# At what cadence are you comfy?



## luvmybike (Aug 19, 2002)

I just installed a new Vetta computer that allows me to track cadence. Pretty cool, but now Iam curious at what cadence people generally ride. First ride with it was into work this morning. It is a bit of an up and down affair, I hit a max of 116 and ave. around 81. I was not pushing it or anything (the trip is 11.5 miles and I averaged 18.9). 

Where are you guys? Give me some ideas at what cadence you ride... I know it is a personal thing and depends on your preference of mashing vs spinning but I am finding it pretty interesting.


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## jakerson (Jun 15, 2004)

Personally - I prefer between 70-80. I've done some rides where I've maintained 85-90, but I always feel like a hamster in a wheel when I do that.

Mostly - I don't LIKE to watch my cadence. I know that it can be a good thing - but - I'd rather just ride.


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## los318 (Aug 4, 2005)

after my last of couple of rides I find right at about a 100 to be good for me..somtimes a little higher but a 100 generaly is where i find myself...

CF


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## Allez Rouge (Jan 1, 1970)

*Mid 90s to very low 100s.*

My "natural" cadence is around 80-85 rpm. When I got a computer with cadence a couple-three years ago, a little practice and awareness soon had me feeling comfortable in the 95-100 range. I frequently will nudge 105 just before a shift and I can hold that speed if I concentrate, but overall I feel much more at ease down around 95. Until I'm fully warm, anything over 100 has me bouncing around in the saddle way too much. And somewhere around 115 is the upper limit on even my very best days.

What continues to surprise me is the difference in the feel of, say, 95 vs. 93. You'd think a variation of 5 rpm either way would be the norm, but in fact increasing the speed by as little as a couple rpm takes a noticeable effort.


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## ssif21 (Sep 23, 2005)

80-90.


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## luvmybike (Aug 19, 2002)

Allez Rouge said:


> My "natural" cadence is around 80-85 rpm. When I got a computer with cadence a couple-three years ago, a little practice and awareness soon had me feeling comfortable in the 95-100 range.


This is the exact reason I wanted the cadence readout (the real reason I bought a new computer was the fact the the attachment for the Cateye enduro I was using kept breaking resulting in the loss of two computers this summer... no more cateye's for me). I really had no idea where I was and thought a little awareness might help even my pace out a bit if not increase it.


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## Cory (Jan 29, 2004)

*90-95, but it took a long time to get there*

I'm apparently a natural-born pusher. I rode for several years in the '70s and '80s before I ever heard about spinning, and when I read that I should be pedaling at 90-100, I was surprised. My normal cadence turned out to be 50-60. I had to make a conscious effort for quite awhile to gear down and spin faster. Feels fine now, and it works as advertised, but it didn't come natural to me.


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## OneGear (Aug 19, 2005)

90-100 in flats, and 75-90 on small hills


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## galanz (Oct 28, 2004)

Usually around 95, but into a strong headwind I drop down to high 70's low 80's.
I used to be a big pusher and would barely get above 80 and finally my knees couldn't take it anymore.


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## S2H (Jul 10, 2005)

85-95


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

42x18 fixie on 700x23 for lots of base miles at 18-20mph = 95-105 rpm. Faster is okay, but over 110 and it's not "comfy."


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## ringroadwarrior (Dec 8, 2002)

*Depends..*

Somewhere in mid 90's to very low 100's when on the flats. Try to stay above 80 when on hills.


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## coonass (Feb 4, 2004)

85-95 is my comfort zone; occasionally I'll get into the 100-110 zone, but it tires my legs ). I try to maintain 65-80 on hills; depending on how long or steep, or both


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## SuperB (Jul 1, 2004)

*Just got a computer w/ cadence*

As a relative beginner, I've been spending a lot of time in the small ring working on my cadence, and my riding has improved tremendously. I like to ride at 85 to 95 mph.


