cadence vs speed

[ithacabikechick]

Hey, I have been mtn biking for about 6 years and took up cycling a couple of years ago and I love it. I just got my first computer for my road bike and am wondering what I should be focusing on for training purposes. Should I be focusing on keeping a steady cadence or just keeping my average speed high?
I'm not training for anything in particular just trying to stay active, enjoy the scenery and possibly drop a couple of inches off my hips at the same time.
Thanks!

 

[gman0482]

Hey how are you ? Welcome and happy to see you enjoy road cycling, it's one of the best things you could be doing.

As far as speed vs. cadence, you should be using both equally. The most important thing is to find your self-selected speed and cadence, or basically whatever you're comfortable with.

Once you know what your comfort level is, you'll figure out your limits. Remember, the higher your cadence is, the less force you have to use, but more lungs. I personally like to stay between 95-100 rpm, instead of the lower rpm.

There's really no holy grail or magic number. Your body will let you know what's good.

Also, go over to the 'Cycling Training' forum and you can get more info.


-Greg

 

[daveryanwyoming]

If you're mostly interested in general fitness and staying active then focus on having fun, exploring new places on your bike and finding enjoyable backroads.

If you want to go faster or longer more easily than focus on speed and effort. The specific cadence isn't all that relevant, mostly choose gears that feel good for the terrain you're on but when you want to push yourself focus on your effort level and things like breathing which on harder days should get deep and steady but not ragged or gasping or you won't sustain it for very long.

Having said that, if you're newer to road biking and didn't typically spin fast on your mountain bike then it can pay off to spend some time learning to spin a bit smoother at higher cadences. You don't necessarily need to spin fast all the time on the road bike but it expands your gearing options and can be useful on really long rides to spin a bit more and not mash huge gears all the time. Most beginners tend to grind away at overly large gears and learning to spin faster and lighter can be useful. But once you develop a wider range of useable cadences you don't necessarily have to spin at 90+ as many folks will tell you. I often grind away at much lower cadences on solo training rides, while climbing or in time trials where it's just me against the clock. But in more dynamic mass start races, group rides or all day rides I tend to use a wider range of gears and spin lighter gears to save the grinding for when I need it and to be able to respond more easily to pace changes.

So you don't 'need' to focus on cadence but it can be useful to spend some of your riding time doing just that until you feel you can comfortably spin fast or grind as the situation and mood strikes you. It'll make you a more rounded cyclist and better able to handle a wide range of conditions including all day rides like organized century rides where it often pays to spin lighter gears during those longer days in the saddle or if you start riding with groups and want to avoid getting dropped during surges and pace changes.

But all in all have fun first so you really want to get out on your bike and explore. When you want to push it more or focus on fitness think in terms of sustained efforts rather than short intense bursts so just ramp up the pace on open stretches or road or long sustained climbs when you feel like pushing a bit but still focus on maintaining the higher end efforts for long periods like 10, 20, 30 or more minutes as opposed to short bursts that make you feel awful.

Good luck,
-Dave
P.S. you'll likely get more responses if you move this discussion to the Training boards instead of Health and Nutrition

[edit] Yeah, what he said....