Originally Posted by
Sy Reene
So from an efficiency standpoint, I think (?) it's generally agreed that there is a range of cadence that is generally considered to be optimal (eg. somewhere between 80-95 for argument's sake.
That said, to what degree do riders either unwillingly or intentionally end up in lower cadence ranges, thereby increasing the muscle load. If intentionally, do riders make intentional training choices to eg. do their hills in a gear in which they can only get to 60rpm? How much of a ride should be in this "zone" vs. optimal efficiency RPMs?
Can't tell you how much time should be in each zone, but I can tell you that a wide range of functional cadences is valuable to tax different systems - as you know from asking the question.
I am one who naturally spins around 100rpm. I had a coach who would schedule intervals with me keeping an average of 70rpm in an attempt to increase this usable range and build muscular strength. If I remember correctly I probably spent 20-25% of my hard intervals in the 70rpm range during the weeks we worked on this issue. My FTP increased after these weeks but I don't know whether the low cadence or the high intensity aspect of the intervals helped more - probably a combination of both.