indyfabz

Same here. I feel like I will never get to 30,000 at the going rate.

jamesdak 

vane171

Spinning while going at low speed looks ridiculous. Often one sees it with people on MTBs

At one time, spinning purposely at higher cadence (~100) I developed a burning behind my knee cap on one leg that a month of taking it easy cured it. I'd say, both mashing or spinning can lead to problems but usually it only brings out potential problems that are already there, not causing them.

Spinning uphill taxes ones aerobic reserves more than mashing it unless maybe you train specifically for that. If you have spindly legs like Froome, spinning is your only option.

As one gets older, it helps doing home exercising for firming up your knees, like small jumps when your knees don't bend too much, that sort of thing like what male ballet dancers train.

livedarklions

I'm not going to bother to look it up, but the one study I found on this found that bicycling had a minimal chance of causing repetitive stress injury, and that spinners were more prone to one kind and mashers were prone to another, but the differences were barely statistically significant.

And I think what you say is very true--there's usually a combination of causes for a repetitive stress injury, especially with the knee.

livedarklions

OK, but how many of those are popcorn gifs?

mdarnton

There is a third choice: spin slowly and easily. That is what I do. I had knee problems in my 20s and walking is definitely harder on them than biking. I see no reason, since I bike for fun, to push with either speed or pressure. I turn at about 50 rpm with no particular pressure most of the time and my knees are happy.

indyfabz

And let's not forget **** (commenting before the thread is locked), before it was censored.

10 Wheels

Always Been a masher.

xroadcharlie

I think of bicycle cadence like a cars engine rpm. If we apply near full throttle to car engine in high gear at low speed, The engine will likely overheat and the stress on its components is much higher. Something can break. Same with a bike cadence. Sustained near max effort at a low cadence is a recipe for serious injury with the resulting fatigue forcing you to slow way down or stop. That might be OK for a short burst, Like climbing a small hill, But not for just "Riding along". Of course we are all built differently and the point at which we over tax our muscles is different, But the same principle applies.

On the other hand if we leave a car in too low a gear with a light load we burn up more fuel then in the proper gear. We also increase wear and tear on the engine. On a bike, Same thing. Pedal at a high cadence and light load we burn up more energy then we should, and it will lead to unnecessary wear and tear on the legs/joints.

My normal cruise cadence is from 55 - 70 rpm. I try to balance cadence with effort. Low effort = low cadence, High effort = High cadence (If you call 75 rpm high)

livedarklions

Coincidentally, that's the title of the Fred national anthem.

ofajen

When one-dimensional cadence threads pop up, I like to refer folks to this article, as it contemplates various cadences for various riding needs and suggests that all riders should be aware of these situations and cadences.

https://cinchcycling.cc/blogs/news/t...ycling-cadence

Otto

livedarklions

It leaves out FTL cadence. I use it for time travel.

ofajen

Use a blue bike. They shift faster than red ones.

Otto

drlogik 

I ride a fixed gear or single speed 99% of the time so I say MASH IT and THRASH IT!!

PaulH

Not my choice. I ride a seven speed bike, so steep hills are a mash.

rsbob 

Since I am a lazy cyclist, I tend to put out the least amount of effort to still maintain 18-20 MPH on the flats, which means a higher cadence. For hills I gear down to try to maintain that cadence. I will get out of the saddle and mash for short rises or for short spurts on long climbs where I want a little variety. Never been a big gear masher, unless going down hill.

Bigbus

I'm 71 and have been mashing my whole life, except down hills. The chutes we used in the military were the equivalent of jumping from a 6 foot wall, if you landed right, which I rarely did, and my knees are still holding me up and carrying me forward. NOW YOU TELL ME THEY HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE! ! I better get my use out of them before they fail then,

Troul 

If I'm not smashing the grit in the chain rollers, then what is the purpose for even riding?

livedarklions

My preferred cadence has been a mash for 5 decades now and my knees and back are fine.

AlmostTrick

Wow, that was a bit harsh. Especially considering my post merely referred to post counts/join dates… public information shown next to everyone’s name in each post. Oh well, at least we’ll always have our thread. You know, the one where you decided I was the problem but the moderator requested you curtail posting and leave the thread!

It’s been a while since I’ve noticed you posting. If you've just returned from a period of not posting much welcome back. I still do enjoy reading many of your thoughts. Mash On!

Iride01 

Number of gears you have don't make you mash. It's not putting the gear ratios on the bike that you need.

aclinjury

back in the day, Jan Ulrich was always known as a masher, but he still "mashed" at 85 rpm up Alp d'Huez (and we all know Lance prefer his 100 rpm, lol).

Mashing at LOW POWER is not something to worry about. But try mashing at HIGH POWER, it will be a different story on your knees and back.
Nobody can mash at high power over a sustained period. Standing on the pedals on an uphill and letting your body weight do the pedalling.. is not mashing, you're just doing zone 2-3 at best, hardly a high power output effort. Now if you say you stand and mash at 60 - 70 rpm while climbing... at threshold power... then count me as impressed.

DaveSSS 

I've done a lot of heavy leg presses along with many years of cycling. As a result, I had three surgeries for torn meniscus. By the time I was 57, my knees were almost bone on bone. I quit cycling to build a house and build a hot rod in retirement. 3000 hours of labor on each finished off my knees, so I got two new ones in 2017. A year later I returned to cycling and now have over 12,000 miles on my artificial knees. My kneecaps are still the original, but they have plastic liners instead of cartilage. With almost 8 years off the bike, it took over 2 years to regain my cycling muscles. I'm about to turn 68 and my power output is lower than 10 years ago, but my pedaling is now, just as before. I prefer a cadence of 90-105 for flats, but 75-85 for most climbs. I also ride out of the saddle a lot more this season. I have some grades that I do standing in a 48/28. Just last week I did a whole mile of mostly 10% grade, standing. I don't think it was any faster, so I'll stick to seated next time. Standing works well for me on more moderate grades. My bikes have sram force axs drivetrains, except for the cranks. I use a 10-36 cassette and 48/31 or 46/30 chain rings to get more range.

Phil_gretz

I grew up in the 1960s and early 1970s. The conventional wisdom then [ahem] was to spin. So I learned to spin.

Fast forward 45 years, and I'm still spinning. Although like @DaveSSS above, I did about a decade or so of heavy lifting for bulk in my 30s to 40s, and did weekly squats and leg presses. My knees are "creaky" now, but I'm generally without pain still.

Trakhak

Maybe your ideal cadence range is similar to your ideal running pace range. Runners don't change their pace much going up hills or down hills or on the flats, and most endurance runners seem to maintain a pace of around 85 to 95 strides per minute, I think I read somewhere. Rather than running at the equivalent of a mashing pace for climbing hills, runners subtly adjust their stride length---the equivalent of shifting closely spaced gears to maintain a steady cadence.

That said, I'll now head out on my track bike with a 71" gear to fool around in the hills of northern Baltimore County. I should know better.