I thought I was pedalling efficiently. I was wrong.

[@Gryffes]

Every cadence study seems to show self selected is better than any prescribed cadence.

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@Gryffes Yes but there is also a point where we each have a sweet spot.

[@jamesf8864]

​@@jollygoodveloI think you're agreeing with @Gryffes comment aren't you? Different words, same sentiment 👌

[@georgesshed]

Don't have a cadence monitor, sometimes I spin sometimes I grind, but I do ride as much as I can, love it.

[@TK-nc3ou]

Ride 70 and Wear down your groupset in one season. Go ahead

[@Cyclingismywholelife]

I remember when I got into cycling 15 years ago and my LBS suggested that my cadence should be between 90-110. I couldn’t do it and I thought something was wrong with me. I gave up and just pedaled at what felt right for me, my cadence is at 70 Rpm on average. I have completed many centuries and have done hundreds of 30 mile rides and let a 40 year old Clydesdale give you his 2 cents, if it doesn’t hurt and it works for you, do it. Another example, is when I used chamois butter on one time and I got horrible saddle sores. I know many people swear by certain things in life, sometimes the majority, but if it’s not right for you, that’s okay. Trial and error is a part of life.

[@2cats4tea79]

Well said.

[@krissk77]

Some people do things not because they are comfortable but because some guy recommended it... that's good for them not you. And we hv different body types

[@phoffen3829]

I came to the same conclusions recently. On a recent LEJOG, I was dead last on all the climbs. While I was trying to keep my cadence up, as prescribed by "experts", everybody else powered up at slower cadences. I must have done a million more pedal strokes than everybody else. I went a lot faster once I slowed the cadence and powered through more, and more importantly, I enjoy biking even more.

[@meibing4912]

Reduced my pedel length to 165mm and increased cadence with 10 rpm to 80-90. Works for me. YMMV.

[@jack002tuber]

you mean your crank length

[@mjrobins]

There is some good information here and it’s great you’re seeing progress. I think that over time you may come to ride without thinking of cadence too much. There is never an ideal cadence across the board. Give yourself the freedom to select whatever cadence feels right in the moment. Freely changing cadence will keep you comfortable on long rides and take the need to focus on *one* thing away. Cadence is quite literally the last metric I give any attention to during or after a ride. It’s just not really an indicator of anything other than what it measures- it’s like knowing your average RPM on a car trip… not helpful but sure you can measure it. Yes too high or too low is problematic but there is really no ideal number at any given time or as an average. It may be better at times to be lower, or higher, but that’s different from saying that it should be 80, or 90, or anything specific at any given point. Your bike fit will go a long way too… it looks like your saddle may be a little too low and you may be putting too much demand on your quads while not putting enough on your hamstrings. Your pedal stroke should be smooth and you seem to be a little on the choppy side, a frequent result of saddles being too low. Stay riding and good luck out there!

[@OwenSindler]

I like that you mentioned getting a bike fit. A professional fit is gold🎉

[@sampreece]

The best cadence is one that is the most efficient. Striking a balance between ease and output. No point spinning furiously and going nowhere, or spinning slowly and struggling to move. As someone with larger than average leg muscles I tend to have a slightly lower cadence utilising harder gears. It works for me, but it won’t work for everyone.

[@dewindoethdwl2798]

Millions of years ago, when I raced and time trialled around Tyne & Wear (with Sunderland Clarion CC) I learned there were two groups. Mashers and Twiddlers, low and high cadence riders. I never found the naked grunt to mash effectively but couldn’t spin like the twiddlers without bouncing on the saddle. Middle ground revs was where I rode. It was effective, I did well in races & time trials and began to notice none of the riders around me, in the top 10% of the event, did extreme mashing or twiddling. If you train your best, you find your style l

[@dukekaboom4105]

63 year old “social” cyclist here. I have never measured my cadence as for me it must vary with each half mile, uphill/ downhill/ flat/ traffic / road surface / weather that I could never get everything right on consecutive miles. The best thing I did to increase my speed was to join a club, ride with a group who are a bit faster than you, prepare to be dropped and if it’s a “social “ ride they’ll wait for you along the road a bit. My average speed in the last 8 months has increased from 13/14 mph to 16/ 17 mph on a three hour ride. Don’t get to hung up on all the metrics unless you’re racing, just enjoy the ride.

[@carlostorres-xb1oj]

Leanard, I stumbled across this video while searching out zone 2 and VO2 max stuff. When I was younger, I rode for transportation for over two decades. This ended in 2012 when my career mandated I buy and drive a vehicle again. I have rediscovered my cycling obsession in my 50s, and I'm working my butt off to find that strength and endurance I once had. Mucho gratitude for the vid, I am subscribed and will be keeping up with your content...

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@carlostorres-xb1oj I appreciate it. Good luck with your cycling.

[@krissk77]

The best cadence for you is that which feels comfortable. Not those recommended by trainers and cycling geeks.. and i cycle at own pace and rest as i feel like. 🎉

[@stephenjhughes64stephenjhu26]

Bcf coaches only spread rubbish they read in coaching book. That's why most coaches are teachers or people who work in offices .can pass bcf exam word for word in revision book.

[@rangersmith4652]

I'm 64 years old, 5'11" and 176 lbs, about 10 pounds above my optimal weight. I like to ride fast, not because I'm in competition, but because it's fun. For me, turning a consistent cadence in the mid 80s while keeping my heart rate around 156 results in the best sustainable speed. I can easily ride for 90 minutes or so averaging 16mph or 30 minutes at 17.5mph. I'd like to achieve 2 hours at 18mph or 1 hour at 20mph. That's a goal for Spring 2025, before I reach my 65th birthday.

[@99cobra2881]

Awesome Good for you to have those goals at 64 hope to be aiming for the same almost 47 now

[@hansdegroot8549]

That are impressive numbers. We're the same age, I'm a little taller, but two littles heavier. My average speed is only about 20-22 kilometres an hour. Until now I haven't measured my heart rate when cycling. Isn 't 156 very high? (rule of thumb, although very roughly is 220 - age) So that means that you're riding 90 minutes or longer at full heart rate! Or, when you have a superb conditions, which is probably your case, it's still between 80 and 90 percent of your maximum heart rate. Very impressive.

