Originally Posted by
bikefoo
I have difficulty keeping my cadence over 70. I think Im happiest at 1pedal revolution per second. The faster I spin the faster I get winded and tire out with muscle and knee pain. Should i spin faster? Should i just start running in my low gears to break my habit? Or am i measuring my cadence wrong? If I count just one pedal and i rotate it 60 times in a minute this means my cadence is 60 correct?
Two thoughts come to mind.
The first is that it sounds like there's something wrong with the setup of the bike. Knee pain should decrease, not increase with cadence. You are measuring cadence correctly, but a cheap cadence meter is a better way to go. 60 is a seriously slow cadence. Don't worry about getting out of wind -- you're just out of shape. That will improve as you ride more.
You need to have someone evaluate your pedaling technique as well. There is definitely something wrong, and I think it's going to be obvious to someone who knows what they're doing.
You should be able to hold 120 RPM for long periods of time (even if you don't choose to) and 90-100 all day. There are guys considerably older than you that can max out over 200 RPM.