Bike cadence?

Question

I bought a cadence sensor for my bike. Can someone help me understand how I can use it to become a better rider?

Answer 1

The optimum cadence is around 60 or seventy, try to level off there.  At that range you are getting the most momentum and efficiency for every pedal.  Also, see how fast you can pedal.  Good sprinters can get a cadence of over 120.

Answer 2

In general you will find that the more serious a rider is, the faster the cadence they will pedal. However there is a natural variation in the styles of even pro riders and whether they will spin in a low gear or push a bigger gear. Pro riders will actually spin a little faster than what is actually the most efficient cadence.  A club rider trying to make it through a century and wanting to conserve their energy may pedal is the 70-80 rpm range. A pro will pedal 10-20 rpms faster. They are trading off their well developed anaerobic system for the sake of not getting as tired.

What you can do is go on a ride, probably by yourself at first, and only concentrate on keeping your cadence at or above a certain level. If you can't keep the cadence up over a given hill then try to find a flatter course. Let's say you want to keep at least 90 rpms up on the ride. It requires a bit of concentration to keep the feet spinning. However when you start becoming used to it and your body adapts, you will be a stronger rider on those long rides. When you can spin up a hill instead of grinding it out, you will find that not only will you get up faster but will be less tired.

Answer 3

The key to pedaling cadence is that you must understand that for each and every push of the pedal you can only push down with a given amount of force. The more times you can develop that force the more work can be done. A simple analogy is that you can't lift a ton, however if you break it down into smaller loads you can move it. Pedaling is the same, The faster you pedal the more work (Watts) will be produced. What the cadence monitor will do is help teach you to pedal at these speeds, if you monitor your pedaling speed you will find it will vary and can find yourself pedaling to slow or fast and this will help you pick a better gear. One more thing to add into this would be a heart rate monitor. If you combine the two you can go at peak efficiency and tell if you are over training or cranking out all you can. There is a lot more to this but to become the best rider you can, you need the feedback to find out where you are.

Answer 4

You develop maximum horsepower somewhere between 90-105 rpm.   Most casual riders make riding more difficult than it needs to be by pushing too big a gear at low RPM.  The cadence indicator can help you train yourself to shift gears to stay in your power band.



If you wanted to know where you, personally, are at maximum horsepower, you would need a power tap.   Alternately, you could experiment with an exercise bike at your Y or health club that has watts and rpm displayed.