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## crumjack (Sep 11, 2005)

I've only had my road bike a few weeks. I try to stay around 90 but seem to vary from 80-105. Some days I can really be all over the place in terms of cadence. This seems to happen on more windy days.


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## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

I'm a masher. I'm usually around 90rpm give or take. Any faster than that and I'll shift. For some unknown reason, I start to cramp up big time in my calves if I spin over 100. Anything over 115 and I'm bouncing out of the saddle.


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

solo, 95-105. Higher in pacelines/packs/races, lower on hills, but still try to keep it as high as possible when it dips below 90 on hills. 

I do regular fastpedal intervals where I try to maintain 125-130 for a couple minutes at a time, and then one-legged intervals trying to maintain 90-100 with one leg. These help smooth out your pedal stroke over time.

I used to be a big ring pusher in my mtb days, so it took some retraining...


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## galanz (Oct 28, 2004)

SuperB said:


> . I like to ride at 85 to 95 mph.


Wow! Now that's moving!


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## johngfoster (Jan 14, 2005)

*I'm with Cory*

I've been riding road bike since Feb this year. When I started out, my comfy cadence was around 60's. However, I heared all this hooha about spinning and riding at higher cadences, so I tried. It was a lot of work and I found it tired me out very quickly-more so than mashing in a big gear. So I worked up to it slowly. 1st I bumped up my cadence into the 70's for about a thousand or so miles, then tried nudging it up into the 80's, which is where I am at now. I will often make forays into the 90's, but haven't yet committed to keeping it up there yet. Hopefully I will get it up there sometime soon. I'm due (over 2K now). However, when going for a "stroll" on the bike, 60 still feels the most comfortable, so who knows?


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## tidelag (Sep 23, 2005)

my comfortable cadence is around 93-97. over 105 is a bit to tiring in longer time.
up hills it is lower, maybe ~70-85. 
When I am warming up, my cadence is lower, maybe at 70-90, with lower pressure from my legs.

I quickly developed high cadence after bicycling a few month with SPD, and I like the 
fluency of high cadence. 

damn, I had to really laught at "hamster in a wheel" .
Now I know what to explain to folks why I am bicycling in high cadence.


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## Cory (Jan 29, 2004)

*85-95, favoring the low end*

I don't keep track of it or even think about it very often, but I paid attention on my ride this morning and found that when I'm cruising on the flat, I stay within a few rpms either way of 90. Anything above about 105 feels too fast to me.


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## hrv (Dec 9, 2001)

I'm 'OK' with anything from 25 - 180. Below and above is when it hits the fan! Oh, that's when I ride the fixed gear. On the road bike, I probably average about 85. If it was all flats, I'd average about 100-105.


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## Bryan (Sep 19, 2004)

Im comfortable at 95-100 in the flats and whatever I manage to sqeeze out to get up the hills. When I get tired I tend to crank bigger gears at lower rpm.


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## Bryan (Sep 19, 2004)

KenB said:


> Anything over 115 and I'm bouncing out of the saddle.


That used to be my limit too. On your next ride try and pedal as fast as you can using only your hamstrings. (concentrate all of your pedal effort on the upstroke.) I bet you reach 130rpm with no bouncing.


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## TurboTurtle (Feb 4, 2004)

SuperB said:


> ...I like to ride at 85 to 95 mph.


ME TOO!!  TF


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## grampy bone (Feb 9, 2005)

85-90 for me on flats. I can pedal much faster, but at 120 or higher, my form goes kaput. Here is a good link that explains that lower cadence will result in more glycogen usage, whereas higher cadence is more fat usage. A high cadence will save the glycogen for the final sprint!

http://www.timetrialtraining.co.uk/PPwhyfastpedalingmakescyclists.htm


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## [email protected] (Aug 24, 2004)

95 - 105 rpm, anything over 115 is pushing it.


