Originally Posted by mooklekloon
I know that cadence is the actual rotational speed of the cranks measured in RPM.
However, I was wondering if there was a term to describe a similar but related concept. For each speed of the wheel, and each gear, there is minimum cadence that is required in order to engage the cranks (the minimum cadence so that you are not free pedaling). Is there a technical term cyclists use to describe this specific value?
Same thing as cadence. Spinning slower than the current cadence to maintain that speed in that gear is called "soft pedaling" where you're not really applying much force at all. This is a way to slowly adjust speed in a pack without making drastic actions like braking and messing up the guy behind you.