Originally Posted by
chasm54
No, really, it isn't. Pros - even experienced cyclists without the talent to be pros - can experiment with cadence in this way because they know what they're doing and they have the power to back up their experience. And I'm not saying that training with cadence doesn't have its uses, in fact in another thread I said I thought it was a good idea for varying, and increasing the intensity of, one's workouts. I'm just agreeing with RChung's basic point (which I don't think many in this thread have taken on board) which is that asking a new cyclist to aim for some abstract number, as opposed to experimenting to find what feels comfortable and working on that in the appropriate context, isn't good advice.
And where do you think most riders will end up in the end? Say what you want, but most anyone that puts some miles on a bike will end up in the 80-100 range. Certainly those that are stronger riders will be more likely to be there. To me it doesn't matter if you shouldn't use it as an end all. I'm simply saying that most people will get there, why not work toward that from the beginning. Yes, I get that ability plays into it. Yes I get that different situations play into it. A general range is just that, general.