Triathlon - Optimum crank speed

I have been experimenting lately different crank speed and I appear to be more efficient / comfortable just a little over 85 rpm, I have a significant drop in velocity below 85 (it just feels too sluggish) and don't like the feeling over 92 (I feel like I am red lining without any gain in speed) .. I understand that its a personal thing but just thought I would validate with others ..

Any comments..

Thks

On a flat with no wind I like to be at 95+ in something like 39/14. This puts me in the 21 mph range and I find that I can hold this for an extended period of time with good breathing patterns and my legs feeling pretty good.

Throw some wind and hills into the mix and all bets are off.

On a flat with no wind I like to be at 95+ in something like 39/14. This puts me in the 21 mph range and I find that I can hold this for an extended period of time with good breathing patterns and my legs feeling pretty good.

Throw some wind and hills into the mix and all bets are off.

Interesting, at 22 mph, I typically run 52-17 with 85 rpm.. same speed different setup.

Thks

i'm sort of a mid-field cadence rider...

i feel most comfortable in the 85-90ish range. whenever i go higher than that it just feels wrong to me...i just prefer having some resistance on the pedals...

I have been experimenting lately different crank speed and I appear to be more efficient / comfortable just a little over 85 rpm, I have a significant drop in velocity below 85 (it just feels too sluggish) and don't like the feeling over 92 (I feel like I am red lining without any gain in speed) .. I understand that its a personal thing but just thought I would validate with others ..

Any comments..

Thks

For road riding/racing, I find 90-105 to be the most efficient tending more toward the higher end of that cadence scale. For TT's and Tris, I believe that 75-85 is considered by most literature to be the optimal range. I do come down to that range when I time trial.

For road riding/racing, I find 90-105 to be the most efficient tending more toward the higher end of that cadence scale. For TT's and Tris, I believe that 75-85 is considered by most literature to be the optimal range. I do come down to that range when I time trial.


why is that? what's the theory / scientific reason behind that?

i guess it must have something to do with bike geometry / body position.

now that i think about it i could notice a difference btw. my cycling on a real bike (only have a tri bike and a MTB) is as described above (85-90 feels best). but on spinning or indoorbikes 100 feels just as good.
(when i mountainbike i don't use a bike computer.)

For road riding/racing, I find 90-105 to be the most efficient tending more toward the higher end of that cadence scale. For TT's and Tris, I believe that 75-85 is considered by most literature to be the optimal range. I do come down to that range when I time trial.
75-85 .. well that's pretty low. Don't you feel like your just slaming the pedals and that your loosing some velocity and power. I always liked some kind or resistance on TT but 75 seems quite extreeme.. maybe I should try it and see .. who knows

Litt.. links pls

To answer the two James:

I actually got that TT cadence figure I believe from Joe Friel's book where he discusses proper TT technique. I am usually a fast cadence guy, and recently hit as high as 139 on a group ride. That being said, I think that theory that you mention holds credence. My TT bike fits like a glove. Not only was it custom made to my measuremts, but fitted by one of the best fitters in the country. It puts me in a different position than on my road bike, and it is a very powerful position. In a TT competition (where BTW, I broke the state age group record this weekend), when I started, I had so much adrenalin going, that when I looked down, I expected to see about 25 mph, and almost fell off my bike when my speedo indicated 30. I was in a nice, tight, powerful, probably 80-85 cadence (I don't have cadence on that bike as I do on my road bike, because I am in too much pain to look or care), and it is an incredibly powerful feeling. Later when I did a longer TT after the first one, I upped my cadence a couple of times just to dissipate lactic acid, and then returned to my lower cadence. The pain, BTW, was intense in that I ran the TT (10K) at an average heart rate of just 5 bpm under my max - well above LT.

The next day when I ran a 20K road race, I was back to my usual over 100 cadence.

To answer the two James:

I actually got that TT cadence figure I believe from Joe Friel's book where he discusses proper TT technique. I am usually a fast cadence guy, and recently hit as high as 139 on a group ride. That being said, I think that theory that you mention holds credence. My TT bike fits like a glove. Not only was it custom made to my measuremts, but fitted by one of the best fitters in the country. It puts me in a different position than on my road bike, and it is a very powerful position. In a TT competition (where BTW, I broke the state age group record this weekend), when I started, I had so much adrenalin going, that when I looked down, I expected to see about 25 mph, and almost fell off my bike when my speedo indicated 30. I was in a nice, tight, powerful, probably 80-85 cadence (I don't have cadence on that bike as I do on my road bike, because I am in too much pain to look or care), and it is an incredibly powerful feeling. Later when I did a longer TT after the first one, I upped my cadence a couple of times just to dissipate lactic acid, and then returned to my lower cadence. The pain, BTW, was intense in that I ran the TT (10K) at an average heart rate of just 5 bpm under my max - well above LT.