[@davidfiddling1467]

I'm 60 5'10" 11st 10lb I rode york lincoln york this year in a small chain gang we averaged 20.5 mph for 162 miles moving time I'll take that

[@blaze1148]

@@davidfiddling1467 wow - that is impressive ! I am 56 and rode the Chase The Sun South for the 1st time this year....came 61st out of 825...hoping to get in the top 30 next year 😉

[@johndawson5718]

@@davidfiddling1467very impressive sir 👏👏

[@thrawed]

You're looking at the right areas but I think you're drawing some of the wrong conclusions. Higher rpms uses slow twitch muscles not fast twitch (I know it sounds backwards). And what you said about lower rpm's being better for endurance is backwards too as a result. You said that higher rpm's raises your heart rate more which is why it's worse. And it's true the reason it raises your heartrate is because it pulls more from your cardiovascular system than your muscular system. But why would you want that? Because the cardiovascular system has far far far greater recovery rates. It's why a pro can attack up a hill at max effort, then fall back into the peloton for an hour at zone 2 and their legs are ready to go again for another attack. While do it at a low rpm and you're probably done for the day and maybe even the next day. You're realising your cardio is your weak spot so you want to reduce it in your riding, but I think that's a mistake especially as you get older and you want to keep your cardiovascular system in as top shape as it can be. I think instead you need to forget about speed, especially now as you have a power meter. Train to your power and heart rate zones, and use your efficiency factor (normalised power divided by average heart rate) as a measure of progression instead speed. Now I'm not insisting that you need to force yourself to use a high cadence, but you don't want to be forcing yourself to use a low cadence either. Also storing wine in your conservatory is possibly the worst possible place you could have it lol.

[@adambrickley1119]

Yeah, he definitely mixed up fast and slow twitch fibres.

[@robdrelich8563]

depends on the wine. your average plonk can be kept in the garage, something a bit better, yes good temperature controls are key ;)

[@michael1]

Bottom line : There's no point buying a book (especially one about a pro cyclist) and picking the one easy thing from it ("increase cadence") but ignoring the more difficult things the book says Lance did, and ignoring obvious reasons you're not very fit and then concluding that it doesn't work. Albeit Lance Armstrong in particular, or any pro cyclist, is perhaps not the best training plan to try and emulate.

[@adambrickley1119]

@@thrawed Also, you'd think higher cadence is easier with epo.

[@mohamedmansor5598]

Hi, Leonard. Many thanks for your great and useful videos. I am 57 and adore my Format Con 10 road bike. I cycle 63 kilometers a day to and fro my work. I cannot understand such cadence but I measure my speed in kilometers. My average speed is 33 km/h.

[@edwinkarani5593]

Wow, 63km? That's great man, I'm hoping to get their.

[@blaze1148]

@@edwinkarani5593 there*

[@robdrelich8563]

I first got a body sense of cadence after buying a wahoo home trainner to get through last winter in shape. Was super helpful. Recently put a cadence meter and chest heart rate moniter to the mix of gadgets when out on the road, and absent a power meter, find this super helpful in moving from intuitive to being more in control of the workout - and seeing the relationship of cadence to cardio in a more real time than with my gramin forerunner (which lags on HR). very well put together video. tnx

[@petetrundell5454]

I’m in my fifties and recently added a single speed bike to my collection. The gear I chose allowed for reasonable speed downhill but the trade-off was a steady-state cadence about 20 rpm lower than I’d normally stick to on my geared bike. I was surprised how easy it was to adapt to pedalling with a bit more umph and I’m sure that I would have struggled to find that cadence comfortable when I was younger.

[@richwun1057]

There is this saying in Karate "The way is the training", and another saying from my Kung Fu master is "You play you'll be okay". All which is very valid and inspiring, so 1. Train sensibly for all the varibles necessary to improve, 2. But have fun doing so, because it's how one chooses to explore one's weakness and strength in order to discover what we are made in our quest to experience our enjoyment for being healthy, wealthy and wise. I am 70, I started riding a bike since I was 9 on a Shwinn Stingray, I had a paper route from 9 to 11 and 13 bikes later I have never stop riding, biking has always been my greatest joy as a kid and as an old dude, so I ride to stay in touch with being alive for the fun of it. My 2 cents.😃

[@seamusweber8298]

Good podcast. I do think that it is a case of trial and error, to ascertain the optimal cadence/power output to gain improvements. There are general guidelines for improved performance. Lower weight, better nutrition, life style changes. Regular training, consistent training. But within these guidelines there is no one size fits all prototype which can be applied and which works for everyone. When I train consistently and pedal at 90 rpm for daily 2-3 hour daily sessions, I find that my performance pedalling at 95 rpm for a daily 2-3 session gets far easier. In other words consistently training, helps me to generate more intense training if needed. That works for me. But I only know this through experience. My point is that training and guidelines need to be nuanced. Everyone is different in terms of physiology. So do experiment but track what you do and measure the outputs. You'll find that if you hit a threshold that the more you have in the bank, the easier it is to surpass that threshold and to work at an elevated threshold. Gradual improvement is the essence. BTW, they're lovely roads/scenery where you're training, Len

[@leiflarsen8422]

When I start cycling on my first racebike some 45 years ago, the older riders teach me, that in early spring, go with light gears and a high cadence, it will make your hole system ready for going fast and long with lower cadence when season start, today when I practice on my indoor setup, the goal is allway minimum 85 rpm, goal 90, and outdor it will be aroud 75-80 rpm, with the same speed

[@peterhomann2140]

