Cadence rates

[Dogg]

Afternoon everyone,

What would be the relative merits of different cadence rates?

Would it be more beneficial to run a higher cadence on a lower gear or a lower cadence on a higher gear in general??

Cheers

 

[green1]

High cadence lower gear, although I'm a bit of a grinder.

 

[HLaB]

At the extreme too low a cadence grinds your joints and too hih a cadence you are wasting energy and spinning out, its good to find a middle ground you are happy with.

 

[Rob3rt]

One of the many threads on this topic (this one was as recent as a few days ago): http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/cadence.149919/

 

[Sharky]

It is whatever becomes comfortable for the particular conditions you happen to be riding on.

If you are riding in a bunch and need to follow another wheel, then a lower cadence will help you accelerate and is easier to respond to changing speeds.

If time trial, you don't have to accelerate, just keeping a steady speed, then lower cadences are effective.

Used to have a theory - if your legs are hurting, change down and if your lungs are hurting, change up.

I do a lot of fixed/ss, so in a ride, I end up riding at both ends of the cadence scale. This helps to get to know what is effective, but it is not without pain!

Cheers Keith

 

[Roadrider48]

Without the interruption of traffic/lights I seem to be going at 95rpm on average at the moment. So says Garmin!
I am thinking of buying a power meter soon to judge output and measure my rides more accurately.

 

[bpsmith]

So do you guys recommend a Cadence addon or do you just ride what feels right?

 

[maltloaf]

I think having a cadence meter helps you improve your pedalling style. After a while you know what your cadence is pretty accurately just by feel. I have a high cadence alarm set on my Garmin but I'm usually already changing up when it goes off. Pedalling at 90 to 95 now feels completely natural to me.

 

[Rob3rt]

So do you guys recommend a Cadence addon or do you just ride what feels right?

I recommend people stop reading magazines!

 

[Roadrider48]

Yeah, they're full of adverts!
I stopped buying CW ages ago for that very reason. A lot of the others are around £6/7 too.

 

[bpsmith]

I do read magazines but pay little attention to the ads. Didn't read about cadence in a mag, it was something that came up when buying my Garmin. Grabbed the 510 to get me started, with the thought of adding the Cadence and/or HRM at a later point if beneficial. Not decided on the Cadence sensor yet, but looks like something the could help?

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I do read magazines but pay little attention to the ads. Didn't read about cadence in a mag, it was something that came up when buying my Garmin. Grabbed the 510 to get me started, with the thought of adding the Cadence and/or HRM at a later point if beneficial. Not decided on the Cadence sensor yet, but looks like something the could help?

if you get the speed/cad sensor, it will help with some anomalous readings, never used a 5120 but thats what I found with the 500 especially if you have the auto pause set to say less than 3mph, also the odd max speed readings you sometimes get.

 

[Dave 123]

I recommend people stop reading magazines!

Even Razzle?

 

[Roadrider48]

Even Razzle?

No! The articles in Razzle are very informative and most relevant.