Road Cycling - Why does high cadence work?

OK, so yesterday was the day before a rest day so I decided to go for a high cadence and ignore the burn. I normally gear for the low 80's and an average of low 70's. Yesterday, I geared for low-to-mid 90's and mid-to-high 80's for average and tried to pay close attanetion to "heels down". Well, imagine my surprise when I added almost a full mph to my average speed and cut 5 minutes off a 30 minute ride! Of course, my legs were burning most of the way, but I got up this morning without too much leg grief (kind of slight "ghost" dullness).
Why does a high cadence result in these numbers? I'm kind of looking for medical-type reasoning (not the terminolgy, but an explanation of how my legs, lungs, heart etc are working together).

I believe it has something to do with higher cadence stressing your cardiovascular/endurance system. Lower cadence stresses your muscles more which leads to quicker fatigue. Not positive on this or in other areas, Im sure someone knows the whole story.

yup, you got it exactly, tridevil.

your heart is non-fatiguing muscle.... you can push it as hard as you want, but it won't need to "stop" to take a rest... it just keeps going. skeletal muscle on the other hand can fatigue really quickly at lactate threshold.

hmm, I usually spin anywhere between 85-100 on average. sometimes i get up to 130 in the big ring. maybe there is something wrong with me. I do notice that cardio-workout is a bit more intense @ higher cadence cuz when i spin lower, my legs start to kill.

Originally posted by komatiite
hmm, I usually spin anywhere between 85-100 on average. sometimes i get up to 130 in the big ring. maybe there is something wrong with me. I do notice that cardio-workout is a bit more intense @ higher cadence cuz when i spin lower, my legs start to kill.

haha no nothing's wrong with you! :)

i spin around 100 on avg. generall the smoother your pedal stroke, the higher cadence you can spin comfortably

Any suggestions on a regiment which will help build up the ability to keep the cadence up?

I do pretty good on flat, but cannot easily keep the cadence up on hills even when I drop to the grannies.

Originally posted by oldillini
Any suggestions on a regiment which will help build up the ability to keep the cadence up?


Electroshock when you drop below 90 rpm?

Seriously, get a computer with a cadence function and become a slave to that little display. You develop spin by forcing yourself to ride at a higher cadence while concentating a smooth pedal stroke.

I 'spose you could shoot for 5 more rpm each week on average. me? I just went for it and jumped from a 80 rpm average on the flats to 90-95 in a week (climbing cadence went from 70 to 85)

I found cadence training in the hills to be as beneficial as on the flats so I don't think terrain matters too much.

Originally posted by F1_Fan


Seriously, get a computer with a cadence function and become a slave to that little display. You develop spin by forcing yourself to ride at a higher cadence while concentating a smooth pedal stroke.

I 'spose you could shoot for 5 more rpm each week on average. me? I just went for it and jumped from a 80 rpm average on the flats to 90-95 in a week (climbing cadence went from 70 to 85)

I found cadence training in the hills to be as beneficial as on the flats so I don't think terrain matters too much.


and why is this so important? Me being new to the Road:)

I have a wireless Vetta that I can hook up a wired cadence to.. but what are the big benefits to this? sorry if I sound stupid I am just trying to learn?

One way to practice keeping your cadence up is to ride one rear cog lower than what feels "right" for a given situation. It's more fun and natural than letting the computer rule your cadence. Carl, keep at it... the burning will go away before long. No need to force it too much.

Chaz, TriDevil pretty much nailed it. It takes much longer to recover from muscular fatigue (as in overnite), whereas you can typically recover from fatigue resulting from a higher heart rate in minutes.

Originally posted by chaztrip
and why is this so important? Me being new to the Road:)


tridevil's answer is the correct one. Also, it's accepted that the average cyclist is most efficient in the 90 rpm range. IMO, there's much less stress on your knees and hips if you're at a good cadence. Big gear mashers tend to get sore lower backs and knees more easily. Everyone is different though.

A higher cadence is nice when climbing too. Jan Ullrich's low clibming cadence is commonly thought to be the reason Lance can pull away so easily on a climb. Jan's got very little snap relative to Lance and thus takes a while to wind up the gear and generate speed... that takes more energy than it should.

Jan's big disadvantage relative to Lance in the hills is his weight. Jan weighs a fair bit more than LA. That's the main reason why it takes him longer to react.

i tend to climb at much higher cadence on the hills than on the flats.... i'm usually around 110-120 going up hills.... then i drop down to 90-100 on the flats

It is the same for the heart and the muscle just as it is the same for the bicycle and the cyclist. There is always a limit to the human capacity but no one ever said that it cannot be overcomed. The muscle really fatigue fast, but I read somewhere that triathletes can handle high volume because they are using different muscles in different workout. If it is the heart, no matter whether they are using their thighs or just the little finger, I guess they would have been dead beat.

The same for the bicycle and the cyclist. Many a times, it is the cyclist that limit how fast the bicycle can go. The bicycle is a truely efficient machine, and if the cyclist is good enough, he can compete in the Tour de France or the RAAM. Seldom has anyone been able to shatter his bike just by riding.

When I ride downhill, I do prefer to use the higher gears, 53 x 1X, even though I might only be travelling only slightly higher then 30kmh, but I believe it lets your cardiovascular system recover better for the next effort and use a little bit of your muscular system for a while. Can anyone clear up on this?