Originally Posted by
Eric F
In my experience, there is a definite tipping-point where the decreased frequency no longer compensates for the increased force, for aerobic demand. I completely agree that this varies from person to person. It also varies with training.
I found a "brute force" kind of fitness from riding a singlespeed where my endurance for pushing low-rpms improved. I took a break from riding the SS for a while, and my only MTB rides were on my geared bike. My aerobic fitness was improving (based on
PR times on a climb I do regularly), but when I got back on my SS, I couldn't maintain pushing the big gear the way I had before, and my climb time was slower than the last time I had ridden the SS, even though I was in better aerobic condition.
So in effect you tend to get better at whatever you train or ride.
I do both low and high cadence workouts and both ultimately push me into the red. The low tipping point for me with cadence is around 60 rpm. If I go below that at high power I soon start suffering aerobically. At the high end it’s around 100 rpm. From an aerobic point of view I’m most comfortable at 80-90 rpm.