Climbing and Cadence...?

[nethfel]

Hi all,

I keep seeing blogs, articles, posts, etc. that basically say that while climbing you should try to maintain a cadence of 90 - what I never see is an explanation of why 90 is such a significant number for cadence while climbing.

I'm still way out of shape, I spend most of my time in the 70-80 range of cadence on roads that are for the most part flat (slight rolls, maybe 5 feet up/down on a very low grade), while climbing I spend most of my time in the 60-80 range.

I don't really care on one level that I don't go 90 on climbs right now, I'm just not at that point physically where I can do that (heck, I'm still using flat pedals at this point - not quite ready for clipless yet until I get a different bike); what I'm more curious about is why it's important to strive for that number.

 

[midlife]

Getting to the top without walking beats cadence every day of the week

Shaun

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Hi all,

I keep seeing blogs, articles, posts, etc. that basically say that while climbing you should try to maintain a cadence of 90 - what I never see is an explanation of why 90 is such a significant number for cadence while climbing.

I'm still way out of shape, I spend most of my time in the 70-80 range of cadence on roads that are for the most part flat (slight rolls, maybe 5 feet up/down on a very low grade), while climbing I spend most of my time in the 60-80 range.

I don't really care on one level that I don't go 90 on climbs right now, I'm just not at that point physically where I can do that (heck, I'm still using flat pedals at this point - not quite ready for clipless yet until I get a different bike); what I'm more curious about is why it's important to strive for that number.

Bit suspicious that innit

 

[ColinJ]

Forget what other people try to impose on you - do what feels right for your body.

I prefer to use low gears and a high cadence on steep hills if I am sitting down, or higher gears and a lower cadence if I am standing up. I don't bother with numbers, I just respond to what my body is telling me.

If you were horribly overgeared your cadence would drop to the extent that you might not even be able to get the cranks round. If you were stupidly undergeared then you might not be able to pedal fast enough.

Pedalling fast tends to make you run out of breath sooner. Grinding a high gear can hurt the legs more. Just find a gear and cadence somewhere between those extremes that suits you ***.




*** If you can't, then you are not fit enough and/or your bike does not have a wide enough range of gears!

 

[Smokin Joe]

^^^^^
Wot 'e said.

Gearing is all down to what suits. Robbie McEwen was once asked why he didn't use lower gears on the mountains like some of the climbers. He replied that he'd tried them and it hurt just as much, but for longer as he went slower.

 

[nethfel]

Ok, I was just curious why on so many I was seeing that (about the 90 cadence). I've not been on a climb yet that I've had to walk, even if I had to go to my lowest gear (granted, where I live although there are a lot of hills, most of the grades are not super steep or terribly long, the steepest that I've been on I think was an accidental 8% (was relax riding on a road I hadn't been on before when I was suddenly going 28 mph down hill and then had to climb back up once I reached the bottom), near about killed me but made it ).

As I mentioned, for my current fitness level, I'm not disappointed with what I can do - I just wanted to understand. I'll just keep going with what I'm doing - one day I'll be in shape!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

It was mentioned in a magazine once as the cadence of pro or someone and everyone jumped on it like it's the grail of information.

Unfortunately that kind of crap is repeated often

 

[nethfel]

It was mentioned in a magazine once as the cadence of pro or someone and everyone jumped on it like it's the grail of information.

Unfortunately that kind of crap is repeated often

I guess it must have been what worked for that particular person.

 

[midlife]

90 cadence = EPO.

Says the cynic in me as that's how it works best.

Shaun

 

[MacB]

like Colin says if you're sitting and twiddling then the cadence needs to be fast enough, IMO, so that you get all the benefits of momentum. If it drops too low then I need to get out of the saddle otherwise I'm in danger of stalling

 

[DaveReading]

90 is more of a rule-of-thumb than a mantra. It's a reasonable compromise between grinding in a too-high gear (which will hurt, and risk injury) on one hand, and spinning like a pro (which most of us aren't capable of) on the other.

If you can't maintain 90-ish on a climb, then either

i) you're not fit enough
ii) your gearing isn't low enough
iii) the hill's too steep

The above don't necessarily apply if you're standing.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

90 is more of a rule-of-thumb than a mantra. It's a reasonable compromise between grinding in a too-high gear (which will hurt, and risk injury) on one hand, and spinning like a pro (which most of us aren't capable of) on the other.

If you can't maintain 90-ish on a climb, then either

i) you're not fit enough
ii) your gearing isn't low enough
iii) the hill's too steep

The above don't necessarily apply if you're standing.

If it's a rule of thumb then none of those can apply surely?

 

[Steppylud]

i still mega struggle on hills. i dont measure cadence but i imagine its very low, as average speed drops to about 5mph. just get up the top without getting off and try doing it quicker or not dropping into the granny gear next time!

 

[ColinJ]

i still mega struggle on hills. i dont measure cadence but i imagine its very low, as average speed drops to about 5mph. just get up the top without getting off and try doing it quicker or not dropping into the granny gear next time!

How fast do you ride on the flat, and how steep are the hills you are talking about?

(If you ride quite quickly on the flat, but struggle on moderate hills then I would say you are overgeared for the climbs. If you are slow on the flat then you just aren't fit enough for the hills - yet!)

 

[Tigerbiten]

I find the optimal cadence for me at around 20 mph is around 90 rpm.
But as my speed drops, my cadence also drops.
So at around 5 mph I'll be spinning at 80 rpm and if I'm grinding my way uphill it will drop to around 60 rpm.

But then again, I'm on a recumbent so it's slightly different .......