Another ignorant new guy question

Hans:

Maybe this link will answer your question regarding cadence.

http://www.cyclingfitness.com/ps/Tp12.htm

Kerry

Hans K0HB wrote:
In another thread I got some great "hey, new kid!" information. In that
thread a couple of folks mentioned cadence (of around 80 being a good
number), and seemed to attach some importance to that notion. I see
passing reference to cadence in other posts too.

In a couple of rides since reading that, I have tried to pay attention
to cadence, and trying to keep a high cadence just simply distracts from
my pleasure of riding.

I should point out that I'm not in this to set speed records or qualify
for TDF (see, I learned an insider acronym), but just get a little
aerobic excercise and enjoy the birds and flowers.

Am I missing something?

(Please, no lectures about my attitude!)

Regards,

Hans

As I said, cadence is the new cult that replaced ankling of years
past. New rider age is increasing, as are the number of weak knees.

Cult it may be, but it isn't anything new.

The old racer's drill was to ride fixed gear in the winter to improve their
spin for the racing season.


Chris Neary


"Science, freedom, beauty, adventu what more could
you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I
loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 23:30:42 +0000 (UTC), "Hans Kohb"
wrote:

"Joe Potter" wrote

I have learned what cadence I should be at because this saves my knees

Thankfully my knees are just fine. (I lead a pretty active outdoor
life.) How does whether I'm loafing along at 40 RPM hurt my knees more
than churning like heck in a lower gear at 80 RPM?

I'm not sure this contributes anything, but at 80 RPM I feel like I'm
loafing along. Actually I feel like I'm mashing the pedals. Loafing
along for me is about 87 or 88; and yes, that's where I tend to settle
when I'm just loafing. Surprisingly it's that precise.

Comfortable cruising seems to be about 93-95, while when I'm pushing I
tend to be at around 100.

We're all different. Some are natural spinners and some are natural
mashers, but pedalling at 40 RPM strikes me as falling well outside
any reasonable range.


jeverett3ATearthlinkDOTnet http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

"John Everett" wrote in message
news

We're all different. Some are natural spinners and some are natural
mashers, but pedalling at 40 RPM strikes me as falling well outside
any reasonable range.

If you ride a fixed gear your cadence varies with speed, it's no big deal.

After reading many people's opinions about cadence,
here's my take:

Since I started cycling, I've always bought computers
that measure cadence.

When I started, all the info I found said to look for
80 rpm as much as possible.

I always did. I was never as fast as other riders.

Lately, since I've had a road bike with very high
gearing, a double crank, and no low gearing, and I
haven't had money to change it out, I've experimented
with mashing lower cadences.

What a difference! By not listening to my body, I've
missed out on 5 years of additional fun to be had
from not being out of breath and not having painful
legs.

Now, I range from 40 to 120 rpm, and most recently
have found that on level land I'm faster _and_ have
more endurance at 50 rpm. On uphills, I may spin up
to 80 or 90, and can endure that better because I'm
rested up from running 50 before. Going downhill, I
get up to 120 rpm (I _will_ get lower gearing!)
before my stroke gets too inefficient.

I used the cadence function to measure my cadence,
rather than to force myself to the prescribed
cadence; I must be a horrible cyclist. G

I always used to spin gears that were just too
"easy" for me, because that's what's always
advocated for speed, effiency, fitness, health,
and so on. Now that I'm pushing taller gears, I
enjoy riding so much more!

I'll bet that I'm quite atypical...but the point is,
you must find _your_ comfort zone.

--
Rick Onanian

When I started, all the info I found said to look for
80 rpm as much as possible.

I always did. I was never as fast as other riders.

Lately, since I've had a road bike with very high
gearing, a double crank, and no low gearing, and I
haven't had money to change it out, I've experimented
with mashing lower cadences.

What a difference! By not listening to my body, I've
missed out on 5 years of additional fun to be had
from not being out of breath and not having painful
legs.

Now, I range from 40 to 120 rpm, and most recently
have found that on level land I'm faster _and_ have
more endurance at 50 rpm. On uphills, I may spin up
to 80 or 90, and can endure that better because I'm
rested up from running 50 before. Going downhill, I
get up to 120 rpm (I _will_ get lower gearing!)
before my stroke gets too inefficient.

You've also discovered a key difference between trained racers and your
typical recreational rider.

The rec rider optimizes his power at a single cadence (might by 80 RPM,
might be something else), while the racer is capable of rapidly changing RPM
to respond to changes in speed within the peloton or from attacks.


Chris Neary


"Science, freedom, beauty, adventu what more could
you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I
loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 17:32:18 GMT,
wrote:

John Everett writes:

Comfortable cruising seems to be about 93-95, while when I'm pushing
I tend to be at around 100.

Do you ride only in the flats or do you also climb hills, like a few
miles of 10% grade? We have plenty of hills around here and I seldom
see spinning riders. What do you do on steep grades?

The nearest few miles of 10% grade is probably 800-1000 miles away
(from Aurora, Illinois). When I wrote the above I was only thinking
about the riding I typically do, and plan on doing again in an hour or
so.

I seem to have conveniently forgotten that I just got back from a
cycling trip to Frisco, Colorado; but even there a 10% grade is hard
to find. Last year (my first trip to the Rockies) I took a bike with a
double. I believe its low was a 39/26 or so. Since I promised my
girlfriend I would ride with her I found myself climbing passes at
cadences in the 40s, she having a triple equipped bike.

I hated grinding up hill so much I bought a touring bike with a triple
when I got home. I took that bike to Colorado this year and found I
was much more comfortable climbing at higher cadences.

We're all different. Some are natural spinners and some are natural
mashers, but pedalling at 40 RPM strikes me as falling well outside
any reasonable range.

I cruise downtown in top gear at times, traveling at 10-12mph and that
is around 40rpm. I see no reason why this should cause knee injury.
Can you expand on your method and what it does. RPM alone doesn't
tell me much.

Note that I never claimed any relationship between cadence and knee
injuries; those claims were made by other posters. I was only saying
that contrary to the original poster's assertion, to me a cadence of
80 is far from spinning, and 40 is just off scale. See above, "We're
all different."


jeverett3ATearthlinkDOTnet http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

John Everett wrote:
...
The nearest few miles of 10% grade is probably 800-1000 miles away
(from Aurora, Illinois). When I wrote the above I was only thinking
about the riding I typically do, and plan on doing again in an hour or
so....

There are some reasonably long grades that are considerably steeper than
this in SW Wisconsin, and some short grades steeper than this along the
Illinois and Mississippi River valleys.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers