Beginners question re pedalling

[MichaelW2]

Most newbies pedal too slowly. Your legs work most efficiently around the rate of a brisk walk, ie about 70 revs/min.
You should pedal against some resistance, but not too much. Use your gears to set resistance and keep resistance as constant as you can by shifting as the terrain changes. Again, you should be breathing at the rate of brisk walking.
If you pedal too hard, you work too hard and it is more like running.

Cycling athletes prefer to work at running rate but there is no rule that you have to ride at max speed.

 

[fossyant]

Even 70 is a bit low. 80 to 100 rpm is about right. I average about 90 on a ride. Id only drop below 80 on a hill.

PS I am no gear twiddler either.

 

[Smithbat]

How can I count how many I do. Do I literally just stick a timer on and count?

 

[Citius]

Cycling athletes prefer to work at running rate but there is no rule that you have to ride at max speed.

I've read this bit several times and I still don't understand what you are talking about.

 

[Citius]

How can I count how many I do. Do I literally just stick a timer on and count?

Don't bother. You will find your own preferred cadences as your fitness increases.

 

[S.Giles]

Don't bother. You will find your own preferred cadences as your fitness increases.

Ditto. No point getting too hung-up on cadences, etc. Just find the gear you're comfortable with (in a given situation) and stick with that.

 

[Slioch]

How can I count how many I do. Do I literally just stick a timer on and count?

Basically yes. Remember that each complete revolution counts as one. I.e. if your right foot starts at the highest point, then when it gets back to the highest point again that counts as one.

It can be a bit of a distraction when you're out in the road doing it for a whole minute whilst keeping count and trying to keep an eye on the timer at the same time, so it may be easier to do it for shorter durations and multiply up. E.g. if you do 30 rotations in 20 seconds, then your cadence is 90 (30 x 3).

 

[MichaelW2]

I've read this bit several times and I still don't understand what you are talking about.

The power output of a runner is higher than a walker.
In cycling you can also chose to ride in a sporty style with your highest power output, or just amble along.
Many cyclists seem to forget that you can ride at less than max power.

Power output of a person can be measure in watts, so you can walk or ride at 60watts. You can run or ride at 200 watts.

 

[bpsmith]

That's what a cadence sensor does strangely.

 

[Citius]

The power output of a runner is higher than a walker.
In cycling you can also chose to ride in a sporty style with your highest power output, or just amble along.
Many cyclists seem to forget that you can ride at less than max power.

Power output of a person can be measure in watts, so you can walk or ride at 60watts. You can run or ride at 200 watts.

Was any of that actually in any doubt? You seem to be stating the obvious, but in an overly-simplistic fashion.

 

[ayceejay]

I don't think cadence is of any importance to the casual cyclist I have seen cyclists in the flat lands of Holland pedal once every couple of minutes (exag.) and a professional cyclist at 120 rpm and as the OP sounds more like the former than the latter I would say. don't sweat it - literally.

In the highest gear, if you can push it, you will go further along the road with one push than any of the others but you won't be able to do it for very long because it will be hard and in the lowest gear it may feel like you are not getting anywhere no matter how fast you pedal. To state the obvious you use the easy gear for going up hills and the hard one for down hill, on the flat you will be somewhere in between but will want to feel like you are going down hill. If you are turning the pedals at a reasonable speed quite easily you will tire less than if you feel like you are pushing all the time.

Sorry I hope that makes sense - I hadn't intended to write a book.

 

[Smithbat]

It all did make sense, thank you everyone for your help.

I went out for a ride today with OH. We covered the first 3.8 miles at an average of 10mph. I was in 4th or 5th gear all the way and tried to keep my pedalling steady. Not fast in the scheme of things, but it was for me and I was really pleased. We cycled halfway along the Phoenix Trail, and my next big goal is to cycle the full length of 6.5 miles and maintain an average of 10mph all the way.

 

[Salad Dodger]

How can I count how many I do. Do I literally just stick a timer on and count?

Technically, yes you would need a timer and count. But what you could do is to (in your head) sing yourself a song as you ride and try and match your pedal revs to the beat of the song. Then when you get to, say, a hill you change down to a lower gear but try to keep your legs spinning at the same pace as before.....

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

I've always been a high gear grinder. I've paid for it now by wrecking the cartilage on my kneecaps.

Now I'm a spinning convert.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Okay here is a stupid yet genunine question. My last bike which I rode 20 years ago only had 3 gears if I remember rightly and I never used them. When I started on my new bike about 3 weeks ago I went every where in number 2 as I found the others too hard. As I am getting a bit fitter I am moving up into 3 and now mostly 4. So my question is this. Is it better to pedal slower in a higher gear ie 4 or 5 or faster in a lower gear ie 2 or 3?

The idea of gears it to make cycling easier over a variety of different terrain, the idea being that once you have found your preferred cadence, you can maintain that whether you are going up or down hills, or off-road through a variety of clagg. I think you have in some way answered in part answered your question, as you have started to us different gears as your cycle fitness improves. Us cyclist are all different and at different levels of fitness, but generally a cadence between 70-90 suits most non sports cyclists. But don't bother to think about measuring it, it will come naturally as you cycle more and gain more experience over different cycling conditions