How to Measure Cadence?

On 6/8/04 1:10 pm, in article [email hidden],
"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

The rollout distance for one revolution of a cycle tyre is approx 2m
The number of revolutions such a tyre makes per hour at 24 km/h is 12,000.
Dividing this by 60 gives 200 rpm.

Now all you have to do is to know your gear ratio. 38x19 is 2 so would be a
cadence of 100 at 24km/h

A bit of mental arithmetic can then give you the approximate answer.

ie 25km/h instead of 24 would be an extra 4 pedals per minute to give 104.

38x15 instead of 19 would be about 20-25% less, or between 75 - 80.

Once you have one mark to go on the rest can be estimated by extrapolation.

Or you can program the relevant formula into excel and print out a set of
tables to tape to your map holder..

...d

Quoted message said:

Thanks
EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

Can you estimate seconds fairly accurately?

1 revolution in one second = 60rpm (too slow)
3 revolutions in two seconds = 90rpm (probably a touch fast for you)
2 revolutions in one second = 120rpm (Lance)

--
Mark.
http://tranchant.plus.com/

David Martin said:

On 6/8/04 1:10 pm, in article [email hidden],
"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

The rollout distance for one revolution of a cycle tyre is approx 2m
The number of revolutions such a tyre makes per hour at 24 km/h is 12,000.
Dividing this by 60 gives 200 rpm.

Now all you have to do is to know your gear ratio. 38x19 is 2 so would be a
cadence of 100 at 24km/h

A bit of mental arithmetic can then give you the approximate answer.

Oh dear. I think I'll go for the cyclocomputer.

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

Count the number of times you turn the pedals in a set time while
pedalling as you typically would. If you have (or can borrow) a
stopwatch (better still a countdown timer with an audible alarm) then
it's number of pedal revs divided by number of minutes to give you your
cadence.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Elisa Francesca Roselli"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike

without

Quoted message said:

a function on the cyclocomputer?

Well. there's the second hand on your watch. Pick one of your feet,
and count how many times it goes down in 15 seconds - it's usually
easier to count for only fifteen seconds than to count for a whole
minute. If you only count for fifteen seconds, remember to multiply
by four to get your revolutions per minute.

Jeremy Parker

Mark Tranchant said:

1 revolution in one second = 60rpm (too slow)

Too slow for what, though? My mum's riding typically had a cadence a
fraction of that, which was fine for trundling down to the shops on and
back, which was most of her cycle use. Never seemed to do her any harm.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 6/8/04 1:10 pm, in article [email hidden],
"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

The rollout distance for one revolution of a cycle tyre is approx 2m
The number of revolutions such a tyre makes per hour at 24 km/h is 12,000.
Dividing this by 60 gives 200 rpm.

Now all you have to do is to know your gear ratio. 38x19 is 2 so would be

a

Quoted message said:

cadence of 100 at 24km/h

Unfortunately I think Elisa has hub gears, which complicate matters.

cheers,
clive

Peter Clinch said:

Count the number of times you turn the pedals in a set time while
pedalling as you typically would. If you have (or can borrow) a
stopwatch (better still a countdown timer with an audible alarm) then
it's number of pedal revs divided by number of minutes to give you your
cadence.

Now that's better. My watch _does_ have a stopwatch function with audible
alarm. I wasn't clever enough to think of putting it to this use.

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli

Quoted message said:

David Martin said:

On 6/8/04 1:10 pm, in article [email hidden],
"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

The rollout distance for one revolution of a cycle tyre is approx 2m
The number of revolutions such a tyre makes per hour at 24 km/h is 12,000.
Dividing this by 60 gives 200 rpm.

Now all you have to do is to know your gear ratio. 38x19 is 2 so would be a
cadence of 100 at 24km/h

A bit of mental arithmetic can then give you the approximate answer.

Oh dear. I think I'll go for the cyclocomputer.

You could write down a handy table or memorise a few key values.

All you really need to know are the speeds you should use each gear
in.

A

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

The same way you measure your heart rate without a monitor - ie by
counting against the clock. I don't know any other way.

However, having used a cadence computer for a few months now I have a
reasonably good idea of what eg 90rpm feels like so I don't always have
to look at my computer to come up with a reasonably close estimate.

d.

Peter Clinch said:

Mark Tranchant said:

1 revolution in one second = 60rpm (too slow)

Too slow for what, though? My mum's riding typically had a cadence a
fraction of that, which was fine for trundling down to the shops on and
back, which was most of her cycle use. Never seemed to do her any harm.

Pete.

Yeah, I think cadence depends on speed and gradient if you're pottering
along. I can manage much lower cadences (40-50) if I'm going slowly
along the flat - because putting the power on during each stroke is slow
and gentle, and because not much power is needed if it's flat.

