Road Cycling - Difficulty keeping high cadence. Suggestions?

I'm beginning the transition from mb to roadie. All I've read has stressed consistent pedal cadence, often quoting 90-100 RPMs. I assume this is for advanced cyclists, but I can't evn maintain 80. Is this normal? I'm averaging about 60 over 5-mile rides with 75 RPMs sustainable for only about .2 miles or until I hit a slight hill. What are reasonable goals to get up to a reasonable cadence? Any ideas on how to accomplish them? Am I just out of shape right now and will be better off in a few weeks? I've got a 52-42 front crankset and I spend most of my time in 42 and about middle gear on the cassette. I don't have many more options! :P

Thanks

Just work on spinning- higher cadences and lower gears. It'll take time. Do more endurance riding on flat roads, and throw in interval rides for good measure. When you get to a hill, just make sure you're shifting into the lower gears and keeping the higher cadences as you ascend the hill. Continue shifting into lower gears as it gets harder for you to continue keeping a faster cadence up the hills.

For hills, I think it's reasonable to maintain cadences of 60- 80 rpm's. 60 rpms if the hill is a bit steeper, but try to aim towards keeping a higher cadence as much as possible anyway. You will save your knees and your energy if you can spin up those hills.

For flats, anywhere from 80- 100 rpm's is fine for the average individual. I used to sit on a stationary bike with a metronome and spin to the cadence I selected and keep track of my pedal stroke with the metronome. I'll be getting a trainer for this winter and work on getting more serious with that metronome.

You can get a metronome from any music store. I have an electronic one that I work with.

it might be your gearing...

BTW, are you using clipless pedals? It a bit hard to get to 90-100rpm if you have platform pedals..

Well, I used to practice spinning using my MTB.. using the lowest gear and spinning to a 100-110rpm.. You will know if you get it right when you eliminate the bounce (butt--saddle)..

what's the problem?
is it physically hard to spin at 90 rpm? or are you unable to move your legs that fast?
if the first is true, drop to a lower gear. the idea of spinning at 90/100 is that you push a lower gear at higher rpm, achieving the same speed. if the latter is true, which IMO is unlikely, as 90 rpm is a pretty natural cadence, just practice in low gears, i guess.
training on a fixed gear bike will hone your cadence nicely, as well.

Originally posted by Koffee Brown

You can get a metronome from any music store. I have an electronic one that I work with.

Or if your computer is close to your trainer (vice versa works too), you might want to give one of these pieces of software a try:

http://www.educational-software-directory.net/music/metronome.html

There's also metronome software for PDAs. Just do a quick search using Google.

High cadence does not just mean spinning your pedals faster. It means dropping into a lower gear and spinning faster. You use the same amount of power to propel the bike, but use less force on the pedals. Your heart and lungs work harder, but your legs work less, so it is a more efficient way of riding.
Practice at low speed, in a very low gear, pedalling with little force, but at high speed. Dont worry about how fast you are going or how hard you are working, the aim is to accustom your leg muscles to pedalling quickly. Try spinning for a minute as fast as you can. Make sure your saddle is set at a good height.
You do need clipless pedals or toe clips to spin at high cadence.
52/42 is an odd size for a double chainring. Most are 52/39. It helps having lower gears, and most road bikes are over-geared for the riders.

Shift down a gear or two.

It took me a long time to get used to a high cadence, and I still don't always do it well. Just keep trying and eventually you will get there.

it took me three months to find good cadence when I'm cycling, and i still dont have good cadence going up hills! It will take some time, but when it hits you, you'll know it. Try this, get to a good crusing speed and drop down one gear, it might seem fast but try that for a while. it worked for me :)

good luck
-Ross

I agree with all the above posts. It seemed really uncomfortable at first to be in lower gears spinning faster. I felt like I was bouncing all over the place and felt I needed the tension or resistance of the higher gears to be comfortable. At the same time, I couldn't figure out why my legs were on fire after just a mile or two and dead after 6 or 7. You will get used it like everything else. Remember when you first started riding how it kinda difficult to even ride straight without the herky-jerky motions? That went away and so will this. Just start trying to integrate the motion into your rides. Simply drop down a couple of grears and spin for a bit, then maybe knock it up one. Just go back and forth until you start getting used to it because admittably, it's awkward, even uncomfortable at first.

If you really want to learn how to spin get a fixed gear bike. If you have an old bike or frame collecting dust make it into a fixed gear.

Ride this in the spring and then once a week in the summer and I will gurantee you will know how to spin!

