Originally Posted by
sstorkel
The counter-point to this argument is that the longer you spend conditioning yourself to ride at a lower (or unknown) cadence, the more difficult it will be when you later decide you want to change your cadence. I, for one, wish that I had started focusing on cadence much earlier in my riding career. I would have had a lot more fun that first year on the bike if I'd been able to ride without the constant knee pain and burning quads that I got while mashing along at 60rpm...
I'm sure some people have the mental discipline to adjust their pedaling without knowing their cadence, but for myself I found that having a computer with cadence was an essential reminder as I was trying to adjust my cadence. That doesn't mean that everyone has to buy one, nor does buying one mean that you suddenly need to adopt a 120rpm Tour de France cadence, but they are a very useful tool to have in your arsenal... if increased fitness is your ultimate goal.
Exactly my point. If one does not aim for a high cadence immediately, their slower cadence will then become habit. Ingrained habit. Very difficult to change. (For example, it took cancer to change Armstrong's cadence.)
Now, if someone is unfit, yeah, riding a faster cadence will be difficult at first, at least cardiovascularly. But, that is no different than someone struggling with the muscular demands of a slower cadence. Going uphill, for instance. How many Clydes walked up their first "real big" hill because they didn't have the strength for it? In the end, riders will get fitter and adapt to a fast cadence and they will then have a habit of such and not have to overcome it.
As a personal example, I look to my son. Started when he was 12yo. But I emphasized a nice, fast cadence for him. He couldn't keep up because when it came to crunch time, he couldn't drop it into a large gear and just push. But his muscles adapted over time. Now, as a 15yo, he's dropping me (no easy task), and only has trouble on the hills keeping up with the really skinny mountain goats. He has an incredibly smooth, fast pedaling style. Beautiful to watch. And I can tell, his musculature is still developing. Scary. In talking with his coach (a former track world champion), we did it the correct way. Cardiovascularly speaking, we're born with what we have, with only room for little improvement. Muscularly, however, we have lots of room for improvement. His advice? Strengthen the muscles slowly over time so as not to do damage to the structure.
As for Neil's friend & the trainer.... that makes no sense to me. And I consider myself a roadie.
In the end...
Riding w/good cadence > Riding w/poor cadence > not riding.
But why not aim for good form right at the start? Cause they can't ride for hours on end right away? Posh.