Originally Posted by
pacificaslim
If 39-26 is "overcooking your cardio" like you said, then 34-26 will do it even worse.
Low cadence puts more strain on muscles but less on heart.
High cadence lets your muscles rest a bit, and will "feel easier", but generally increases heart rate.
Well, when it's a particular steep hill, my heart rate pops over 185bpm, with heavy breathing and all, even though my cadence is down to like 60rpm (sometimes less on really nasty stuff that I ran across with my heart rate monitor on). And I've tried pacing it with an even slower cadence.
Yes, I know that means I'm just out of shape, but sometimes I do have to deal with those hills. I would prefer to be able ride over the hill instead of stopping.