Spin or grind?

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Trevrev

Veteran
Location
Southampton
Hello,
While cycling to work yesterday, a guy came past me on his Trek hybrid, and he was pedaling like the clappers.
But he had a fair bit of speed. I could see he had a few gears left to play with, so he clearly chose to spin at a high pace.
Being me, i thought i'd cycle home in a lower gear and see if there was any advantage to spinning.
I found it un-natural personally. Not sure if i gained any speed from doing it.
So what do you lot do? Spin or grind?
 
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Natural cadence for me and thats usually somewhere in between. Tried a higher cadence and found out I was losing too much on endurance, wasting too much energy when I didn't need too and the opposite griding (as the title suggests) is bad for your joints, grinds them :ohmy:
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
I don't spin but I also don't grind much. On the flat I like to just get into a rhythm that suits me, but it is well off what anyone would describe as spinning. In the hills it will vary dramatically. Steepness of incline versus length of that section and how I feel on the day all play a part. If I am feeling sluggish I may spin up a hill that on a more energetic day I will get out of the saddle and attack in a bigger gear at a lower cadence.
As Steve said it is very much a case of "each to his own"
 

Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
I removed my cadence sensor about 12 months ago, but I expect that I am still pedalling at about 90 - 95 rpm.
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Someone did say to me once that I would make a good fixie rider as I spin quite quickly.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Ideal rpm is 80 to 100. I average about 90 on geared rides. I tend to spin more commuting as I ride fixed but my rpm is anything from 60 to 150.
 

Sittingduck

Legendary Member
Location
Somewhere flat
In cadence terms, when do you grind and at which point does it become spinning ?

I don't think there are exact boundaries and everybody will preceive what feels like spinning or grinding to be at differing cadences.

I reckon I'm an Inbetweener, with a typical rate of about 85-90 on a steady bit of road. Avg cadence for an entire ride is much lower, usually 75-80 (max). Racing or TTing the avg is more like 85 but I suppose it's because of no stopping and much less freewheeling.

Edit: To include that what feels like a grind (to me) is anything sub 80.
 
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