What's a Realistic Maximum Cadence?

[funk my fixie]

Hey! You're special - and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

d.

Ah what an intellectual retort. NOT.

Your being unfair and very SPECIAL yourself. I have put proof that you don't do this and will put some more reasons below just for those people who still think they are superman.

Point one I have not said I am better than anyone else (my cadence 100.9), you lot HAVE said that you are better than anyone else (Lance 110 you guys 185-190).

Point two, the video you have put on here (1st one I watched then laughed and got bored) the guy was not on the road. So no wind resistance, no climbing incline/decent over any part of his ride, less tyre resistance as on a roller of alloy etc etc. (I would expect my granny to be able to have a high cadence given one of those machines.) Even Mr Merx himself in video 2 only spins real fast for a few seconds and again he is on a machine. The videos provide no proof either as on neither one does it show rpm just someone's little legs going round fast. Mine would look fast too and I can only manage 100.9 remember.

Point 3 The Guiness Book of Records records Chris Boardman as having achieved a world record of 52.270 km ph =32 to 33 mph. The people on here are hitting (Simon R) 29 mph for example, which he is doing on the road. You say about your commute to work so are doing it on a road as well. Therefore, if he/you had Chris Boardman's helmet, a velodrome, a 7-10 thousand pound bike etc etc then you two should be faster than the SSC II, Super Sonic Car.

And you insult me and say I am special?????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[funk my fixie]

oh and BTW if you want to grab a calculator (not picking on Simon R it is just that he has put speed, crank teeth and gear teeth etc etc in his msg so I can work out his cadence from this info) and use the calculator to test his rpm and his calc's are wrong. Assuming he has a 27" wheel like the rest of us a (44/15) = 106.1 rpm NOT 109. Try it for yourself.

His next post says that he is now able to reach 131 rpm. From this someone who knows math can work out that he is doing 31 mph ON THE ROAD ????????? Chris Boardman better get out of the way I tell you. He can only hold a word title at 32-33 mph. Mr SLOW eh?

In Fairness to Simon R, his claims are nowhere near as outlandish as yours and certainly not as far fetched as the guy I referred to in my other post with a cadence of 207. His little legs are going round at 3.45 times a second.

 

[smutchin]

I admit I was almost taken in by your first post but then I realised it was an elaborate troll, so decided not to take it seriously.

Thing is, you gave yourself away a bit too easily - you've been cycling just three months and you're already capable of the kind of pace you'd expect from an experienced club racer? Hmmm. It's not the rest of us who aren't human...

Still, it was quite a funny attempt at trolling, I'll grant you. Good work.

d.

 

[smutchin]

For the record...

I run 700x32C tyres, 36t chainring, 15t sprocket. That's about a 65" gear by my reckoning. My average speed on my commute this morning was 27.8km/h, my max speed was 48.5km/h.

The highest speed I've reached on that setup (on the aforementioned descent - but I didn't go that way this morning) was about 60km/h. I make that somewhere in the range 185-190rpm but please feel free to check my maths.

As I said above, I wouldn't be able to keep up that speed for more than a few seconds, but I can well believe others are capable of higher cadences.

d.

 

[smutchin]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN7p7mOXI_g

 

[Boris Bajic]

Mr Funk My Fixie,

I am one of those who posted pedal speeds you may have found dubious, but I've been riding today and can assure you they are accurate.

I pootle at 95 rpm, do the odd extended stretch at 110rpm and can descend at 165rpm, but not for long.

I am middle-aged, slightly overweight and by no means in good shape.

My (homebuilt) steel, low-tech fixie uses a 50-tooth chainring, 19-tooth sprocket and 700c x 20 tyres at 110psi.

That gives me approximately 69 gear inches (maybe a little less).

The 165rpm is achieved while descending big hills in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire at around 35mph.

These are 45mph hills for me on a geared bike, probably 50+ for a good rider.

The higher-RPM figures are not fictional and are not the stuff of Olympian legend. Perfectly ordinary (and slightly tubby) riders can do this with ease. The gearing you mention is quite high for a fixed-gear bike. Many of us use much lower gearing, which allows us to generate much higher RPM at lower speeds.

There seems to be a degree of pique in your post, but the figures are good. By the way, if after a few months on a bicycle you are getting 25+mph averages over 10 or 20 miles on fixed-gear, I take my hat off to you. Many people work for many years to get those sort of figures.