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## Raceface9465 (Aug 16, 2004)

ive been biking for many years but recently got into road biking about a year ago, and since have put on about 2k on my road bike, up to this point, i started out riding at about 60rpm, but in recent months have found myself naturally gravetating more to the high 70's but rarely into the 80's. i had no idea people rode at such high cdc's. tomarrow when i get out on my bike im definately going to try riding at a high cdc, i have always tried to keep it lower, thinking that it was a better way to go, but thinking about it, i think i would be more comfortable in the 80's and mabey even 90's.


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## wilier (Mar 16, 2002)

*Depends on how much I'm riding in a particular year*

When I was in college and riding (training) every day I AVERAGED 110. A few years ago when I was maybe 29 and riding a few times a week, I averaged close to 105. Most years these days (only ride 1-2x a week now) I average 90-95.

I tend to spin more if I'm not tired. When I train less, I get tired faster and average cadence goes down.


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## ssif21 (Sep 23, 2005)

Raceface9465 said:


> ive been biking for many years but recently got into road biking about a year ago, and since have put on about 2k on my road bike, up to this point, i started out riding at about 60rpm, but in recent months have found myself naturally gravetating more to the high 70's but rarely into the 80's. i had no idea people rode at such high cdc's. tomarrow when i get out on my bike im definately going to try riding at a high cdc, i have always tried to keep it lower, thinking that it was a better way to go, but thinking about it, i think i would be more comfortable in the 80's and mabey even 90's.


Better cardiovascular training at higher RPMs. Plus, at a given speed, it's easier on the knees to be using a higher cadence rather than pushing a big gear at a lower cadence. It takes a while to get use to higher cadences.


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## Crazy Attacker (Jan 31, 2005)

The one where you feel good


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## ssif21 (Sep 23, 2005)

Crazy Attacker said:


> The one where you feel good


Well, that makes sense if your objective in riding is to feel good rather than maximize conditioning.


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## Bluechip (Feb 19, 2004)

I am most comfortable aound 105 rpms. I can go much higher if needed but usually look to shift around 110. I have my fixed gear set up in a 46x18 which works out to be 100 rpm at 20 mph and thats my general speed. I've done over 30 mph on sprints or downhill with that gear so that works out to be 150+ rpms. If I am applying pressure to the pedals I don't bounce much at all but when you start to relax things can start to go haywire fast.

My cadence does not change on uphills on the geared bike if I have the correct gearing. Some people have said that they cruise on the flats at one rpm while much slower on the hills. If anything I try to gear down to spin even faster up hill.


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

What? Nobody said 0?


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## coonass (Feb 4, 2004)

*Lower your heels*



KenB said:


> I'm a masher. I'm usually around 90rpm give or take. Any faster than that and I'll shift. For some unknown reason, I start to cramp up big time in my calves if I spin over 100. Anything over 115 and I'm bouncing out of the saddle.


if you start developing cramps in your calves....I'm guessing that you're pedaling in a 'toes-down' position...


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## gray8110 (Dec 11, 2001)

It greatly depends on the terrain and intensity of the ride. I can cruise comfortably anywhere between 80 & 100. If I'm doing a flat TT, I am most efficient between 85 & 90, but if I'm out for an easy to moderate training ride, I often try to keep the cadence over 100. If I'm on a sustained climb, my cadence will usually run between 75 & 80.


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## zero85ZEN (Oct 11, 2002)

*100 to 110*



gray8110 said:


> It greatly depends on the terrain and intensity of the ride. I can cruise comfortably anywhere between 80 & 100. If I'm doing a flat TT, I am most efficient between 85 & 90, but if I'm out for an easy to moderate training ride, I often try to keep the cadence over 100. If I'm on a sustained climb, my cadence will usually run between 75 & 80.


105 being the sweet spot.



When I tire RPMs drop off.


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## Will-PA (Oct 5, 2005)

SuperB said:


> As a relative beginner, I've been spending a lot of time in the small ring working on my cadence, and my riding has improved tremendously. I like to ride at 85 to 95 mph.


Wow, 85 to 95 mph? That even more impressive on the small ring. 
Sorry, just kidding.


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