Help!! Hi - Lo Cadence?!?!?!
so apparently my cadence what ever that is (how many revolutions i pedal??)
is a bit on the high side so do i need to ride in a higher gear??,
but that hurts :(
Rob was telling me about it but to be honest I was too knackered to
understand or care yesterday!!
any hints folks, nad No your not telling me how to suck eggs,
I no Nathing!!
This makes it a bit clearer to me ?!?!?!
copied from http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/gears.htm
The Importance of Cadence
In order to understand gearing, we also have to look at the mystery of cadence. Cadence is very simply the speed at which you turn the cranks, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). However, bound into the concept of cadence is the idea that some rpms are better than others. What difference does it make how fast you spin? Well, try a very low gear, the smallest sprocket on the front with the largest cog on the back, and pedal very fast on flat ground. The result is that you travel very slowly but your legs tire very quickly from having to spin that fast. Now try a very high gear, the largest sprocket on the front with the smallest cog on the back. Now, the problem is that you have to push very hard to move forward. This causes your legs to tire also. Therefore, a middle speed has to be found. Most people who begin cycling like to spin at about 60 rpm, yet touring cyclists like to spin at about 80 rpm.
Why do cyclists prefer a higher speed? The best cadence is a balance between leg speed and pedal pressure, but as a cyclist puts more energy into the task, both increase. So, the non-cyclist will pedal at 60 rpm going 10 miles an hour, the tourist will spin at 80 rpm going 15 miles an hour, and the racer will twirl at 100 rpm going 20 miles an hour.
The cycling books like to pretend, however, that a touring cyclist will pedal 80 rpm in the flats and 40 rpm on the steep hills. Now if touring cyclists were strong enough to stand and pedal the whole distance up the mountain, they could do that, but it makes much better sense to gear down, sit down, and keep the cadence up. The length of the climb makes a difference. On a short climb, standing provides a good opportunity to stretch. However, from observing myself closely, I am convinced that sitting and spinning is quicker and less tiring even for fairly short distances.
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don't worry about it,just go out and enjoy riding your bike.ride a gear that feels comfortable.
*Syd read last paragraph first and jump back here!
Good heavens man - are you trying to start a book quoting frenzy.
Let me start with that lot in reverse order, why, 'cause it was the bit I read last and need less reminding about. Riding out of the saddle; physics says you will piss energy when you do - simple as - so factual: its less efficient. Any kind of body motion pulling in extra muscles or decoupling of the steady platform from the bike means that you are using more energy. Note that this is not the same as going faster or legs feeling like they are going to dissolve in the lactic acid pooling in your legs... but you will be wasting less energy.
However - to balance that statement - if you cannot turn the pedals around seated, or are not keeping up, then you don't have much option do you? No. "Sit up", "relax a little more", "try not to move your body" are all on the list of 'useful' comments you get when you are struggling to get the cranks over top dead centre.. they are well founded even if you are cursing under your breath. If you want to bring in more factors you also have a much larger profile out of the saddle as if you needed wind resistance (form and induced drag with skin friction) to factor in as well (*pictures riders with slide rules, clipboards and anemometer strapped to bars)
On faster cadence, it's a whole can of worms. In an effort to not answer this (and have a long thread of 'such and such says' ... and to be fair - what the hell do I know - nothing!) faster cadence puts more strain on the heart and blood than slower cadence which puts more strain on your muscle mass which has to find somewhere to shuttle away any byproducts they are producing as they eat into your localised stores(its the bodies inability to move the acid away that hurts, not the fact its being produced). Stamping down on the pedals in a crank bending manner does no one any favours, again, wasted energy. The idea being that you can produce smooth power delivery by the down and wiping back action at the bottom of the stroke. At this point no doubt someone in the background pipes up on suplesse and the effortless action of the hardened fixed gear rider, necessary in that case to keep you on the bike at any kind of speed, a flexibility and smoothness of delivery.
If you were one for jumping on bandwagons you could cite that the media friendly Lance re trained to use a higher cadence and make the best use of his strengths, but at the same time you could say that his German friend looked like he was going to pull off the pedals and he wasn't doing so bad was he? I think the underlying theme is fluidity and flexibility (suplesse in my understanding of the term) - if you are hauling, try to improve your pedal stroke, if you are twiddling, then maybe work on where you are delivering the power? Maybe? Certainly each to their own.
Now I have probably managed to read a bunch, and remember only the parts I wanted to... as opposed to 'needed' to (misquoting them all in the process)! So from a simplified model from a simple chap - I am ready to be shot down in flames!
MOST important - if you are rolling out the miles with a cadence you are comfortable with - don't fret... a 65 miler out of the bag is going to leave your system a little supprised after all! Ride bike, enjoy, maybe improve along the way.
Sid as we said on the phone ,I think the most important thing is to get out there and ride
The fitter and stronger you become the less important things like cadence /feeding correctly become .Look at the differences in technique between Armstrong and Ulrich the same goes for Fancy light carbon titanium bits/ bikes even if they look nice , you still have to pedal.
(They become more of an issue again when you go out of your comfort zone)
Its strange how the more you suffer the more important these things become!
Keep on the regular riding, feed well before the ride ,drink and feed during it, and it will get easier.
Alan
Its a very simple solution, as follows : -
What you need to do is to spin a massive gear i.e 53:11 (or 53:12 if you are a girl) at a very high cadence i.e 100+ rpm all of the time even when going up big hills. You will then be doing 45 mph all the time, which is way more appealing than puffing away at 15mph!
Now you see, you are being over technical, its so simple. In fact if you follow this simple solution you will be back from the Sunday club runs in time for a full English and to watch See Hear (or that other rivetting farming program with John Craven). Without breaking a sweat.
In fact Alans training advise is all wrong in my opinion. You must never eat during a ride or before or after, you will make yourself at least 10-15 grams heavier which can result in a massive performance drop. And for gods sake never ever ever have any fluids, before or during a ride, you must be violently dehydrated so as to maximise your weight advantage (it sometimes advisable to take a sauna, drink Stella eat crisps just before you ride to accelerate the dehydration process). Never take a bottle on your bike as you will be tempted to have a drink and instantly ruin your ride. Also the hotter the weather the less you must drink.
Oh yes and I forgot, fancy expensive carbon components and bikes are worth every penny, and they look the canines danglys. They will make you much faster straight away with no added effort. And you will instantly become funnier and more likeable and indeed more successful and attractive to the opposite sex. If you combine this with always wearing an Aero helmet and Full flourescent skinsuit even on club runs will make Brad Pitt be considered minger when compared with yourself.
Alternatively you could foolishly listen to the advice of others and just get out on your bike more often and get fitter. As others have said just ride a gear thats comfortable. If you are spinning too fast then you will find yourself bouncing up and down on your saddle in contrast if you are grinding too bigger a gear you will find that your legs will feel like they are going to explode and you will not be able to maitain the power output (unless you've got legs like an unnamed big german pudding wearing pink!)
Right all I need is a Pink Skinsuit, Dan can I borrow yours!!!
I'm off to book a Sauna before next ride,
and I'll take some stella in with me:)
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bbbbeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr
Ah yes that explains the Dan I remember of a few years ago,
presumably in his pre-cycling days, six feet four inches and all of 260 lbs.
Ok so I don't weigh much short of that myself you bitches !!!
Don't listen to them Syd - they taught me to balance and look what happened.
Well Dave they do say that cycling shortens and tightens your hamstrings ! Unfortunately mine obviously got shortened by about 18".