rydabent

How about just riding with the cadence that feels right at the time and place?

PeteHski

For those who train indoors, Wahoo SYSTM has a series of workouts based on real pro power profiles recorded during actual races. They scale the power profile according to your personal FTP and then you can ride them in ERG mode with cadence targets. As you might expect they are pretty dynamic and there are profiles covering most common race scenarios.

PeteHski

That's what nearly everyone does when riding, but what "feels" right depends to some extent on how you train and condition yourself. If you are not concerned about your performance then it doesn't really matter.

Eric F 

One thing I’ve learned from some folks of BF is that there are a multitude of ways that people use a bicycle, and each of them are valid in their own way. I’ve had some of my own preconceived ideas challenged, and I’ve adjusted my understanding because of it. As

One area that continues to be a frustration to me is those who insist that a desire for “better” equipment is only valid for people who race, and/or that every additional expense above “adequate” must be justified by a measurable and proportional increase in performance. For me, cycling is a passion. Not just the riding, but also the gear. I’m excited to ride a high-performance machine at the limits of my current abilities, even if I am slower than I used to be. Hell, I enjoy just looking at my bikes, much the same way people enjoy looking at sports cars. I’m also excited to take those same bikes out for an easy cruise, just to enjoy being on a bike on a nice day. The hollow hum of carbon wheels and slick tires rolling fast on pavement, with the distinctive sound of a clean and well-adjusted drivetrain delivering power from pedals to rear wheel, is a happy sound to me. So is the buzz of a high-quality freewheel. I can feel the difference in casing suppleness between a Conti GP5000 and a Pirelli P-Zero, and that matters to me. I enjoy the contrast of experiences between each of my bikes. The variety keeps cycling fresh and exciting for me.

RChung

Been there, done that. It used to be common for pro riders to post their power data both from races and from training but it's less so today. Fortunately, I have some data files from some pro riders in a few races, including the TdF. This isn't a TdF file, it's from the 2009 Tour of California, but it's pretty typical of a "hilly" race.



In the context of pedal force and pedal speed, the plot below shows the "typical" range of pedal force (in lbf), cadence, and power for a 160 lb rider. If riders were cruising along at 170 watts they could be doing so at any point along the 170 watt curve. Some riders will choose slightly lower cadence and commensurately slightly higher pedal force, others will choose the other way 'round. If, starting from 170 watts they decided to increase to 400 watts, they could likewise choose any point along the 400 watt curve, and that would identify a different combination of cadence and pedal force. It's good for riders to be able to generate power at many different combinations because the demands of riding vary. Only if conditions are constant will riders tend to use a constant combo of cadence and pedal force. ln practice, the slope changes, the wind blows, you get tired, so the conditions aren't constant. But, importantly, when we look at the data, we see that although riders often *think* they ride at a fixed cadence, they don't. *If* riders rode at a fixed cadence, then moving from the 170 watt curve up to the 400 watt curve would always look like a vertical movement. What happens is that they take all different paths (sometimes diagonally right, sometimes horizontally right, sometimes diagonally left -- and sometimes they do move vertically). These "power expansion paths" vary with the rider, and they vary with the conditions the rider is facing.

livedarklions

"I enjoy it" is reason enough for any of it in my book, but that works both ways. I argue with the people who tell people they shouldn't want the expensive bikes, parts and kit even though I don't have expensive tastes. I also argue with people who attack people like myself who don't favor bike kit and the like and happen to like older bikes.

I find the fact that people like stuff I don't like or care about interesting, and I like hearing their reasons. I respect their choices and I'm not going to try to convince them otherwise--why should I? I just want the same respect back--I have my reasons for riding as I do, and there are people on this forum who go out of their way to be insulting and patronizing about it..

What I like about your posts is you don't do the snob bit--I like reading the preferences and reasons for liking things from a connoisseur even if I have no desire to become one myself and I don't feel like you're going to talk to me like I'm stupid if I say I like something else. I also get fascinated by watching people ride the hell out of department store bikes, bikes are cool because of the people who make them work.