Average cadence

[awesme]

Bigger gear normally initially implies lower cadence and more force/torque.

 

G

 

 

2 ways to increase power output. Higher cadence or bigger gear. 

[s14phoenix]

This to me is interesting, and I've pointed it out in a related topic some months ago. When using Zwift workouts (or any other power based workouts for that matter), my HR is definitely lower at 60-70 cadence than it is in the 90-100 cadence zones for the same power output.

 

Thoughts?

 

In the real world road/track conditions (and likely upper body effort) certainly plays a part, but I also think that at the slower cadence (up a steeper gradient possibly) you're just putting down more power than you would at a faster cadence?

 

Your HR is higher because it takes more energy to move at a higher speed at same power since the speed of movement is also burning more energy.

 

It could also be that you are not used to going to such cadence.

 

So to paint a scenario:

 

You grind 400w @ 60-70rpm 160bpm and can sustain that effort for 10min before your legs blow and seize and you cannot carry on, have to stop gather your courage and limp home.

 

OR

 

You spin 400w @  85-95rpm and can sustain that effort for 25min - after which you crest the summit drop the watts and recover while carrying on and finishing in 1/2 the time.

 

Maybe a bit exaggerated but this is actual scenarios that I have seen happen plenty times. HR is just one indicator of your effort. It does not help you kill your legs and joints in a hero effort in the big ring no matter what the rules say.

[BaGearA]

Who was that crazy oke that rode down the TDF mountains at like 100kph with A cadence in the 180's ?

 

Think it was early 2000"s 

Edited July 31, 2017 by BaGearA

[SwissVan]

And why Lance won while Ulrich was grinding away on the big ring

And this from someone who studied the art of high cadence pedalling

 

https://www.53x12.com/high-pedaling-cadence

 

https://www.53x12.com/high-rpm-further-observations

 

https://www.53x12.com/pedaling-cadences-and-force-peaks

 

https://www.53x12.com/pedaling-efficiency-is-crucial

 

 

https://www.53x12.com/pedal-stroke-efficiency

[The Ouzo]

Thread resurrection time.

 

following on from the Oval vs Round thread last week where the discussion turned to cadence and knee issues I decided to make some adjustments to my riding in order to experiment.

 

My comfortable cadence has been around 80RPM, checking back at avg cadence on my normal morning route its sitting at low to mid 70s.

 

This morning I did the route and tried to concentrate on keeping teh cadence above 80, often spinning along at mid 90s. It felt like I was expending alot of energy, but the legs definitely felt less fatigued. Avg cadence for this mornings ride was just 81 with a max of 97. Felt like it should have had a higher avg. but there were more stops which I guess dropped the avg.

 

 

What I did notice though is that if you've been spinning in the 90s for a while and then the road gradient drops you to the 80s it feel like you're grinding. So I guess one could get used to it.

 

I'm going to see if I can get used to a higher cadence and what the effects are going to be on knees and cardio

 

[eala]

I took out the single speed over the weekend .After riding gears for months it is so obvious how one can get stuck into the same cadence and ride on the  gears ,never really grinding or spinning in a high gear .Fitness levels don,t really improve doing the same thing over and over .Also interesting is that my ave speed for the same route is very close to when i ride with gears .

[TNT1]

Thread resurrection time.

 

following on from the Oval vs Round thread last week where the discussion turned to cadence and knee issues I decided to make some adjustments to my riding in order to experiment.

 

My comfortable cadence has been around 80RPM, checking back at avg cadence on my normal morning route its sitting at low to mid 70s.

 

This morning I did the route and tried to concentrate on keeping teh cadence above 80, often spinning along at mid 90s. It felt like I was expending alot of energy, but the legs definitely felt less fatigued. Avg cadence for this mornings ride was just 81 with a max of 97. Felt like it should have had a higher avg. but there were more stops which I guess dropped the avg.

 

Screenshot 2021-03-29 170248.jpg

 

What I did notice though is that if you've been spinning in the 90s for a while and then the road gradient drops you to the 80s it feel like you're grinding. So I guess one could get used to it.

 

I'm going to see if I can get used to a higher cadence and what the effects are going to be on knees and cardio

So, there's a real reason why they make the juniors and under age categories ride restricted gears. If you came up doing that, spinning at a high cadence is natural and your knees will thank you, and you smoothness and suppleness on the bike will be the better for it.