The whole "high cadance thing" became gospel (at least partially) because of the battle between the 2 stroke Armstrong vs. Diesel Ullrich; obviously Armstrong got the better of Ullrich and at the time nobody really wanted to admit that it was not higher vs. lower cadence, not Lance vs. Jan but it was a battle between the labs: Balco vs. University of Freiburg. All kind of "arguments" were published to explain why Armstrong wins, of course without disclosing his superior doping methods. I remember the nonsense of quicker metabolic turn over when riding higher cadences. Then of course there was the myth that a battle with cancer allowed him to turn his body into a lean mean cycling machine. Should one feel sorry for Ullrich not having cancer? Many ridiculous "reasons" were offered and the media, especially in the US gobbled it up as a formerly obscure "Euro-sport" (okay there was LeMond) made inroads into the American market thanks to their cancer surviving hero. Truth of the matter is simple: every individual has somewhat different muscle fibers, not merely fast- and slow twitch which is part of the equation. So every individual must find out what his/her most effective cadence is. In addition to the many intrinsic components we have to deal with external factors: Distance, Pavement, Terrain... So why not simply enjoy the ride. get to the finish line, and feel satisfied with your performance.

[@jwells2072]

Thanks Leonard, this video was very timely for me. I just got a power meter and am riding with power data for the first time. I was just thinking during my ride this morning about the interplay between cadence, power, gearing and speed, so this video was really helpful.

[@printingbooks-d4e]

1.) Start in a big ring and stand and come down on the saddle with a manageable cadence and power. You can stay standing if the road or situation calls for it. 2.)Stay in the biggest ring possible that gives you the proper gears. Dont drop into a smaller chainring that has 'reserve' gears whatsoever because you get better efficentcy from the bigger rings and you wanna try this gear set for a bit before changing to a lower chainring. 3.) try a smaller chain ring if you want but watch how your speed is effected. if you get better speed from the larger ring stay in it. Cycling is a mix of standing and sitting and if you run Rotor oval rings you can change the timing between the two rings to offer different muscle engagement when seated or standing. My smaller ring has more /needs more tourque towards the end of the push whereas my bigger ring has more tourque well in the stroke. There are like 5 gears that overlap between the two rings so i can tailor it to my legs also. maintaining a higher cadence is important but more than that is lack of stress incurred per mile and that can be achieved with... finding a comfortable stride. Combined with the most effective gearing you got the best push.

[@xosece]

thanks for the tips and suggestions. While I don't compete, I gotta admit how cyclists like Pogacar (Vingo fan here btw) masterfully manage their cadence. He looks so stable when pedalling. Where I live the roads can be kinda rough in places and I am surprised by how I am beating all my strava times without trying on my 1X 36T 10-51T (12 gears) hybrid bike compared to my previous records on my 2X road bike. My road bike has 28mm tyres and my hybrid bike has 40mm tyres, but maybe is the comfort that makes me feel less tired and I end up beating my previous times. Also maybe it's just that using a single chainring makes your pedalling more steady as you define it. Mysteries of life.

[@paulmcknight4137]

.Slow twitch muscles are the aerobic fibers. They deliver oxygen to the muscles directly and expel lactic acid. Fast twitch muscles use glycogen , a finite resource, that to recover rider has to slow down. As you found out, climbing with a lower heartrate, rapid cadences train the slow twitch aerobic fibers. The legs can't jam down on the pedals. They don't have enough time. They must follow the crank around. The heart and cardio system get a splendid workout, increasing VO2 max, speed, strength, and endirance. The legs expel lactic acid and can go forever. Following the crank around in slow cadences is also more efficient aerobically. Doing spin intervals does the trick.

[@SlicedSlappy]

The Lance Armstrong recommendation for 90 rpm was two-fold. First, on EPO, O2 concentration increases in the blood so his coach opted for high cadence (cardio) vs low cadence (muscles) @ same watts. Second, was he was generally weaker as he was coming back from cancer treatment so he just couldn't generate the same anaerobic capacity.

[@karelvandervelden8819]

Be carefull with older knees and lower temperatures/cadences.

[@ketteganzrechts]

That was exactly what I was thinking during the video. I’ve already had issues with my left knee due to a length difference and, well, I’m a senior rider (62 years). I’m perfectly fine with 90 rpm on flat terrain about 80 rpm on ascents

[@davidburgess741]

Been there. 74 inch gear on a road go Ing track​ bike is plenty. Not good when Arthuritis rears it's ugly head. 65.@@ketteganzrechts

[@ArashFallah]

Is there an optimal Cadence for cycling performance? The results from Cadence research is all over the place, there are studies finding high cadence is beneficial, while others advocate for low cadence and some saying that self-selected cadence is most economical. And throughout these, there are many who are super happy spinning at 110 and many who ride happily day after day doing 60 rpm. It's generally understood the oxygen uptake, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, and blood pressure increase with increased cadence, while vascular resistance decreases at the same time. Which is why pros usually prefer higher cadence, as their cardio vascular fitness is as high as it could be for each of them. Alas, even pros change their cadence based on the terrain that they are riding i.e., lower cadence while climbing and high cadence in the flats. At same time, research shows that higher power output leads to higher cadence. While optimal cadence may not differ between experienced and inexperienced cyclists at low power outputs, optimal cadence moves rightwards with increasing power to the point where experienced cyclists may exhibit higher cadences simply because inexperienced cyclists are not able to operate. Simply put, riding at the higher output causes one to ride at higher cadence, not the other way around. Thus, the hypothesis that _you need to spin to ride fast_ is simply *Not True*. As for slow twitch and fast twitch muscle composition and their role in cadence selection, it's been shown as contraction velocity increases above ~67 rpm, slow twitch fibres become inefficient as they move beyond their optimal contraction rate; while fast twitch fibres become increasingly efficient at cadences about 110 rpm. In addition, there is research that concludes cadence did not have a dramatic effect on efficiency regardless of cycling experience or fitness level across 50 rpm to 110 rpm with self-select cadence included as well. There is no single optimal cadence for all cyclists nor a single optimal cadence for an individual. Indeed the cadence at which perceived exertion is minimized strikes the optimal trade-off between metabolically efficient cadence and mechanically efficient cadence. And even this cadence will change based on many factors such as work-load, training adaptations, environment, and terrain. As for training, low cadence training has been shown to improve power output mostly due to increase in testosterone and neuromascular adaptation as opposed to high cadence training. However, when compared to just regular self-selected cadence training, the low cadence training seems to be inferior.

