Cadence - struggling with 85-95 range

[Beneluxrider]

Created a thread about this range a while back out of curiosity. It really is personal at the end of the day.

What’s your preferred cadence for SS and why?

I’ve been playing around with my cadence for SS specifically. Normally it’s always between 95-100 but have been trying 85-90 and 90-95 out of curiosity (used outside rides and galena +3 to measure). I know that a lower cadence = more muscle focused and higher cadence = more cardiovascular focused. I’m just curious to hear which cadence you prefer and why? poll

[OreoCookie]

@russell.r.sage

I don’t believe in “natural” cadences. Your “natural” cadence is what you practice and what you practice get’s comfortable. I was a “natural” 80-90 rpm guy for years and now I’m a “natural” 100-105.

I get your point that you can extend the range of cadence you feel comfortable at with training, but a lot of the effects that you describe can IMHO be explained by differences in power output and training.

But I’d still say there is such a thing as a self-selected cadence in many circumstances. If you are going uphill, most of the time the preferred cadence reduces for various reasons (less inertia in the wheels, different body position relative to the pedals). If you put out different power, your preferred cadence changes.

That’s why on my trainer my self-selected cadence tends to be higher than outdoors: I have a dumb direct drive fluid trainer, so I have to go faster to get more resistance. That’s more akin to going fast on the flats rather than climbing and hence, my cadence is similar to that on (false) flats.

[jdman]

I use 100-105 on my Kickr snap in Erg mode for all workouts…on the road it’s usually 95-100rpm. Just seems more natural to spin on the turbo - mind you I hardly grind on the road. I do occasional hill reps in a big gear for strength…I think we are all different - if you are below 85 then I would think you should make the effort to up it during the drills on the easy workouts…if above 110 then slow down and try and engage more muscles in the pedal stroke - in between - all good!

[MI-XC]

I used to have a natural high cadence in TR (95-105) and anything near 90 rpms and lower felt like an impossible grind. However now, going on 3 years of TR my cadence has slightly dropped where 88-92 feels better. When I get exhausted doing the SSBHV 2 hour sweet spot rides, I feel comfortable dropping my cadence to 80-85 towards the later half of the workout.

For me, early on in TR I used to chase away they feeling in my legs by spinning faster and relying on my lungs. Over time I’ve embraced the suck/burn and found more success in a lower cadence. I ride/race XCO so this fits nicely into my discipline.