Anything requiring any decent input of power though and such low
cadences are a Very Bad Thing, and I happily spend most of my time
around 80-95 (and higher, depending on gradients etc - I spin up to
105-110 occasionally when needed, but not for any length of time) along
most terrain.

When you're counting, don't forget you only count one leg's pedalling,
not both ;-) I have a habit of counting *both* legs if I'm getting
tired (don't ask, I have no idea, it's just a mental thing that happens)
which would give some very funny numbers for cadences (something akin to
the Lance end of the scale I suspect)!

--

Velvet

Paul Rudin said:

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

Count how many times you turn your pedals in a minute?

The trick is knowing when the time-phase begins and ends, since I cannot look at my
watch and remain balanced on a bike at the same time. Peter Clinch in the UK forum
has reminded me that my watch has a stopwatch with an audible time-out alarm. It's
just a little fairy sound, so I will have to test this evening whether I can
actually hear it in traffic.

Thanks all,

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

Count how many times you turn your pedals in a minute?

Velvet said:

Peter Clinch wrote:

When you're counting, don't forget you only count one leg's pedalling,
not both ;-) I have a habit of counting *both* legs if I'm getting
tired (don't ask, I have no idea, it's just a mental thing that happens)
which would give some very funny numbers for cadences (something akin to
the Lance end of the scale I suspect)!

Thanks for that clarification - I was all ready to count each downstroke of
the foot!

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

David Martin said:

On 6/8/04 1:10 pm, in article [email hidden],
"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

The rollout distance for one revolution of a cycle tyre is approx 2m
The number of revolutions such a tyre makes per hour at 24 km/h is 12,000.
Dividing this by 60 gives 200 rpm.

Now all you have to do is to know your gear ratio. 38x19 is 2 so would be a
cadence of 100 at 24km/h

A bit of mental arithmetic can then give you the approximate answer.

Oh dear. I think I'll go for the cyclocomputer.

Or you can simply count your pedal rotations for 6 seconds and multiply
by 10, to get a rough estimate. Counting for 10 seconds and multiplying
by 6 is a bit more accurate. And so on.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

Ambrose Nankivell said:

Quoted message said:

Oh dear. I think I'll go for the cyclocomputer.

You could write down a handy table or memorise a few key values.

All you really need to know are the speeds you should use each gear
in.

It's an awfully Rube Goldberg way of figuring something very easy:
count the number of times your leg completes a circle in a given
interval of time: maybe six seconds. Multiply that by ten. Cadence!

The musically-inclined can do it by feeling the beat of their own
footsteps. There was a thread here on RBM recently about that--I seem
to recall that "andante" corresponded to a comfortable and reasonably
efficient cadence for most people, while racers going full-out might
dance an aleghretto on the pedals.

Riding a bike is easy. Let's not make it any more complicated.

-Luigi

Cadence is simply beats per minute, so count the number of revolutions
in, say, 10 seconds and multiply by 6.

On a related matter:

A long time ago I published an article about gear seconds. A gear second
is a value which gives your speed in terms of revolutions. For example
if your gears are 52/18, then counting the revolutions for 14 seconds
gives your speed. (This assumes a 27" wheel). The formula is

gear seconds=R*pi*405/264,

where R is the gear ratio, such as 52/18 = 2.9, and pi is 3.1415.

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Is there any rule of thumb method to estimate cadence on a bike without
a function on the cyclocomputer?

Thanks
EFR
Ile de France

--
Bob Wheeler --- http://www.bobwheeler.com/
ECHIP, Inc. ---
Randomness comes in bunches.

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

just a little fairy sound, so I will have to test this evening whether I can
actually hear it in traffic.

So do your measurement test in a park. Traffic is a lousy place to
check cadence anyway, because it's entirely possible your cycling rhythm
will be interrupted by what's going on around you.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Velvet said:

Peter Clinch wrote:

When you're counting, don't forget you only count one leg's pedalling,
not both ;-) I have a habit of counting *both* legs if I'm getting
tired (don't ask, I have no idea, it's just a mental thing that happens)
which would give some very funny numbers for cadences (something akin to
the Lance end of the scale I suspect)!

Thanks for that clarification - I was all ready to count each downstroke of
the foot!

EFR
Ile de France

Well, given it's more natural to count both, how about:

Count both over 10 seconds, multiply by 3.

That gives you *double* the real cadence over 30 seconds, which is the
same as the *real* cadence over 60 seconds.

(I had considered count both over 15 seconds and multiply by two, but
this is likely to mean you're counting into the thirties, which gets
harder to do accurately if you're also looking where you're going and
watching out for hazards etc!)

--

Velvet