I found learning on a stationary bike at the gym helped a lot. I wasn't on a familiar trail or road so I wasn't trying to go faster than last time. Bouncing didn't matter as much and you're not worried about balance. They always have a rpm counter so you can monitor your progress.

Joe

Dont sit there and spin nowhere,ride.Cadence is pedals per minute in any gear.I try to keep over 90 in any gear i'm in.Of course i dont ride at 25mph either.I can keep it over 90 between 10 and 20 mph for my rides without a problem,except headwind and then its just making it.Make sure seat height is right and clipless does help a lot.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll start practicing. Only thing: to get a high cadence (say 80) I'm in almost my lowest gear (only 2-3 left). When I hit a hill, I don't have much left. As I get used to riding a roadie, will I be able to maintain the same cadence at higher gears (i.e. one or two higher where I started)?

The best thing that ever happened to my cadence was the day my front derailleur cable came loose 15 miles from home. I didn't have it in me to adjust it on the road. I decided to make it home on the small chain ring of my triple. I was amazed by the speed I could get on a fast cadence in low gears. From this I learned to work on cadence intervals on a regular basis. One of the best recommendations I followed was to get into the lowest gear you could get into without jumping out of the seat as you cranked. Just crank as fast as you can. I found that I could get into 100 rpm easily. Then you increase the interval duration. This is great to do on the flats during your warm up.

I don't use my triples much, except on long steep hills and for keeping myself honest in cadence training. Carl, since you don't have a triple on your roadbike, practice your cadence intervals on your MTB in the smallest chainring.

Rich

Getting to it is one thing,maintaining it is another.

Just pedaling fast is not all you have to work on.

Find a smooth rythm and you'll spin much better.

Don't let the legs fly out to the sides but keep them in tight to the top tube.

Insure your extension is correct, over or under extension will affect smoothness.

Push over the top pull through the bottom.

Practice a lot and eventually it will come.

Originally posted by CarlJStoneham
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll start practicing. Only thing: to get a high cadence (say 80) I'm in almost my lowest gear (only 2-3 left). When I hit a hill, I don't have much left. As I get used to riding a roadie, will I be able to maintain the same cadence at higher gears (i.e. one or two higher where I started)?

Again, it's just gonna be time and training. I can keep a 90 cadence on my big ring now (on flats, for shorter durations) which would have been impossible just months ago.

Three things

1 Practice 2. Practice, and most importantly ... 3. Practice!

Seriously, in addition to what others have stated, try spinning one leg @ a time. This will quickly show your weak spots in your pedal stroke. Do each leg for a few minutes, then spin with both legs and repeat.

Good luck!

Thanks a million for all the suggestions. I tried to put them to use today and guess what? Success! (albeit for a short time)

On a 3-4 mile ride, I was able to average 76 RPM (including up a small hill) with a max of 93 (going down). My average speed was about 15.7 compared to 14.6 on my mb. Granted, my legs felt like Jell-o bricks at the end, but the siccess gave me some confidence that I would be able to (someday) master the road bike :D

Thanks again for all the suggestions. If you have more, feel free to weigh in!

You may also consider putting a 39 chainring on in place of the 42.

As said before, pinch your knees in tighter to the bar, and down shift a gear or two, until your legs get stronger. Then you can gradually increase your gearing to gain speed, as you get stronger.

It's funny, but as your legs get stronger, you will find it easier to maintain your cadence in the next higher gear.

I agree on the pedaling too. Try to pedal in an eliptical pattern. Put pressure on the pedal all the way around the circle. Dont just stomp on them. You keep more pedaling momentum.

Originally posted by captsven
You may also consider putting a 39 chainring on in place of the 42.

that is a good idea(replacing the 42T) if you have a hard time spinning while going through ascents..

I can still spin with 42-23 @ 18-20kmh... So if you don't get any lower than that(18kmh), I think your fine...

BTW: my gearing is 52T-42T w/ 12T-23T.. I can relate:D

Using higher RPMs during cycling usually "evens out" the pedal stroke's power curve, so that you are really "saving" the big muscles and using some of the smaller ones.

The reason it is hard to do, - is the lack of balance between the two groups of muscles as well as all the other bodily "control" systems necessary to move a body part fast.

If you think about, the only thing you ever do 80-90 times a minute is have your heart beat....... some people can sprint/stride that fast but not very long.

I guess you'll have to go read all the training stuff about spinning, but for me, I just "practice" spinning once in a while.

Trying to spin all the time while you are learning will wear you out.

GoodLuck...