 

[smutchin]

Boris, you are much more diplomatic than me.

d.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Boris, you are much more diplomatic than me.

d.

Me?

Diplomatic??

Far Cough!!

 

[Dave Davenport]

Hi guys
Don't wish to be rude but finding the conversation a little far fetched. I have just got home having hit the fastest average speed so far for me. I run a 42/13 and my max average over 20 miles WAS 25.6 mph and I am extremely proud of myself as tonight I managed 26.2 mph average over 20 miles.F@*KING GET IN THERE!!!!! My top speed was 31.2 mph and probably downhill . Anyhow, this makes my cadence 100.9 RPM. (Taken from http://www.lfgss.com/thread17162.html) If I ride a 27" wheel on 42/13 then 27 x (42/13) = 87.23 gear inch, which according to the website 336 divided by my gear inch and multiplied by my mph = my cadence. Hence, 336 / 87.23 x 26.2 = 100.9. So if all these websites are true then most of you are not human.

Now I have only been riding for 3 months and have only had my fixed gear for a month and I know I will get better in time, BUT according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadence_(cycling) 90 RPM is about right for professionals. Mr Armstrong does 110 RPM and PROFESSIONAL SPRINTERS do around 170 RPM for very short periods. ( http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=433 ) makes for a very interesting read on cadence actually.

You are all talking about cadences of 125/140ish for most of your riding, not including downhills which makes Mr Armstrong a complete novice. I have seen other websites where people get even more unrealistic I.E. http://www.glasgowfixedgear.com/discussion/922/working-out-cadencespeedgear-inches/p1 where one person says 207 is his cadence. ???????????????WTF

The other night I flipped my wheel over to the freewheel side 16 T and could only average 20.9 and max at 25.2 mph which tells me that for me, and I am not unique, I get a much faster speed from a higher GI. I am sorry to say that logic also says that there are some tall tales out there. At say 150 rpm your "little legs" will be rotating at 2.5 revs a second. Highly unlikely. Pro's hit around 170 for VERY short sprints which is 2.8, not much difference. While poor old slow boy Lance Armstrong who is QUOTE "known for his technique of keeping up high cadences of around 110 rpm" (as per Wikipedia website) only manages 1.8 revs a second.

I will be watching the Olympics and looking for you all to win gold medals.

87" is a fairly hefty gear and would normally be the reserve of fixed time trialists. Looking at your average speeds you ought to easly go under the hour for a 25 which is a cracking result for a new'ish rider even on a full on TT rig.
What sort of bike set up are you using?

As for other peoples claims for RPM, I read them as max not average. I run a 73" gear and average around 80 - 90 rpm and top out on downhills at about 160, although I've managed 200 on rollers.

 

[Farky]

173rpm for me on this ride

View: http://youtu.be/PPHVfxzK9oE?t=6s

 

[PpPete]

53 going on 54, only been riding fixed (occasionally) for a couple of years. Find anything above 130 distinctly uncomfortable, although I can push to about 165 on the spinning bike in the gym.

 

[palinurus]

I can't go any quicker than 150 rpm, I've just got slow legs.

I thought riding fixed might help with spinning but I find I like to lope along at 60 rpm all the time, just because it feels nice.

I'm late for work most days.

 

[mangid]

I'm late for work most days.

+1

Enjoy the ride !

 

[funk my fixie]

I admit I was almost taken in by your first post but then I realised it was an elaborate troll, so decided not to take it seriously.

Thing is, you gave yourself away a bit too easily - you've been cycling just three months and you're already capable of the kind of pace you'd expect from an experienced club racer? Hmmm. It's not the rest of us who aren't human...

Still, it was quite a funny attempt at trolling, I'll grant you. Good work.

d.

Yeah, well I used to cycle for a team. Sorry for omitting that part. Hence, getting back into it was easier for me.

 

[totallyfixed]

Yeah well I used to cycle for a team so getting back into it was easier for me.

What team was that then? We have been on the racing scene for many years now so would be interested in knowing. I will also tell you what is realistic, I have hit 200rpm going downhill in 20 secs of insanity, I frequently go over 180 rpm but not for long. What is not realistic is averaging 26.2 mph over 20 miles on a non TT rig, equivalent to two sub 23 min tens back to back. I have no idea who you are but you quote big names and what they ride like yet seem to have no understanding of averages / max cadences etc. I am REALLY intrigued to know the team you were in. I think we all are.