[@erlendsteren9466]

Leonard, I think you made some good points here, and maybe the composition of fast and slow twitch fibres influences what is best for each induvidual. Myself I upgraded my bike from 11 to 22 gears, giving me more range and allowing spinning up 8% climbs at 150 heartbeats/ minute in stead of 160. But I lost speed. Grinding up the hill was faster, and also exhausting. Myself I guess I am fastest and most efficient when I feel the right torque under my legs. That torque feels natural for me at maybe 70-85 rpm (rpm is guesswork, I dont have a meter, but some experience from a indoortrainer with a meter), when it spins faster I am faster when clicking down to a heavier gear. I often spin into the hill at maybe 85-90 rpm, and the rpm goes down as the hill gets steeper, and soon cadence slows down and it gets too heavy, and I have to choose a lighter gear. I think I am faster at 80 rpm than I am at 90. Roglic is different and strong at high rpm, maybe he is full of fast twitch fibres? I think its smart to train on different cadences. If I go too heavy I think my legs faster gets muscletired. I am fastest when I go as heavy as I can before it feels heavy. When it feels heavy I choose a lighter gear. Maybe I am even faster when its too heavy, but that torque I cant keep long.

[@davidburgess741]

You're on the right track. Don't kill yourself early in the climb. Save some to accelerate right near the top.

[@joannelouiserodriguez5966]

its tough atm i get out on weekends only and my power isnt great compared to others in my club fab video lee as always x

[@johndawson5718]

I’m 66 12 stone 7 lbs 5’11” …I average 60-65 cadence here in hilly West Cumbria Lake District England which I’m happy with. I can get up those lumps eventually 😅. I agree with what’s been said be happy at what you’re comfortable with.

[@germanhugger41]

Hi Leonard- Was just looking at the footage of you cycling along and I am convinced that you would really benefit from changing to longer spindle pedals.. Speedplay, Time, SQ Lab, . I'm fairly broad across the beams, and changing to Speedplay Zero pedals was an absolute game changer for comfort and power...

[@sapiens7821]

I’ve been big ring riding for ages 52 on the front and 11/32 on the back. Average training loop ride 60km with 700m ele. I then swap out to a single speed 42 on the front and 17 on the back for high cadence workouts. Same average speed on each bike. Ride to how you feel and enjoy. I hardly use a bike computer now and ditched the power meter. I use a Garmin watch and I don’t get caught up with numbers. My zone workouts are to how I feel.

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@sapiens7821 Sounds like you are having a great time.

[@sofiaorsic]

Nice episode, thanks I think these will be most useful for me!

[@531c]

Age and physiology make a huge difference. I'm not sure you're right with fast/slow twitch muscles vs fast/slow cadence. Personally my own physiology tends towards greater slow twitch muscles, I can run long distances easily and same for cycling, but I couldn't generate enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Ended up fitting a 46/30 grx chainset and front mech to my bike as I can't push 50/11 let alone 53/11. Spin 90/100rpm all day as each revolution requires less power. You are right in that do what works for you. At 63 I'm happy to be out on my bike at all. Keep em coming Leonard

[@theroadsnearyou...5088]

If you aren’t pedalling in circles, you’re making it hard work!

[@robappleby583]

Pedalling in circles is debunked nonsense.

[@scottvessey915]

I average about 80 rpm outdoors but 90 indoors 🤷‍♂️

[@hansdegroot8549]

Interesting video thanks for sharing. I'm far too lazy to ride 90 RPM. I don't have an rpm counter on my bicycle, but I know what gears I typically use at a certain speed. (on roads that are paved an more or less flat). So my RPM is somewhere between 60 and 70. When going uphill (6-12%) my RPM is somewhere between 35 and 52. That's hard working, with 100 kg of body weight. At the start of the cycling season I use lower gears, because the muscle strength in my legs disappear for a great part during the about 4 month winter break.

[@tommyb7467]

I ride a ten speed Bianchi. There are two gears on the chainset. Cheltenham and Gloucester is mostly flat, I do short rides 5-10 miles. I'm always always in the large on the chainset. I'm out of the saddle quite a bit. So I only ever really use 8 gears on the cassette, if I used the 9th or 10th on the cassette, it wouldnt be good for the chain.

[@railthegutter]

I have been experimenting for about three weeks with much lower cadences on a slightly harder gear and within two weeks I noticed that my HR between low and high cadence has not changed much at all (40 mile commute four days a week and the times overall are almost the same too). BUT, it does require a little bit of time to get adjusted to the higher torque/low cadence stuff (just don't go too low and too high of a gear or else you'll knees will have a word with you later, lol). In the end yeah, switch it up. Nothing wrong with a little bit of everything. Keep the body guessing, lol.

[@vengance27]

Thank you for this. I'm new to road cycling so this is very good information. I always thought pedaling faster results in higher speed... until I saw a dude on a racing bike pedaling like he's taking a sunday stroll but bro was gapping me like the Gulf of Mexico. Thanks

[@texaslinux]

Very good info, thank you Leo!

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@texaslinux Glad you liked it.

[@aresiusm621]

Great video. I haven’t ridden in 6 years and before that I was riding for about 2 years. I averaged 80rpm @26kph(16mph) and only improved by 2mph. I don’t know how they manage 40-60mph and so I gave up. Plus I’m too heavy now for my 80kg recommended rider weight lol. I remember a news report with fern and Fred following a guy going towards Pompey and had to maintain 55mph! Anyway I think I’m 50/50 fast/slow and used to enjoy 4 hours on the bike of a weekend 140km and doing a Xmas 1000kms over 3 weeks. Those were the days @80rpm 25kph I could ride all day…

[@lucaslittmarck2122]

Your body adapts to the rpm you train at. Higher rpm = less muscles needed to produce the same power, which = less bodyweight and more watt/kg. Higher rpm is slightly less efficient and raises heartrate but that in turn removes lactate from the legs faster. For people riding for years everything is a work to reduce lactate. Ultra athletes goes a tiny bit slower on the rpm to sustain energy...

