ovoleg

Hey guys, I got a quick question...
After installing my Cateye Astrale 8, Wired cadence comp. I went out for a ride.

I did some hills today up Reseda and cruised around just to get a feel for the computer and such. I think its adjusted correctly because its pretty much inline with the speed im used to reading on the Specialized 5.0. I made the Cadence the largest display so I could monitor it. Quite frankly, I was dissapointed in myself.

On the hills(8mph-10mph) I was doing around 60-67 cadence and on downhill I would be doing 90-95 cadence.

On flat roads is where the dissapointment comes in. I was between 75-85 most of the time. Anything around 90+ felt like I was overexerting myself.

Is this the goal I should be aiming for? Should I try to consistently stay between 90-95 cadence like some people here or should I just keep pushing along around 75 and maybe shift up a gear?

Im usually doing around 18-19 with 82ish cadence on flats.

THanks guys

PS: I love this comp

Cornbread

If you can do 18-19 on the flats with an 82 cadence, you can certainly do 18-19 with a 90-05 cadence. Just down shift a gear or two. Concentrate on your form and it should be just as easy. I agree though, when I started I thought 80 was pushing it until I realized I didn't have to be in as high a gear to go the same speed.

RhumbRunner

JMPO here Ovo.

Your "natural" cadence might be 82ish. It probably would, but might not, benefit you to get your cadence up to the 100 area.

You said you felt "overexerted" at 90+, but were you shifting down a gear and maintaining the same speed? If you aren't bouncing on the saddle, the exertion at 100+ should be no higher than at 82. You might want to concentrate on "feeling" your pedal stroke ie. are you pedaling "round" or mostly down?

timwat

I bought the Astrale 8 for that exact same reason, I agree that it's a great wired comp. There are several other Astrale 8 users here on BF too.

My story: 43 old guy, wanted to go longer distances and faster with less pain/fatigue, fighting to rebuild respiratory strength.

The reading I did suggested higher cadence burns more fat and less glycogen over time, hence longer endurance and better performance to boot. I didn't write those articles, and can't vouch for their logic or veracity. But I thought I'd try it, nothing to lose.

1st, had to first get used to staying in easier gears on flats and relatively easy rides. I had been concentrating exclusively on AVS as my old computer didn't have a cadence function. Goal is to be able to sustain even and consistent spin (95-100rpm) without feeling I was unnaturally pushing, or bouncing on the saddle. This is taking longer than I expected, and I definitely haven't mastered it yet. I am using muscles I didn't use before, and I've had to shift more weight to butt and less to pedals.

Anyway, I'm finding now after a couple hundred miles of working on this that I can sustain 95rpm (compared to 85 avg. before I started working in earnest) evenly and consistently, I'm able to sustain this in higher gears, my average time on my daily commute is dropping dramatically, I experience less fatigue, I climb a whole lot faster on hills that previously dropped me, etc.

How much of this is the cadence, and how much is simply getting in better shape, I don't know.

That being said, I can't tell you what goal you should aim for. But I hope some of this helps you decide if pursuing cadence is for you or not.

squeegy200

Ugh!--Reseda Blvd -- I hate that climb!
There are some awesome climbs in that area.

I've slowly worked my regular spin upwards over the years. It takes time and your body has to adjust. In the early stages, my heart rate would go up and my breathing would be labored. But with consistency and practice, I've been able to get my normal spin into the 90-100 cadence. I find now that I recover quickly and I ride longer because of it.

Keep up the good work.

ovoleg

Ahh thanks, Im going to start trying to do 90-95 cadence consistently without bouncing. Around 90'ish I feel that bouncing sensation. I try to control it by putting a bit more pressure on the saddle and trying to do circles.

I usually go up to Rinaldi on Reseda and turn back, I mainly ride from Roscoe(where I live) to Rinaldi and back just to test out random things, probably head towards Balboa park and then up Ventura as my regular ride.

I really thought I was spinning around 90ish before I got my Astrale The wiring was a PITA though, I got the wires tangled and I ziptied them by accident, had to buy new zipties lol.

The cadence feature of the comp is well worth the price of $35. I hit my record high today as well, 38mph

So the best way to practice this is to downshift to a lower gear and try to maintain a consistent 90-100 cadence right? Should I take breaks(coast) during the rides or just stricly maintain 90-100 to build that endurance?

Thanks guys!

ggg300

do one leg intervals.
shift to a lower gear at keep you avg. speed.
remeber that it can take a few years to get it down.
try a trainer and a video like Uphill Grind.

woodcycl

After blowing one knee in 93' and the other in 94' ... from serious club rides with the fast group, I quickly learned that spinning a high cadence was MY FRIEND!!

Since that time, spinning at 90 to 95 feels almost like mashing to me. My typical cadence on a flat on my single is about 100. I can spin up to 115 to 120 without feeling like I'm out of control or not receiving benefit. So, yeah ... I'd say a typical cadence for those cyclists who have never really focused on it ... would be between 80 and 90. For those that have focused on it for it's benefits ... I'd say ride somewhere between 95 and 105.

It does take practice and commitment. But, believe me ... it is well worth it once you get it down. It's like anything else ... you have to un-learn the old habits to learn the new habits.

gattm99

I personally don't think that you should be focusing on vastly increasing your cadence. Instead just work on a smooth pedal stroke and let faster cadence come naturally.

I too recently got an astrale and found I was spining around 75, now I am spinning around 80, I think that is about fast enough for me.

rickkko

When I started measuring my cadence it was in the mid-70s. Then I read where Lance preferred a high cadence so I thought I'd try that.

