Originally Posted by
deep_sky
Pedaling along at 50 cadence on a 53/11 is like trying to do your max 1 rep weight over and over.
completely wrong. you're assuming that the ultimate limit is the tension quads can produce. in my case what's limited is my cardio strength. and my heart beats at a rate that is independent of the derailleur setting.
also the ability of mitochondria to produce ATP isn't related to cadence in any way. if your muscle is limited chemically ( as mine is ) rather than mechanically ( as yours apparently is ) then the slower you pedal the more efficient you are because you're not wasting ATP for unnecessary contraction.