[@harrylen1688]

Per Year I ride 4000k to 5000k The most important task is my Legs & Pedals synchronicity. It can be difficult usually distractions can take the concentration away. I can say most Bike riders are very competitive especially if you ride on speeds above 20m per hour I can see behind me kind off struggles just to pass you over. Those things happens every day Cars, Motorcycle, etc... That's why most important I keept working towards mastering those Mechanical technic's are extremely beneficially to short & long distance rides!!

[@chrisconnors7418]

That’s interesting. This year I’ve started using higher gears and a slower cadence. Couple days ago I set my 2nd fastest time on a 20 km route. May not sound impressive but all my previous fastest times were using my carbon fibre road bike. I set the new second fastest time on my heavy steel mountain bike I’ve now got the power and endurance to get that mountain bike up to speeds previously reserved just for my road bike

[@JohnBatty]

I'm 63 now and I no longer have the leg power or endurance I had twenty years ago. So if I want to go 80+km I need to use high (90-95) cadence because my cardio vascular system can recover quite quickly when necessary by easing off the speed for a while. I can produce more power at 80rpm but once the legs are gone, that's it.

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@JohnBatty Sounds like you have good cardiovascular fitness.

[@JohnBatty]

@@jollygoodvelo Maybe. I've always been a lone cyclist, so I have to comparison. I do have a high max HR - CLOSE TO 180, but it drops fast on easing off.

[@Alex-gl2dw]

Not really true. Muscles can be trained and pro cyclists are extensively trained to ride for long hours at high cadence because cardiovascular system recoveres faster and tires slower than leg muscles. Just look at them go at races - most of them are riding at 100+ rpm on flats. And every pro or coach out there immediately spots a rookie by their slow cadence.

[@blaze1148]

A slower cadence works absolutely fine for me.

[@GeraldGuevara]

Yeah, but most of us have regular jobs. A pro's job is to cycle, it's their office. They can put as much hours on a bike every week as we do at our regular jobs. It's already pretty difficult getting 5 hours/week on a bike while balancing work, family, friends and sleep.

[@ChrisP978]

High cadence is more efficient if you have a great cardiovascular system. My cadence naturally crept up as my cardio improved, usually average 95 overall but on flats I'm close to 100, up to 110 in hard efforts. I think for riders where their cardio lags behind their strength they will self select a slightly lower cadence.

[@blaze1148]

@@ChrisP978 ....my cardio vascular system is excellent - very fit for my age......I just prefer to cycle at a lower cadence....it gives me a better power transfer.

[@GeraldGuevara]

I find my comfortable cadence keeps changing every week or depending on mood. Sometimes going 90rpm feels comfortable then other days 80rpm feels comfortable. I have a powermeter so I know i'm keeping track of zone 2 power.

[@yeyeTF2]

83rpm is what my body likes. 6’2 175mm cranks 78kg. 90 feels too high now. when i was lighter it felt better but now i like that 10% slower. way stronger now! not purely bc of the cadence change obv, but as time goes on your body changes which means ur prefered cadence is best. my rule of thumb is power is priority. if i produce the most power at 110rpm, ill do that. if its 40rpm ill do that too. goal is speed, not an arbitrary rate of leg movement ha

[@impaledface7694]

Honestly just viewing your size I would suspect a lower cadence to be better. higher cadence tends to be better if you have a strong cardiovascular system, which is much easier to have if you are lean or heavily trained. Slower cadences are fine short term but as others said your muscles tire, so I vary my position to keep that going. Once you cramp it's kinda game over for high speed efforts. I naturally have a slower cadence and weight lift and so I can produce decent power at slow cadences, but it takes a toll on my muscles and joints. So next stop for me is high cadence. Of course crank length to leg length ratio matters too. I have a 34.5in inseam and with 165mm cranks I spin quite a bit more then on my regular 170's or 175's. The muscle type is malleable. A great example is the current world strongest man mitchell hooper. He was a marathon runner a couple years ago and now he is not. So he "went" from slow twitch to fast twitch.

[@RolandRides]

Crank size is the key to get more stable on higher cadence. It worked wonders for me.

[@ggg4w.153]

I am a heavy 54 year year old guy. I have been riding since 2020 with one year off due to injury. I am a slow rider. I would like to be faster so I can ride with friends and not hold everyone up. I have recently started playing around with my cadence. I don't have a sensor yet, so I am just sort of going by feel right now. I have found if I reduce the cadence a bit to where I am not going all out on the down hills, I have more energy and my speed increases on the inclines. It results in an overall increase in average speed over the duration of my ride. So, basically, I am in search of the sweet spot you are talking about and it seems to me that it is an effective approach.

[@RolandRides]

Lower cadence implies higher torque and that can damage your joints over time. Also you can't train your muscles enough to sustain 60rpm for a long ride bu you can train your cardio system to keep the pace. I think you should trying shorter cranks so you sit a bit more stable on your bike even on 100rpms. I changed from 172.5 and 172.0 to 165.0 and it's a game changer.

[@leftywedge]

Hi Leonard. Very good video. Last time I spoke to you I mentioned I was following a KZbinr for a while called “CRUZ Control” from the Philippines. Basically, he applies the same principles as you mention…but in different wording. Have a look. It’s interesting the way he presents it. You probably need to scroll down in the video list to find a bike fitting / cadence presentation. It doesn’t apply to everyone but still fun to watch. Cheers!

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@leftywedge Thanks Giovanni, I’ll look him up.

