Thread: Cadence?
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Old 07-09-05 | 06:33 PM
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bostontrevor
Retrogrouch in Training
 
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Knee-deep in the day-to-day
So last week, almost a month after I bought it, I finally got my cadence magnet for my roadie's computer (someone had already raided the box for someone else's computer and they only had the speed-o magnets in stock). I took a few shakedown rides today (comprising a total of about 25 miles, I guess I could have let folks know I was going out--sorry!).

Anyhow, two things interest me. Number one, I'm not really any faster on average on the geared ride though I can sprint a bit faster, as you might expect. I attribute this more to the fact that I put in all my miles around town, so I never had the chance to really settle down and get into a good long spin.

More interesting than that, to me, is the fact that I really felt slow when spinning the target 90 rpm. 110 or 120 was a much more comfortable spin for me. This is a little surprising given that my fixed gears are generally setup so that my usual cruising speed is right around 80 or 90 rpm.

This raises a couple of questions for me. I know roadies go fixed for spin training, but they generally push pretty small gears to really drive it home. My 77" is a fairly respectable road gear for actually getting around, no developing technique. Do others who push similarly "large" gears find that they still have improved spin when they go geared?

Secondly, what's a guy to do? Should I really work on staying around that 90 rpm or push my target a little higher and move my shift point around 100+?

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