is cadence? Cadence is how many times a minute one fully rotates their pedals, simply put; its your legs' RPM.
Mashing does not work and here is why...When riders are mashing the pedals(pedaling at low cadence, exerting too much force on their legs) their muscles will start dumping lactic acid, and their legs will start burning.
Spinning too fast also does not work and here is why...When the rider starts to spin(pedaling at a high cadence, exerting too little force on their legs) their heart rate shoots sky high and before they know it they are out of breath.
Instead the key is to find a good cadence where the loads are shared equally between the heart and the legs. Numerous studies have been done and most of them point towards a cadence range between 70 and 90 seems to be most efficient for riders. Most of the inexperienced riders tend to stay on too low of a cadence thinking its more efficient than a higher cadence. So let's keep them legs spinning at the right rate...It will put less stress on your knees and your heart as well as make you a faster, stronger rider...
-Ali
First, what is cadence? Cadence is how many times a minute one fully rotates their pedals, simply put; its your legs' RPM.
Mashing does not work and here is why...When riders are mashing the pedals(pedaling at low cadence, exerting too much force on their legs) their muscles will start dumping lactic acid, and their legs will start burning.
Spinning too fast also does not work and here is why...When the rider starts to spin(pedaling at a high cadence, exerting too little force on their legs) their heart rate shoots sky high and before they know it they are out of breath.
Instead the key is to find a good cadence where the loads are shared equally between the heart and the legs. Numerous studies have been done and most of them point towards a cadence range between 70 and 90 seems to be most efficient for riders. Most of the inexperienced riders tend to stay on too low of a cadence thinking its more efficient than a higher cadence. So let's keep them legs spinning at the right rate...It will put less stress on your knees and your heart as well as make you a faster, stronger rider...
-Ali
Views: 117
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by o0_dan_0o on
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i wholeheartedly support this message. Furthermore, when i was introduced to this idea i was a bit skeptical, but after working at it- and spinning in real circles(it was boxes at first) i can do a whole lot more with a lot less effort than i used to do.
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Permalink Reply by Ali on
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Actually, smooth pedal stroke is a whole another subject that I completely forgot to mention...Thanks for reminding me, perhaps that can come later in the week...
-Ali
o0_dan_0o said:i wholeheartedly support this message. Furthermore, when i was introduced to this idea i was a bit skeptical, but after working at it- and spinning in real circles(it was boxes at first) i can do a whole lot more with a lot less effort than i used to do.
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Ali said:Actually, smooth pedal stroke is a whole another subject that I completely forgot to mention...Thanks for reminding me, perhaps that can come later in the week...
-Ali
i dunno, you really cant talk about one without the other, i always thought of em as the same.
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Permalink Reply by heather s on
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I'm all for cycling as efficiently as possible because I'm generally trying to get somewhere. But just as a point of reference, why is it bad to shoot your heart rate 'sky high' and be breathing heavily? Especially if someone is cycling specifically to get exercise, isn't that the idea--improved cardiovascular health and all that? I would wager that at least a majority of people hanging around this site aren't facing the kind of health issues that would make stress on one's heart a problem.
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The key here is to work efficiently, just imagine setting your bike up in a trainer and taking the chain off. Try and maintain a cadence of 120 or so and you will see soon enough you are out of breath, even though your relative output is really low. What I am trying to say is even though high cadence is good for short bursts of speed a really high cadence is relatively inefficient...The key here is to find the equilibrium point of sharing the load between your muscles and cardiovascular system. Your heart rate has to be just high enough to get enough oxygen to your muscles while your heart is not burning too much energy by itself.
-Ali
heather stratton said:I'm all for cycling as efficiently as possible because I'm generally trying to get somewhere. But just as a point of reference, why is it bad to shoot your heart rate 'sky high' and be breathing heavily? Especially if someone is cycling specifically to get exercise, isn't that the idea--improved cardiovascular health and all that? I would wager that at least a majority of people hanging around this site aren't facing the kind of health issues that would make stress on one's heart a problem.
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Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on
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Not to disagree with you (cause I agree with the gist), but the lactic acid thing is a misconception. "It's one of the classic mistakes in the history of science,"
From the times.
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Permalink Reply by BalloonBiker on
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Just thought I'd bump this. Could anyone share experience for how they increased their cadence?
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Permalink Reply by Michael A on
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a good way is to get a computer that has a cadence function. keep an eye on what the display says and change gears accordingly. I use a heart rate monitor too. I find that if I hold 85 rpm as a cadence and my heart rate at around 145, that translates to about 23 mph for me not taking into account wind and grade I can sustain that pace for a long time. If my candence drops below 80 I will drop a gear, and vice versa if I go above 90. Your heart rate will vary with age, and fitness level.
jamimaria said:Just thought I'd bump this. Could anyone share experience for how they increased their cadence?
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I was wondering about particular exercises that you might do, or things to envision to increase cadence.
If you don't have a computer with cadence, any songs that could be hummed to approximate a decent cadence?
Michael A said:a good way is to get a computer that has a cadence function. keep an eye on what the display says and change gears accordingly. I use a heart rate monitor too. I find that if I hold 85 rpm as a cadence and my heart rate at around 145, that translates to about 23 mph for me not taking into account wind and grade I can sustain that pace for a long time. If my candence drops below 80 I will drop a gear, and vice versa if I go above 90. Your heart rate will vary with age, and fitness level.
jamimaria said:Just thought I'd bump this. Could anyone share experience for how they increased their cadence?
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Doom on
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This works for me, actually, though I imagine mileages differ.
As for exercises and such I'm a pretty lousy rider, but I keep my cadence in the ~80 zone by riding a fairly lightly geared (71 gear inches) single speed. If I want to get anywhere faster than I can walk I just have to keep things spinning. Staying in a moderate gear like that and just working on spinning the pedals probably isn't a bad idea for anyone with a tendency to mash.
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Permalink Reply by dan brown on
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another cheap way to check cadence is just count the revolutions for 15 seconds and then
multiply by 4. leeping the cadence between 80-100 has worked best for me IMHO.
RE : Smooth pedal stroke - that is a whole 'nother topic. but to get an introduction try doing one-legged
drills (this can only be done with either clipless pedals or pedals with toe-straps ). i.e. pedal with one
foot in (on) the pedal and the other one dangles free. You may likely find 'dead spots' where your (now sole leg doing the work) is relying on the other one (now not pedaling) to bring the stroke all the way around. ideally you should have a very smooth, even and fluid motion for the entire revolution with each
leg. also - the test for the left leg may be different than for the right leg, for example.
Dr. Doom said:This works for me, actually, though I imagine mileages differ.
As for exercises and such I'm a pretty lousy rider, but I keep my cadence in the ~80 zone by riding a fairly lightly geared (71 gear inches) single speed. If I want to get anywhere faster than I can walk I just have to keep things spinning. Staying in a moderate gear like that and just working on spinning the pedals probably isn't a bad idea for anyone with a tendency to mash.
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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on
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A few years ago, when I wanted to up my cadence, I went one gear lower and kept the same speed. (my computer doesn't do cadence)
jamimaria said:Just thought I'd bump this. Could anyone share experience for how they increased their cadence?
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