[@keshmo12]

I'm a novice cyclist. My first few rides were at like 60-70 rpm average. I now average 80-85 which feels good. I think going over 100 is crazy. I don't play too much attention to it though.

[@dant.6364]

Should also look at crank arm length. Most likely it is too long.

[@diegocapriolo]

Or start riding xc trails where you develop the variable ideal cadence intuitively and seamlessly.

[@jakobw135]

Isn't the POWER or FORCE exerted on the pedals the key in determining the RPM? And isn't the resulting VELOCITY the result of the above, combined with the appropriate - GEAR RATIO?

[@benedictearlson9044]

Leg weight is a consideration here. Lifting a heavy leg (no offence intended to the heavy-legged riders) obviously takes more energy than rotating and lifting a leg 5kg lighter. This energy expenditure adds to the overall workload of the rider. So heavier riders could indeed benefit from reducing the number of leg lifts they do each minute in that less of their energy will be used moving their legs upwards against gravity - be that from pulling up or pushing down. For more svelte riders the power used in moving their legs around will be less of a percentage of the overall workload so they may well be in their 'sweetspot' at higher cadences. So dropping cadence might only benefit heavier riders.

[@MazingerZX]

I like lower cadence and focus on higher torque by staying on the front big ring. After getting used to generating more power for longer time, then try 1 lower gear and slightly increase your cadence.

[@jhcycling3098]

I might asked from You, Years ago, something about why to go on that ”sweet spot” cadence, 90, all the time.. finally You’ve seen the light! 🌄 Good rides ahead! More and more with a wider spread of cadence! (Been on the lower side of cadence whole my life.. 90 revs on a higher side to me; 75-80 ”feels good, man” -meme.)

[@lamontsmith6477]

Awesome video. What saddle are you using?

[@jollygoodvelo]

Just the one that came with the bike

[@66mikkim]

At what cadence you pedal is a personal prefance. If you want to get faster, you need to know how much watts you are putting out. That (for the most part) has nothing to do with cadance. For example, i can ride at 250w and 85 rpm, or i can ride at 250w at 100 rpm. The power i output is the same... and i can do that for hours. Get a powermeter, target train in your powerzones, and improve your poweroutput AT any cadance, and you will get faster naturaly.

[@blaze1148]

Surely if you slow your cadence down without losing speed you have to up the power so your heart rate would remain the same....I definitely think the most efficient pedalling is a lower cadence with higher power but it's all about balancing this out to whatever you feel comfortable....on my Club rides I invariably pedal slower than the other members but my speed is the same - also one benefit of this is just by upping the cadence a little it is easy to pass them - once passed change gear to a lower cadence level again but maintaining the same power. One tip - keep in the large front chainring unless climbing up a mountain ! ....I must an outlier as I'm an low cadence endurance cyclist 😉

[@ABDELLAHBOUGHROM]

But why Tadej Pogacar goes with high Cadence and he seems not tired especially after the climb. Vingegaard and Roglic go with low Cadence but I always see them suffering.

[@dperreno]

I think this really depends on the rider. For me, I'm a very slender person with toothpicks for legs. I don't have a lot of strength in my legs. So for me, a higher cadence is the only way to get more power. People with stronger legs can certainly get more power than me at a lower cadence. And yes, I've done strength training which does add strength, but it doesn't add any significant muscle mass for me, so I'm still limited.

[@heksogen4788]

1:52 your hips are rocking, might wanna adress that.

[@paulmcknight4137]

Lower the saddle until the hips don't rock.

[@jono1457-qd9ft]

​@@paulmcknight4137 his saddle height is ok

[@RolandRides]

@@paulmcknight4137 he's quite low. He needs shorter cranks IMHO. Try 165mm

[@leedorney]

I'm a 70-90 rpm guy mostly 80 but going faster can be better if you can't sustain it!

[@Freighttrain21-h3l]

The only time I put much of an emphasis on my cadence is when I’m sprinting. That’s still an N=1 as I feel more comfortable sprinting at a high cadence in as big of a gear as possible for me.

[@elefantrising]

I am all over the place I usually roll at 60rpm on avg using 165mm cranks and 46t oval single chain ring. I don’t not consider myself fast but I also can’t recall the last time I got dropped. And yes I have had a lot of people tell me I am doing it all wrong but yet any of them actually able to keep up so I am going to keep doing it wrong.

[@FredFox-m9v]

I won inter club time trials averaging 60 rpm cadence, so I was fairly fast ?

[@RolandRides]

@@FredFox-m9v time trials are a good point. Time trials benefit from low cadence and all the aero gains money can buy. But regular racing and endurance rides don''t.

[@TheMrbrookster]

Funny I read that book to, well some of it, there were to many things that I was never going to do, so I thought I'll just leave that one for the pros and put it down.

[@roadcyclist1]

Cadence does not affect your speed. 200 watts at 70 rpm vs 200 watts at 90 rpm is still 200 watts. The only bearing it has is on your aerobic system and use of fast twitch vs slow twitch muscle fiber.

[@mreese8764]

At 90 rpm you just use additional power to just wiggle your legs, compared to 70 rpm.

[@FredFox-m9v]

​@@mreese8764yes, if you can do lower cadences, there is a school of thought now that it is more efficient, because you don't have the weight of your legs to move up and down so much, with lower cadences, at equally the same power output.

[@davidgeorge9233]

I’m fairly sure Peak Torque has done some aero testing which suggests a lower cadence is more aerodynamic which means it will affect your speed, although a watt is a watt your frontal area changing more often seems to be slightly slower.

[@RolandRides]

@@mreese8764 but your muscles are not getting sore that fast. While in theory it's more efficient to go 60rpm it's not sustainable over a long period of time. People with low cadence need to stop pedalling after a couple of minutes just because of muscle burn. This muscle fatigue ends the effort way too soon to improve performance. If you want to train your leg muscles, you'll have to do a leg day in the gym. That's way more useful than riding ultra low cadences in high gears.

[@roadcyclist1]

@mreese8764 no. You use whatever watts you are putting down. The only difference is what muscles are being used.