The next day when I ran a 20K road race, I was back to my usual over 100 cadence.
Quite intresting and congrats on your race. Custom made Guru .. well I know them quite well, I live within 2 km of their plant .. and I know they produce good bikes, but I agree you should give some credit to your fitter. I can buy the 80-85 range .. I still find 75 a bit too low.

Would it be hijacking this thread to ask HOW you know your cadence? My computer doesn't tell me that. If it's more PC, I'll start a new thread... Cheers.

well either you have a cadence sesor and function on your computer or you don't! ;) i guess technically you could count your rpms but that of course doesn't make that much sense! :D


i think we're all relatively nonchalant on here...if not: oh well! too late now! i already answered! ;)

Would it be hijacking this thread to ask HOW you know your cadence? My computer doesn't tell me that. If it's more PC, I'll start a new thread... Cheers.

I have a cadence feature on my cateye CD300w

Would it be hijacking this thread to ask HOW you know your cadence? My computer doesn't tell me that. If it's more PC, I'll start a new thread... Cheers.
Ideally you use a cyclo that has cadence .. but I don't even use it, I don't find them that usefull.

Simple way : set your cyclo on the time, count leg spin from one leg for 15 sec and multiply by 4.. its kind of easy to do on normal training ride, but I would not consider this during a race, as other thins are more important.

Cheers

As soon as I start riding I start counting my pedal strokes and when my computer gets to 3 minutes, I start over. So every 3 minutes I divide my count by 3. Quick...what's 278 divided by 3? Answer 92.666667 :rolleyes:

OK...I have a CD300W too.

Quite intresting and congrats on your race. Custom made Guru .. well I know them quite well, I live within 2 km of their plant .. and I know they produce good bikes, but I agree you should give some credit to your fitter. I can buy the 80-85 range .. I still find 75 a bit too low.

I am so impressed with the company. You can call the place and speak with the president. Unlike other companies where the LBS simply orders a bike for you after making measurements, Guru has the dealer submit a very detailed form, and they decide which is the proper size bike for you. In my case, some of my body parts called for a 55cm and others for a 57cm. For an extra hundred dollars, they build you a custom bike manufactured to your exact measuremtns. The fit and finish is the best I have ever seen, and the quality of the painting has to be the best in the industry.

The combination of a precisely built bike coupled with expert fitting makes for a bike that fits like a custom glove! I wish I was up there - I would like to visit the plant.

On the time trial bike I like a cadence approx 80 RPMs too... good amount of pain versus power. I also feel very powerful on my tt bike, a function of the seat angle, and can hold 25 MPH for quite some time (I also have seen 30 MPH on the tt bike at near max :eek: ) On my road bike I stay around 90 - 95 RPMs. Being such a big guy high cadence does not work well for me, I prefer 70 - 100 RPM range on the bike...

In the photo I am pushing about 80 RPMs in a 54-13 (I think) at about 33 MPH... powerful (and painful). You can notice I have increadably large frame... lots of power at low RPMs... like a muscle car. hmmm, of course my form kind of fell apart at the end of the sprint... oh well!

On the time trial bike I like a cadence approx 80 RPMs too... good amount of pain versus power. I also feel very powerful on my tt bike, a function of the seat angle, and can hold 25 MPH for quite some time (I also have seen 30 MPH on the tt bike at near max :eek: ) On my road bike I stay around 90 - 95 RPMs. Being such a big guy high cadence does not work well for me, I prefer 70 - 100 RPM range on the bike...

In the photo I am pushing about 80 RPMs in a 54-13 (I think) at about 33 MPH... powerful (and painful). You can notice I have increadably large frame... lots of power at low RPMs... like a muscle car. hmmm, of course my form kind of fell apart at the end of the sprint... oh well!

Here is one that looks painful:

http://www.winkflash.com/photo/imagew2.aspx?i=14275696&c=434158&v=085c1feca93714fbb12f9c533980a099a24eb16bb5eb6aea5e19d01bfa9c844bac0b44f914beac84

It is me at the start of my run that broke the 5kTT Florida State age group record! Trying to get old Jezebel cranking!

That does look painful... of course we all show pain in our own "special" way!

That does look painful... of course we all show pain in our own "special" way!

So true, but the true pain was to come a bit over 7 minutes later when I was in my pre-retch almost finished mode!