[Jbr]

You definitely get used to it, I was more a grinder, averaging more 70s on the mtb and 80s on the road bike and within a couple months of a training program where 80% or my rides are zone2 at 90-100 rpm I now average 95 on the flater/road rides, 100 on the killarney crits.
when doing torque intervals you realise very quickly how cadence has a massive impact on power output. There is a softspot where candence allows you to push more power while feeling you’re working less, for me it’s around 95. At 105 or more my power goes down again, or my HR goes mad.

Edited March 30, 2021 by Jbr

[Long Wheel Base]

Thread resurrection time.

 

following on from the Oval vs Round thread last week where the discussion turned to cadence and knee issues I decided to make some adjustments to my riding in order to experiment.

 

My comfortable cadence has been around 80RPM, checking back at avg cadence on my normal morning route its sitting at low to mid 70s.

 

This morning I did the route and tried to concentrate on keeping teh cadence above 80, often spinning along at mid 90s. It felt like I was expending alot of energy, but the legs definitely felt less fatigued. Avg cadence for this mornings ride was just 81 with a max of 97. Felt like it should have had a higher avg. but there were more stops which I guess dropped the avg.

 

Screenshot 2021-03-29 170248.jpg

 

What I did notice though is that if you've been spinning in the 90s for a while and then the road gradient drops you to the 80s it feel like you're grinding. So I guess one could get used to it.

 

I'm going to see if I can get used to a higher cadence and what the effects are going to be on knees and cardio

Is that why I had to hoot at you to get your attention?

[The Ouzo]

Is that why I had to hoot at you to get your attention?

[comic sans]

I was counting pedal strokes

[/comic sans]

 

my mind was on a totally different planet at that moment. which is strange as moments before that I was looking at the cars and wondering if I was to early for you.

Edited March 30, 2021 by ouzo

[splat]

Who was that crazy oke that rode down the TDF mountains at like 100kph with A cadence in the 180's ?

 

Think it was early 2000"s 

 

Isn't that how they rode UP the mountains in the early 2000's ? 

[Long Wheel Base]

[comic sans]

I was counting pedal strokes

[/comic sans]

 

my mind was on a totally different planet at that moment. which is strange as moments before that I was looking at the cars and wondering if I was to early for you.

Kids will be on holiday from Thursday so you'll have to start looking out for the wifes qashqai. The less I can drive the gas guzzler the better.

[The Ouzo]

Kids will be on holiday from Thursday so you'll have to start looking out for the wifes qashqai. The less I can drive the gas guzzler the better.

what colour ?

[Frosty]

Ouzo's revival post got me thinking, so I did some digging around at my previous rides/races to try find any sort of trend. My cadence tends to match my average speed; faster rides will have a higher average cadence (in the 90s), while a ride with the slower group (club ride), I'm spinning less (70-80rpm). 

 

On the IDT, I find I grind more, so will have a slightly lower cadence, closer to 80rpm. Along with a power zone number, I find these two metrics the easiest to watch to ensure I stay as close to my target power as possible. Once I hit a higher cadence, I start drifting to high and low. Yet in a race, I've checked back 4 years, and it's all low 90s.

 

An interesting fact, is that my downhill cadence is higher than my uphill cadence. I used the elevate extended stats on Strava to get this bit of useful/less info.

[The Ouzo]

Ouzo's revival post got me thinking, so I did some digging around at my previous rides/races to try find any sort of trend. My cadence tends to match my average speed; faster rides will have a higher average cadence (in the 90s), while a ride with the slower group (club ride), I'm spinning less (70-80rpm). 

 

On the IDT, I find I grind more, so will have a slightly lower cadence, closer to 80rpm. Along with a power zone number, I find these two metrics the easiest to watch to ensure I stay as close to my target power as possible. Once I hit a higher cadence, I start drifting to high and low. Yet in a race, I've checked back 4 years, and it's all low 90s.

 

An interesting fact, is that my downhill cadence is higher than my uphill cadence. I used the elevate extended stats on Strava to get this bit of useful/less info.

Following this post I installed/activate Elevate.

Holy cow, talk about analysis paralysis, thats A LOT of stats. But some interesting stats too .

 

Just sorting my activities by avg cadence I can clearly see that the fitter I have gotten the higher the avg cadence has gotten. 

[gummibear]

Im happy at 85-90 rpm.