I ride clipless and always try to keep the cadence between 90-110. After three knee surgeries mashing a big gear causes more problems than it's worth. I also tend to ride hard for any ride 30 miles or less because I tend to be on a time constraint. My personal theory has been while on limited time to keep the heart rate elevated as much as possible to build fitness. On longer rides I'll dial it back a little so don't exhaust myself too quickly - but the cadence is still up even on those rides.

I try to make it as circular a pedal stroke as possible but find that on hills or into headwinds is really when I'm focused on pulling back on the pedal to keep a consistent stroke.