I remember I felt like a pogo stick bouncing on my seat at first so I tried hard to concentrate on making cirlces. That helped immensly, and getting into the right gear.

Soon I set my goal to try to always maintain 80-90, except for small hills where I stand up. That came fairly quickly. Then I tried to bracket 85-95 which I did pretty consistently for a long, long time.

Now I frown if I notice I'm in the low 90's. I try to stay in the 95-99 range with times when I get up to 105-107, now very normal feeling for me. BTW, this is mostly on near flats that go for miles.

Depending on the roadway and the gear I'm using when I'm spinning mid-90's I'm usually going between 18 and 23mph.

The key for me maintaining good form is to think and spin circles. Works everytime.

I wear Sidi shoes w/Speedplay x/1 pedals. Very smooth; like my feet are on ice.

Oh, now that I typically spin in the 90's I've got to say I really prefer it.

..rickko..

RhumbRunner

Maybe it's just the way you are saying it, but it's not practice. Higher cadence is a complete shift in the way you ride a bike. Once you are able to spin at 100, 110 or 120 RPM, you probably would not be able to go back to 82.

I would advise that you go out and do a mile or two on the flats at whatever cadence and speed feels good to you (cover your CC). After those few miles look at your CC and note the cadence. Then shift down one gear....maybe your cadence goes from 82 to 89. Just maintain the same speed and ride a nice steady (same) speed for 10 or 12 miles. I'll bet it feels "normal" after that ride, and you will naturally fall into the same rythmn on your next ride. Do that a few times and you will be turning 95 to 100 regularly.

ovoleg

good advice, thanks guys!

Im going to try it tommorow

Bauerthis

Ovoleg I'm sorry to break this to you buddy, but going up to Rinaldi on Reseda Blvd is not climbing a hill or hills or climbing in general. I would consider it a change in pitch. If you want to work on climbing either go up to the tops of both sides (north and south) of Reseda or go out to Santa Susanna pass or up Mullholland Hwy...

ovoleg

They're mini but I dont have too much time during the week to be going that far...Its like 10 miles roundtrip. I am going to try Mullholland on the weekend, until then this is my "hills" .

noisebeam

My little cadence story. As a kid I rode a lot, went on centuries with high school recreational cycling club, etc. Rode BMX bike all around rural neighboroods, 10-speed later, etc. Did a few recreational rides in college. Dabbled in mtb since college. Never once cared about nor knew that cadence mattered.
Then ~2-3yrs ago got into transportational cycling. Rode a mtb at first, no meters of any kind, but I knew that high cadence was 'good'. So when I started commuting about a year after just running errands I always shifted down at stops and started in lowest gears and generally used low gear and pedaled fast. Still no metering, just pedaled fast in lower gears and achieved good speed.

I finally broke down and bought a cadence meter and was very surprised to find I rode most often about 115-120rpm, sometimes up to 140 when accelerating.

Points of all this rambling is that:
1. Thinking I'm not pedaling fast was motivation to pedal fast, if I had a meter earlier I may have never pushed cadence as high as I would have thought I was high enough.
2. Mountain bikes have lower gears in general so I was able to stick to lower gears more often, especially up hills.
3. Everyone has a different comfort level. Just because I zoned into the 115 range doesn't mean its right for someone else.

Finally after another year my normal crusing cadence has actually dropped to around 100, but my legs have gotten stronger at lower cadences for hill climbing for when there is no lower gear on my bike.

Al

veneer

great advice for building cadence guys!~

when u guys are working on ur cadance.. what gears are you guy in in the front? r u on the 53T or the 39T? sometimes, i'm using 53T/22T (which i was told as a "no-no") but other time, i'll be riding on 39T/16T to work on my spins.

so should i stay in the 39T to work on my cadance??

ZappCatt

53-11 of course!!!!

ovoleg

uphill with 53-11 for best results


Thanks for the tips guys. I started inching away from 82 mid afternoon. I went on a 10 mile ride just because I was curious about whta I can do to increase the cadence. In the 10 miles I kept it pretty evenly around 92-95 without bouncing. I started going downhill and anything above 105 cadence I was bouncing around like a pogo stick, I couldnt control it either no matter how hard I tried. 90-100 still seems pretty good and I can control it. Seems like maintaining this speed is pretty efficient because I wasn't getting too tired and I was doing around 20mph'ish.

For the heck of it, I tried to see what I can get the comp cadence too on a nice downhill. I hit 145 cadence, I was bouncing pretty hard and Im pretty sure the motorist found it funny . But 145 !!!!

Again, thanks for the tips. Im going to continue training and trying to keep it around 95ish

veneer

congrats ovoleg.. what gearing were u in when u were spinning arond 92-95? were u in the small gear in front or the big gear in front?

veneer

Z, u crack me up.. last time i tried 53-11 on ur titan's.. i couldn't pedal for crap.. let alone u and E were so far ahead...

ovoleg

I have a double and I think its a 32, I believe the gear I spin is 32/15.

ovoleg

it was the smallest one of the two. If I spin the huge one, it'll be around 80 cadence tops unless im flying downhill

noisebeam

No need for downhill, just switch to a lower gear on the flats.
I actually find it easier to pedal at a higher cadence if there is some resistance on the pedals, this means (for me) that to do this I need to be going fast on a flat at high cadence which gives resistance on pedals, not downhill with no resistance. For example, it is harder for me to spin at 120rpm going 10mph on a flat road in a very low gear, than 120rpm in a higher gear going 25mph on a flat road.

But getting a smooth fast cadence with no resistance will best fine tune the skill, so it is good practice.

Al