[@tonyhands-heart5492]

Pedal stroke is a big one as well .?

[@b.griffin317]

For your 5rpm/gear rule how many gears are on your cassette (10,11,12)? Or does it not really matter?

[@BrawndoDrinker]

It's al about wattage. How much and how long. Consistent high wattage on flats or uphills wins races, no matter the cadence. Some riders work better at fast cadence some better at slower. After decades of mt biking, my normal cadence is much lower, but the consistent wattage. Super fast cadence never feels right and screws up my endurance. The absolute fastest way to get stronger and faster IMO is a single speed mt bike on trails. Super low cadences on long hills will build strength fast.

[@davidtomasetti8520]

Each person has a different combination of fast twitch to slow twitch muscles, I imagine that the ideal cadence will be different for everyone based on that

[@geraldinecoupland4162]

As long as I’m in a comfortable gear and my HR low I’m happy with my cadence which is roughly 75-80 👍

[@turboseize]

Slow vs fast twitch fibres probably isn't the issue here. Henneman's size principle dictates that only those motor units are recruited that are necessary for the required force production. Slow-twitch fibres always get recruited first, only if they aren't sufficient will fast twitch fibres be recruited. The only situation where one would *really* use fast twitch fibres in cycling is during sprints in a velodrome... The reason road pros tend to ride higher cadences is that it shifts fatigue from the muscles to the cardiovascular system - which will recover faster. For us mere mortals who don't participate in multi day or even multi-week stage races, this advantage is neglilible. Also, most pros are severely underweight. A higher cadence means you move your legs more - for the same power output. As moving the legs itself requires energy (gravity should cancel itself out, but there is friction in joints and between tissues), moving legs unnecessarily fast reduces efficiency. My thighs alone weigh more than one entire Pogocar, so spinning them unecessarily fast hurts me more than him. The optimum cadence for someone with massive legs is thus significantly lower than for a pro TdF rider...

[@michael1]

Fairly obviously if you want the bike to go faster you have to spin your legs faster in the current gear, or put the bike in a higher gear and spin at around the same cadence. At which point you can either spin the bigger gear or not based on your physical fitness. Seems even more obvious without saying lose the excess kg and you'll go faster. Specifically if your legs have excess fat then they are having to spin that around as well as the pedals and it's a not a surprise if a higher cadence becomes less efficient in that scenario, you've effectively tied weights to your legs. You'll probably find that pros push down with more force and spin fast.

[@Onigure]

The equation for speed in the road apart from torque and cadence involves, sadly, the elephant in the room: Total weight of the system and the air drag coefficient.

[@JoeBManco]

This is exactly why I use 52T chainrings on my road bikes. 46T chainrings make my legs move too fast.

[@RolandRides]

Have you checked your crank length with a bikefitter? It may be too long to achieve and keep a high cadence without "rocking" on the saddle.

[@JoeBManco]

@@RolandRides My legs have muscle delay because of Asperger's Syndrome. I literally can't pedal a bike very fast. Although I do suspect you could be right and changing my 170mm cranks for 165mm cranks might help. So far I don't have any knee or hip pain with the 170mm and can ride for hours comfortably. Honestly, I'm happy that I can ride a bicycle at all because as a child it took me three years to learn. It wasn't until I was big enough to ride a beach cruiser that I could even do it. I still have that beach cruiser some 35 years later although I don't ride it any longer. It was an old bike when my dad found it in the neighbor's scrap metal pile.

[@RolandRides]

@@JoeBManco No worries. I'm also on the spectrum. I managed to learn higher cadence on the turbo trainer and zwift in my basement. It's very hard to do that outside especially without having a safe car-free way. I learned riding a bike as kid but never managed to get it right with higher cadence and small gears. I always tried to push my weight with one foot to keep the balance. I stopped riding in my teenager years and it took me over 20 years to try it again. I have not found any IRL group but I motivate myself in logging everthing to Strava e.g. motivation through numbers and repetition. Going on a bike ride has become a daily activity where I can be on my own and yet enjoy outside. Almost no social interactions.

[@JoeBManco]

@@RolandRides You've described me in many ways. Although I can drive a car, I am terrified of busy roads. Having an e-bike and my small motorcycle (Honda Rebel 300) is my preferred methods of travel. My wife thinks this is funny, but to keep my balance in as good of shape as possible, I have some stilts that I use from time to time. It is my left side that always gives me the most issues, but as long as I actively work on my balance, I'm okay. With the exception of making comments on some of the channels, this is the only socializing I do outside of my job.

[@geoffw1209]

Why are you storing wine in a conservatory?

[@Roq-stone]

Yep, that gear block has a purpose on the road bike.

[@awesam7]

You mentioned at the earlier part high cadence for sprinter, fast twitched muscles and low cadence for endurance and than towards the end, you said the opposite. I am confused.

[@jollygoodvelo]

I just mention the mix at the end of the video. I don’t say what they do.

[@OutThere845]

Higher cadence means less force per revolution, but there’s more movement and some loss in overall efficiency, so it takes a bit more energy. But you’re dead wrong saying higher cadence will use more fast twitch muscles. Lower cadence will require more force and will recruit more medium and fast twitch. That’s why some pro riders use higher cadence on climbs: to save the fast and medium twitch muscles to last longer. Higher cadence will be more aerobic. The analogy is when hiking uphill. Shorter quicker steps will totally save your legs from fatigue compared to slower longer steps. Try it hiking up a steep hill!

