Originally Posted by
youcoming
So I'm either the worst rider ever at climbing or everyone is full of s#$^. I've read in many magazines, articles and on BF on how one should keep cadance above 80 on climbs. Now on hills with grades below 10% I can usually stay above 80 but for the life of me anything over 10% and my cadance is down to sub 70's. There are a lot of hills in my area that go over 10% and most riders around here are in the small ring and 23-27 on back and no ones spinning a hell of a lot faster than me. I should ad most in my area ride either standard or compact. This will be my 4th year riding and I actually like climbing even though I'm a bigger guy. My knees don't bother me as most times I'm well above 90. So do I just suck or is everyone at 70 cadance on 10+% hills?
What is your smallest gearing? If you are on a standard crank with a 25 in the back, that's a pretty decent gear to turn over (around 10 MPH at 80 rpm). 10 MPH at 10% would be great for a lot of us rec guys!
Like a lot of others have said, forget trying to maintain X rpm's. I always play it by ear, how I'm feeling that day, etc. Admittedly, I try to use an easier gear with a higher cadence if I can help it, but on certain days, my legs work better mashing a bigger gear. Whatever the engine wants to do!