Tips on cadence

[Bikelyst]

I'm fairly sure that I am pushing to high of a gear, ~70-80 rpms. I've heard that it feels more natural to pound up a hill, blasting the cranks, but to take the next step in my performance, my cadence is the next thing that needs to be taken into account.

Any tips for practicing running a higher cadence?

 

[gclark8]

Yes, put the chain on the 39/42 tooth chainring and disconnect the FD cable!

 

[alienator]

Yes, put the chain on the 39/42 tooth chainring and disconnect the FD cable!

Or similarly, get a computer w/ cadence, monitor your cadence, and shift to a gear combo that allows you to pedal at a higher cadence.

 

[KellyT]

I'm fairly sure that I am pushing to high of a gear, ~70-80 rpms. I've heard that it feels more natural to pound up a hill, blasting the cranks, but to take the next step in my performance, my cadence is the next thing that needs to be taken into account.

Any tips for practicing running a higher cadence?

Yes. I set up my trainer with cadence monitoring and did my training focusing 100% on maintaining cadence at no less than 80 (before that I was much too low around 65 typically!).

With nothing else distracting you, after enough sessions you begin to retrain what feels like your 'natural' cadence.

As per the other post, you would benefit from a cycle computer with a nice big clear cadence display too.

 

[Bikelyst]

Sounds blatent enough, thanks for the tips.

 

[IEatRice4Dinner]

i usually do around 100-110 spin spin

 

[Jaguar27]

i usually do around 100-110 spin spin

That's fast!! I try to keep at around 85-90...but that's just me...

 

[carpediemracing]

An old trick is to use a slightly big gear, get to a comfortable cadence, then shift down one gear (i.e. easier). Look at your cadence in the big gear then look at it again a minute or so after you shift down. You'll find yourself spinning faster.

I used to go out on rides and try and keep my average cadence really high - 120 rpm for an hour or so was my normal limit. By focusing on overspinning you'll find that going, say, 100 rpms is suddenly really easy.

(over) spinning also teaches you to be smoother, more efficient. Do max rpm sprints (no resistance - like a 39x19 on a flat road). Go for 200 rpms and once you get there, go higher. You'll find yourself spinning much smoother once you are able to hit such high rpms. Mid 200's seem to be a normal limit for racers, upper 200's is really fast.

As a bonus a spin day is relatively easy on your legs (except the max spin things which kill mine).

good luck with the spinning
cdr

 

[obxbes]

During the winter I primarily used an indoor trainer and made an effort to pedal at a high cadence 90-100. It seems that I have gotten used to pedaling at this cadence and even when I use a higher gear I maintain the higher cadence. As a result I am riding 2-3 mph faster on average than I was last year.
UOTE=carpediemracing]An old trick is to use a slightly big gear, get to a comfortable cadence, then shift down one gear (i.e. easier). Look at your cadence in the big gear then look at it again a minute or so after you shift down. You'll find yourself spinning faster.

I used to go out on rides and try and keep my average cadence really high - 120 rpm for an hour or so was my normal limit. By focusing on overspinning you'll find that going, say, 100 rpms is suddenly really easy.

(over) spinning also teaches you to be smoother, more efficient. Do max rpm sprints (no resistance - like a 39x19 on a flat road). Go for 200 rpms and once you get there, go higher. You'll find yourself spinning much smoother once you are able to hit such high rpms. Mid 200's seem to be a normal limit for racers, upper 200's is really fast.

As a bonus a spin day is relatively easy on your legs (except the max spin things which kill mine).

good luck with the spinning
cdr[/QUOTE]

 

[IEatRice4Dinner]

exactly! i also will hit 120+ rpm but i usually stay around 100-110... in the trainer i would practice and get over200 my max is 230-240rpm... not smoothly lol but i find it helps with being smooth at a lower rpm.

 

[wiredued]

IMHO focusing on leg speed is not going to help much your cadence will increase naturally as your power increases focus on SST more than just cadence alone.