[@donbarnard82]

I don't have one cadence that feels natural. The easier I'm taking it, the slower my cadence. If I'm doing an all-out effort, my cadence is high (eg. 100-110). An exception is climbing where I've run out of gears forcing a slower cadence for the watts. Strangely, it can feel fine climbing at a lower cadence/high torque/high watts, but I don't like pedaling on the flats that way and I can often generate a higher average watts up a hill under those slow cadence conditions without feeling as gassed. Maybe it's that under high inertia conditions (flats) a higher cadence works better, and the reverse is true under low inertia conditions (hills). btw, the whole fast twitch/slow twitch naming is confusing and not very intuitive. I believe you're actually using your 'fast twitch' fibers more with higher torque pedaling at lower cadences. For instance, a power lifter isn't moving the weight very fast, but they're using fast twitch. Google something like "low cadence cycling uses fast or slow twitch muscles" rather than relying on what the fiber names intuit or on generic articles that lump cycling in as endurance and therefore slow twitch. Great video, in any case. :)

[@jiyon167]

Carmichael had nothing to do with Armstrong’s training. It was a front. The real coach was Dr Ferrari. Studies suggest the most efficient is ride just ride what you’re comfortable with. Nice content.

[@nathanthomson5217]

I recently finished Tyler Hamilton’s book, and his assertion was that Carmichael was simply a figurhead and did not conduct much if any actual coaching of Armstrong. If that is the case then following the advice laid out in his book may not be a sound strategy. As with most things, I imagine the truth about Carmichael lies somewhere in the middle.

[@TK-nc3ou]

Cadence around 90 is good. For amateur its totally fine to do even +10 voth sides of 90. Too low of a cadence outside of everything WILL destroy Wear down your groupset swiftly

[@tonyhouk9047]

Leonard, When I watch you cycling with a faster cadence it looks like you are bouncing on the seat. While when you are slowed down a little there is no bouncing. I was told if you’re bouncing you’re over pacing your gearing. Thoughts? Have fun, tony

[@lee-cycling]

Local man discovers pedalling harder at the same cadence makes you go faster.

[@blaze1148]

yup - it's not rocket science 😆

[@gerrysecure5874]

Firstly optimum cadence depends on actual power and duration needed. E.g. in my case sprinting is done around 130+, 5min @75, 2hrs @93. The reason is the higher the force needed to produce the power the faster muscles get tired. Artificially slowing down lowers endurance. Secondly 90rpm is biomechanically still slow movement and no fast twich muscles are needed due to cadence. FT's are also activated when force exceeds a threshold limit i e. low cadence and/or because ST fibers are exhausted. Lastly you can learn to pedal faster which puts less force on your muscles and improves endurance. Higher cadence than natural is inefficient because of suboptimal muscle contraction coordination. But this can be learned and improved. Lots of semi truth or even wrong explanations in this vid.

[@zzhughesd]

Ditto. I was never great. Fit fast. Slow vs my peers. We just have our level in sport. Water finds its level and so do we.

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

The best bit of advice I was ever given was "If you can climb a ladder, you can ride a bike up a hill."

[@notagain1952]

Unless one learns to turn a cadence above 100rpm, you will never see top end speeds. I try to stay on a 42 cog for roads speeds of up to 20 mph.

[@nuttycommuter3718]

My bike shop guy said something similar. “Spin to win”. The idea was learn to be comfortable at high cadences (100+) until that becomes your default and then change up a gear. You’ll go faster because you will push that gear to go at what has become your normal cadence. It’s why people ride fixed in winter in a low gear - forces you to spin and then you get back on your road bike and have a bigger gear but can keep the same cadence. My young son was a great example of this. When he first got a geared bike he used to ride everywhere in the lowest gear possible spinning like crazy and every ride I’d be like “mate, you’ll find it easier if change up a gear” and then one day he did and shot off like a rocket!

[@Longtimerolling]

Hey , you got the slow/fast twitch sprinter /endurance rider around the wrong way at the end of the video.

[@fredEVOIX]

my friend all strength low cadence he's always on the hardest gear...still faster than me pedaling at a higher cadence

[@TK-nc3ou]

Perfect cadence is around 90, 80 or 100 is close to it and doesnt matter. I would pay much more attention to your general level of fitness rather than cadence if you want to get faster.

[@altern8tive]

I commented here ages ago that you were over-working your cadence and needed to balance between a cardio and muscular load :) 👍

[@mudgie069]

I just ride as I feel and sometimes my cadence is faster or slower. Up until I hurt my back 12 months ago (just getting back from injury) I was cycling on average at 19-20mph at 57 years of age. I only took up cycling during the pandemic so I was pretty happy with that. I'm now back to just over 16mph average having completed 5 weeks of training 2-4 rides per week. As I'm also never going to be a racer its all about just keeping fit for me.

[@robappleby583]

Looking at the video, it seems your saddle may be a little low. You're bouncing up and down as you pedal.

[@JannieLubbe]

Very interesting, Leonard. Do we see you at the Cape Town Cycle Tour in 2025? 😊

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@JannieLubbe I hope so.

[@galenkehler]

Theres a specific reason Lance was able to produce power at higher cadence... if you replicate the rest of his training regimen as well then you may well find that high cadence works for you as well.

[@RolandRides]

and high cadence became the standard for almost all pro riders. Looking at the cadence of pros on strava shows the way. Not saying that it's wrong to ride more casual, just don't kill your joints by going 40-60rpm all day.

[@mortenthenorwegian2875]

Hi L! Good video, but what about cranck arms. I heard some have shorter and ride faster with higher cadense.

[@Cycle.every.day.]

Although under the same umbrella , that's a slightly different branch off topic for a seperate video , i think going shorter has been delibirately left out of this vid in fear of people missing the points mentioned here.

[@Local.hero.1983]

I think he wants to leave buying your way out of bad habits out here , he wants to point out what you can do with what you've got.

[@2nd.2nd.2nd]

That's a purchase quick fix, this vid is a habit changing tip.

[@eagerbob]

That was my exact thought at 1:51 in the video, where you see the rider bouncing up and down. I think that with a shorter crank, the rider may be able to go over the top of the pedal stroke a bit more easily and make the pedal stroke rounder and more fluent.

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@mortenthenorwegian2875 Hey Morten, yes, they do make a difference but, unfortunately I don’t know which way is which off hand.

[@HarishChouhan]

This is one reason tri-athletes use bigger chainrings and maintain lower cadence