volosong

Hah! Take that, you spinsters ... er, I mean 'spinners'. Maybe my saving grace is that my legs have always been pretty strong. Perhaps that is why I can push a big gear on the flats. Don't have a lick of upper body strength, but down below ... pretty good.

jyl

Hmm, here is an article that mentions it a bit, down near the end

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oly...ime-trial.html

And another

https://m.guardiannews.com/sport/blog...pic-time-trial

MetalPedaler

I think it's because spinning fast needlessly stresses your cardio/elevates one's heart rate- whereas pushing the biggest gear that is comfortable allows us to find just the right balance between muscle use and cardio output (Which of course will vary greatly from person to person....but a lot of cyclists will never find that balance, because they've been sold the idea of high cadence for everyone- So instead of their training consisting of finding their own sweet-spot and then working to build strength while in that spot...they waste time trying to conform to someone else's standard).

(I may be a noob...but I think outside the box; and question the status quo.)

I'm glad to see that the study Brickster quoted also differentiates between "elite athletes" and "moderately trained athletes". I see so many cyclists quoting stuff in which the subjects are elite/professional athletes...which has about as much relevance to us as the Indy 500 has to riding mowers..... [Although such studies are still largely meaningless, as there are still just so many variables...but I agree with this particular one, because it agrees with me )

Bill Kapaun

My max is 85 RPM when I start out "fresh". My bad knee simply won't allow me to spin faster.
After about 15-20 minutes, I'm about 80.
I use 165MM cranks (knee again) and spin lower gears. IF I try to mash (relatively speaking, since I never leave the seat), my emphysema soon slows me to a crawl.

phillybill

medium.... spin a lot.

MetalPedaler

Wow.... Gotta give guys like you credit for even riding!! I know people in better shape, who never do more than walk to the parking space...and use a motorized cart in Walmart!

Lars Halstrom

If I change to a Deore M592 derailleur for $60 and the HG61-9 12-36T cassette for $50, this will be the cheapest way to go. Plus add some more links to my chain.

Lars

con

There is no wrong answer. You have to find what works for your body, your conditioning level, your bike and your riding style. If it works for you, you don't have to justify it, just do it.

For me, X racer who loves speed and loves the sound and feel of a drivetrain spinning a big cadence, I spin whenever I can and love it. I paid attention to it today on our club ride and was turning 120-125 rpm on the run back to town until I slowed so we could regroup. I fed my other need on today’s ride; I hit 51.8 mph on one short steep downhill.

I do love this sport.

Bill Kapaun

IF you have an 11 speed, you can't just throw on a 9 speed cassette and call it good!
The cog spacing gets narrower the more speeds you have. Shifters won't index properly.

nkfrench 

Nope, the 39/27 is for climbing. having 39/28 didn't increase my cadence. Cadence drops to 40 in the easy gear when things get really bad.
The 53/11 was delightful on flats/downhills.

Papa Tom

High cadence/low cadence...to me, riding is just DECadence.

Zinger

I was just kidding because I envy you strong guys who pull away from me pedaling half as fast. My top gear with my touring wheels is 50/14, lol. But I've got the big 50/13 with my century wheels.