# Difference in RPE at identical power but different cadence?



## Nevermiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Let me start by stating I've only been road biking for 2 month and I only have about 500 miles on my road bike.

I've had a Garmin 800 with HR monitor, but I used my power meter for the first time today and had some interesting observations.

I've been working on increasing my cadence, because I've read and been told that it uses more cardiovascular energy which is more efficient than pushing a harder gear and using the power in the legs.

Well today I really paid attention and tried to stay between 90-95 with my cadence and I could hold 350-400 watts with my HR around 155-160 on flat terrain or slight inclines. Once I reached a more significant grade, I couldn't shift to a low enough gear to keep my cadence at 90 and I would end up in the 70s and I was fighting to keep this same wattage and my HR went up into the high 160s and 170s ( I'm 42 yo and weigh 230 lbs with a max HR of 182.)

Has anyone else noticed this? I know I have to work a lot harder on climbs because of my weight and I wonder if I should look at possibly changing my gears so I can spin comfortably at a higher rpm on climbs. I currently have compact chainrings on my bike.

I don't do too many rides with steep climbs, and I'm dropping weight and making huge gains so I may also just leave things alone and give it time as well. This is the third time I've done this 42 mile ride with 3200ft. Of elevation gain and I've dropped my time from 2:25 to 2:11 and my cadence has gone from 70 to 85 with 282 ave. watts today and 18.4 mph. I've also picked up several good books, including Training with a Power Meter. There are several excellent and experienced riders helping me learn and I can see why so many people enjoy this sport. I'm going to give myself a year to build a base and perhaps get a coach next spring and try a rr, crit, and tt. Cyclocross looks pretty cool too, but I'm not built to be a competitive cyclist. Sorry for the drift and the long post.


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## Nevermiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Well after reading chapter 7 in Training and Racing with a PW, what I am experiencing makes more sense. Looks like I will be getting the WKO+ software and hope the details for running it on a Mac actually work.


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

I've noticed a lot of things but, what's important for you is to get a handle on your FTP testing and train in reference to that data point and not worry so much about HR/cadence. I'm not implying that cadence is not important, but work off the power numbers and over time I think you will naturally develop an ideal cadence for you for different situations.

As far as your OP, in a general sense you will notice higher HR's concurrent with higher cadence due to the fact you are stressing the CV system more than at a lower cadence. As far as this paragraph goes:



> Well today I really paid attention and tried to stay between 90-95 with my cadence and I could hold 350-400 watts with my HR around 155-160 on flat terrain or slight inclines. Once I reached a more significant grade, I couldn't shift to a low enough gear to keep my cadence at 90 and I would end up in the 70s and I was fighting to keep this same wattage and my HR went up into the high 160s and 170s ( I'm 42 yo and weigh 230 lbs with a max HR of 182.)


You might have been a bit gassed coming into the hill and your wattage drop had nothing to do with cadence. I think your on a good path reading Allen/Coggan and working with power though.


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## dmong2 (Sep 14, 2011)

What power meter are you using?


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## Nevermiss (Jun 7, 2011)

dmong2 said:


> What power meter are you using?


Power Tap SL+.

The owner of the LBS tried about every option of the crank based systems, but none would fit on my bike. He even had GITA send a frame to Quarq and they were unsuccessful as well.

I may eventually go with the Garmin Vector in the Spring.

I also have a Mac computer and I tried to run WKO+ unsuccessfully. Despite the excited information with the detailed process for running this on the Mac, it didn't work. The next day I tried it on a PC at my office and the demo WKO+ version worked fine.

I'll probably end up getting a cheap PC laptop to run a couple other windows based programs that I won't need that ofter.

Sorry, long answer to short question.

I think that one of the previous posts may have been right that my RPE was higher because I was more spent by the time I hit this hill. The quadrant analysis of crank velocity vs. power helps to provide some insight.


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## hrumpole (Jun 17, 2008)

Two words: golden cheetah.


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## Nevermiss (Jun 7, 2011)

hrumpole said:


> Two words: golden cheetah.


I'll check it out. I preferred the WKO+ over the cycle ops Power Agent program. Hopefull Golden Cheetah has a demo that I can try and if it has most of the features that I like in WKO+, then I go ahead a purchase! Thanks.

WOW!! I can't believe this is a free program. I am willing to pay for what I would like, but it looks like GC has everything that I want and will work on the Mac.

Thanks again!


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