Originally Posted by
StephenH
Well, I will venture a guess here..."In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate with greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. Frequencies at which the response amplitude is a relative maximum are known as the system's resonant frequencies, or resonance frequencies. At these frequencies, even small periodic driving forces can produce large amplitude oscillations, because the system stores vibrational energy."
For a spring-mass system, the resonant frequency will depend on the mass (your weight) and the springiness (the flexibility of the bicycle).
Translation: Some skinny guy may be able to pedal at a higher cadence than you without bouncing, and it's not necessarily because you're doing anything wrong.
(I am assuming from the "Clyde" part of your name, that perhaps you aren't a skinny guy- if you are, then...never mind!)
Yes, if there is a bit of flab around the torso, that is going to start going up and down in time with the pedal strokes. Harmonics have been mentioned before in this context, but some out there just don't get that part of it.
Originally Posted by
rpenmanparker
Yeah, but what does CV have to do with cadence? We are not talking about going faster down the road, just pedaling faster in an easier gear. You shouldn 't feel it in your breathing or HR at all. Downshift.
CV is a significant part of this. Go to the Training and Nutrition forum where the real experts post.
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Riding a fixed gear certainly encourages a rider to concentrate on technique at high RPMs.
I have found that if I really work at keeping my pelvis level, high cadence has a less dramatic effect.
It does require some strength in the core muscles (abs in particular) to stablise the pelvis.
High cadence can also find out if your fit is not up to scratch -- if, for example, your seat is too high, your hips/pelvis will rock badly. You should also be relaxed with your grip on the handlebars -- again, it's a core muscle thing.
It is a technique worth refining.