Mountain Bike Racing - Spinning?

I've recently started training with roadies to pass the winter months. They think I should be spinning more than I do. I've tried to explain to them that they have different gear ratios, hence what appears to be my lack of spinning when keeping pace with them but I am at my own cadence pace. What do y'all think? when I try to spin like them, I get wreaked and they start to drift from me whereas If I stay at my own rpm I can keep up fine (much to their annoyance, I think!)

Spinning faster works your cardiovascular system more, spinning slower works your muscle strength more. It's good to train by alternating fast and slow cadences, to build up everything.

Moutain biking usualy builds lot more muscle mass than it does increase one's cardiovascular fitness
Road biking is an intesnely aerobic activiy, it works your cardiovascular system like nothing short of good ol' running, but(like running) it often does very little to build strength

In fact, if a mountain biker(with strong legs) was to start to do exclusvely road riding at very high cadence he would actualy cause his body to make his legs get weaker(protien metabolization, and energy priotiziation...too complicated)

but, back to the real world, as it is you probably have much stronger legs than the roadies but less cardiovascular fitness. depending on what you want the fitness for i would reconomend different things. but if all you want is stronger legs, then stay low cadence and tell the roadies that you training for off road riding, not road racing. I'd make idfferent reconmendations if you want something different, like some cardiovascular fitness...but ive already typed too much

excuse the spelling

Amen vos, hit the nail right on someones head. Best explanation I have seen in the physiological differences between both.

Also, spinning is a personal thing. I don't think everyone is meant to spin at 100rpm (however it is measured). (this likely comes down to how you are built, red vs white fibres for example) Personally, I pedal depending on the trail, I am decent at maintaining fast rpms, but when the trail gets tech I resort to mashing to blow through stuff. Spinning just doesn't work when you are shifting your body weight back and forth to lift the bike over stuff, so I end up grinding through most stuff, big strong legs, no endurance :)

Stay at your own pace. Enjoy the ride, no need to destroy yourself because someone wants you to spin :)

I don't understand how he means he's keeping up with them but at a slower pace?

If you're spinning slower, aren't you behind them? Or do spinning cycles take into account gear ratios-to distance?

I'll be looking at getting into once a week 1 hour spinning classes come the new year


Should be delicious! (Only ao=bout like 16 sessions until I can ride again but it should be a sufficient replacement. Stationary bikes get old fast :()

No. Because you are in a harder gear.

So he means heart rate is keeping up?

What is he keeping up to them in? *explodes*

If you spin at 100rpm in one gear thats 'easier' and you PEDAL at 50rpm in a harder gear, you will be going the same speed.

He means HE is keeping up.

Yeah that's what I was meaning that the bike takes into account gear ratios.

I didn't know they did that

Yeah that's what I was meaning that the bike takes into account gear ratios.

I didn't know they did that

well i'll lay it out what the story is:
when i'm riding with them i am usually in combination 44-14 (i think) and they are usually in about combination 42-16 (again, i think). if i drop to my middle chain ring like they suggest i get knackered straight away. their argument is that if the pace increases i have very few gears left to put down the power. point is, my gear ratio goes from 44-11 whereas theirs goes from 56-10 (i think, their large chainring is much bigger then mine). actually, its really annoying because at the end of the ride we always race the last 10k's and i am flat out but there's nothing left. i'm bringing some of the roadies out to do some off road stuff next weekend though, i think some steep technical singletrack might be on the cards, downhill of course!