Determine Most Efficient Cadence???
Hey Gang,
I've searched, but come up empty, so here's my question. Is there any fairly simple way to determine the most efficent cadence for an individual. For example, my natural-feeling cadence on flats, no wind seems to be around 110 or so, but some folks that I ride with tell me that I'd be better at 90-100 RPM, that high of cadence is more stressfull on the cardio system.
I'm wondering if I could do something on the trainer with my HRM to try and determine at what cadence my system is working best overall. Problem is that I don't think that just a straight graph of "RPM vs Heartrate" will solve anything. I'm thinking that due to the various factors (resistance, gearing, speed, etc) that the measurement I'd be looking for would be something like "heartbeats per mile". Yea, I've got too much time on my hands.
What limited thought processes I have make me think that this would indicate portion of the envelope that everything is working most efficently at. Please let me hear your feedback on this, I know that it's very possibly solving a problem that doesn't exist, but isn't that the purpose of having a hobby?
TIA
Steve W.