Road Cycling - Cadence Improvement

As a 59 year old newbie I need some advice from some senior members. I bought my first bike in July of 2,000. I found I loved riding but wanted more speed (for more distance) and blamed my lack of speed on the hybrid style bike. Two months ago I sprang for a lightweight road bike. Much to my dismay I found the lighter weight and thinner tires didn't result in much addditional speed, particularly against the wind. I suspect much of my problem is too slow a cadence (72-78 range), but despite riding abount 200 miles per month I don't find the cadence or ability to handle higher gearing is improving. Do I need to accept the fact that age is the major determinate, which I have no problem accepting, or should I be following some specific training to improve this situation. Thanks for any advice.

John

Trying to cycle fast into a headwind is always difficult and the hardest and slowest, with the possible exception of climbing steep hills. Don't get too frustrated over it.

When you pedal do you exert power on the down stroke as well as the up-stroke? You should be doing both. This takes some concentration and practice, but once it is mastered, becomes second nature. It also will produce a smoother pedaling motion and should increase cadence.

Shimano, years ago, developed the Bio-Pace chainrings to facilitate this push-pull pedaling. I liked it, but Racers didn't so it became extinct.

Just remember, as you are pushing down with one pedal, pull up on the other. 90 revs, or above, is pretty good.

The other question to ask yourself: Are you trying to push too big a gear? That will slow cadence also.

This is a good thread. You should get some interesting responses. Good Luck

If you speed up the cadence, you will have a much easier time with every cycling condition. I have had several non-cyclist ask me why I pedal so fast (90-120 rpm) and I have tried to explain to them that it is much more effecient, but they in turn tell me about how, as a kid, they used to pedal around town in the hardest gear.

John,
Well, as a young whippersnapper of 51 going on 52 and a 1-year-plus newbie myself, I'll jump in with some observations.

To learn to spin faster you have to spend some time each week spinning faster. This means get into a lower gear, one that feels VERY easy to spin, easy enough to spin 90 or so for long periods. Don't kid yourself and try to do this in a higher gear. you want one that feels embarassingly easy. The point is to train your muscles to move faster. To do that, you have to spin for longer periods. You will defeat the purpose if you try to use too hard because you won't be able to maintain the faster cadence long enough. For me, for instance, this gear really is embarassingly low, 60-70 inches, 39-17/16 or 42-19/18, sometimes a little higher. Some may laugh at such low gears, but it's what I can do now. It has increased steadily over the last few months and hopefully will continue to do so. I also spend some time at 100-110. Cadence building is a slow process, it's not something that happens quickly. You just have to keep plugging at it, devoting a day or two every week to just spinning without worrying about how fast you are moving.

Good luck,
Raymond

John,
Welcome to BF. There are a few "older" riders here with some great advice. I'll be 57 next week. :thumbup:

You said you ride 200 miles each month but didn't say how often you ride. If you aren't already riding at least 3-5 days a week, try to increase the number of days you ride.

Rainman has some great advice. To increase cadence ride in a lower gear and spin. Too often I see people riding in too high of a gear and I can tell they are struggling. They aren't accomplishing anything except using up all their energy.

I would also recommend a book, Cycling Past 50 by Joe Friel. You can read about it and if you'd like order it here (http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y02Y3866959Y4856395/qid=1008002846/sr=1-1/107-0855775-5742132).

Ride with people who are serious about cadence. Just keep an eye on their spinning and get into a gear that keeps you at the same cadence. I'm 56 and I am "the kid" in one of the groups I ride with. Since I returned to road cycling only a year ago after a 23 year hiatus, I emulate 60-70 year olds and their 90-100 rpm spinning. Age is not the issue. Ride on varied terrain (no problem with that here on the California Central Coast) so you can move from gear to gear without changing cadence. Also I like the peddling method that Greg LeMond describes in his book--it makes keeping the cadence up easy. Read what he has to say, but in a nutshell the leg movement is like what a dog does on the grass after a bowel movement (that scraping back of the feet). Think of the crank cycle as the face of a clock, and consciously push forward to 3 and pull back to 6. I really works well for me.

Well I didn't realize that being in your 50's consituted being old. You guys should take it easy on yourselves and we who are following in you footsteps. I am just a middle-aged 36 year old who use to be a gear masher but am now learning the subtleties of increased cadence. I am still learning and there are times when I still get that urge to crank.The increased cadence has helped me in all areas of my cycling. My body thanks me as well because it is so much easier on the joints and muscles than always pushing the big gears.

Rainman had a lot of great points and if you follow those you will be well on your way. One point I would bring up though is that you don't want to go to easy on the gearing, but find a gear where you are comfortable spinning at 90-100 rpm. If you go to easy you will find that the bike will start to wobble from side to side. If this is the case increase the gearing but keep the cadence up. It does take time to learn but if you really concentrate on your smooth spinning technique you will learn to love it.

Best of luck.

Mike

John, I'm almost 52 and started riding about 9 months ago. I have improved my cadence by doing everything that Raymond told you to do. I now have no trouble with 100 rpm and average 85 to 95 (including uphill which I’m bad at).

The only thing I could add to Raymond's advice is that after you downshift and start spinning keep increasing your cadence until you start bouncing in the saddle; then back off a little and maintain that cadence as long as you can (that's your max cadence).

Do that a couple of times on each ride and after a week or so, you max cadence will start going up.

MikeR

Welcome! I was 60 in April when I bought my first bike after 25 years, so I consider mine to be the same as your situation.

I bought a "city bike" with three speed hub, which weighs 38 pounds! When I realized that I loved this stuff, I bought a road bike, which I did not get until the end of October.

For the first six months on my first bike, I had to spin fast to get anywhere, and became used to it. In fact, I found 95-110 to be very comfortable. And I needed that speed to top out the low gears before I could get to shift up.

On the road bike, I just pedal at that rate, and next thing I know, I am topped out and need to upshift because I can't keep up with the bike any more. It works a treat! I just keep going faster, and am comfortable besides.

While I don't have many hills here, there surely is a lot of wind. Usually coming from whatever direction I am going. :)

Keep on spinnin'!

Cheers...Gary

Jah,

Welcome to the forums.

I come across many riders in their fifties and sixties that nearly make me passout from exhaustion.

Age is no excuse.

High cadence will come with effort and time.

Welcome to the forums, Jah. Once again, Rainman's advice is sound. You need to train your muscles to spin the pedals faster, it's best to do this in a lower gear. Ultimately, you'll find yourself able to ride just as fast in your lower gear when your cadence improves.

A sincere thank you to all who have responded. I can see I've been too concerned with gears and not enough with cadence. I'm anxious to start "retraining".

John

Welcome, jah!

I'm going to nit-pick a little. Often, a rider will be slower riding with a higher cadence. The real benefit is less fatigue. That may translate into a higher average speed on a long ride, and faster recovery after the ride. For outright speed, push a bigger gear at a lower cadence (we're still talking 75-80 RPM). When going for speed, the trick is to pace yourself at a sustainable level of effort. In any case, getting comfortable with a faster cadence will yield benefits.

Also, give it some time. Your endurance and strength will improve. And continue to improve. I've found that endurance in particular is somewhat cumulative, i.e. if you spend a winter month or two without getting out as much, once you get your legs back in the spring, you retain a lot of the endurance developed previously. Age may slow the process, but it certainly doesn't stop it.