Cadence, Power and Speed
I’m sitting here watching the Tour de France stage 4 individual time trial and listening to some crappy commentary about cadence selection and the fact that many cyclists these days adopt a “Lance Armstrong high cadence” and that because they pedal at a high cadence, much like a formula one car revving at high revs, this helps them ride their bikes fast… Oh Please!
I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about and experimenting with different cadence and power combinations. A few years ago I started training for an Ironman and noticed that whilst I could spin a gear up a hill quite effectively, my ability to keep up on a flat to undulating course was pretty hopeless. Why? Because the amount of raw power I could produce was relatively low.
Over the last couple of years I’ve spent time training for time trial, road racing and more recently track racing. I’ve noticed that the type of training that delivers gains depends upon the type and duration of the event that you’re contemplating. An additional consideration is the heart rate that different cadence and gearing selections produces for a given speed.
I came across a great article online about optimal cadence selection, the summary of which I’ve quoted below:
“In summary, laboratory studies indicate that experienced cyclists do not use their most economical or efficient cadences. However, cadences of 90 to 100 rpm are probably beneficial in spite of decreases in economy and efficiency. The explanation proposed here suggests the use of high rpms results in a decrease in average pedal force per revolution and leads to the recruitment of fewer fast-twitch fibers, placing the reliance for muscle power development primarily on the slow-twitch and intermediate fibers. The advantage to the cyclist is there is less likelihood of a rapid accumulation of lactic acid, with the resulting decrease in muscle force production. More interdisciplinary studies in cycling, particularly those that combine biomechanical and physiological data, are needed to confirm or refute this theory.”
Training both power and cadence
The article above indicates that we tend to choose sub-optimal cadences because of the physiological degradation that occurs from a reliance on producing too much power. Something I’ve noticed is that I make the best gains when I combine power/strength training with cadence training. One or the other does not deliver the gains in performance that the two combined deliver.
To illustrate - I find that if I focus training effort on spinning a high cadence I notice that I get some benefits in the form of a cleaner pedal stroke and efficiency, but the raw speed gain is marginal. Similarly, if I focus training effort on power/strength endurance work I get benefits in terms of being able to turn a bigger gear for longer but notice that my ability to maintain form degrades.
When the two types of training are put together and a moderately high cadence of 90-95rpm is used the impact on speed and ability to deliver performance over an extended period is significantly improved. Ultimately, I’ve noticed that a lot of amateur cyclists (myself included!) fall into the trap of simply “training” without focusing on developing specific aspects of their cycling technique and ability. For me it’s like a ratcheting process - improve my power and then develop the ability to deliver that power at higher cadences. Once mastered, it’s time to restart the cycle again.
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Comment by Alex on 9 July 2008:
Greg.
Being keen on numbers, I have played with just about everything there is to play with cadence and power wise through bike set up and physical effort and have come up with a combination that works for me. For ITT style cycling, 80-85 RPM creates the highest speed for the lowest heart rate. As the type of cycling I do is generally longer distance in Ironman type racing, energy conservation is number one followed by reducing lactic acid production.
In my opinion, too many people focus on what Lance or who ever the flavour of the months is does and decides that must be the best way to do it. Let us remember that very very few of us will ever ride courses that are thrown up in the world of professional cycling and certainly not anywhere near the intensities.
Thankfully cycling is a sport for people who want to make gains easily. Gains are made through riding your bike. As the bike is a machine, actual physiology does not play as large a part as it does in say swimming or running. When I say machine, I don’t mean the drive train but the physical act of the bike locking your feet and hands into positions that are changeable with an allen key and a few swear words. The muscles can be put into their most efficient power producing lines of movement and kept there.
I believe that yes there are gains to be made through cadence modification but they are the icing on the cake. Most of us don’t have the cake yet (I stole that line). Look at The Kaiser, he was a dirty masher but managed big things as a big bloke (possibly assisted).
Comment by Will on 11 July 2008:
Alex,
The Kaiser could also produce massive amounts of power compared to most. The best example was when they did the TT up Alpe D Huez and everyone was on road bikes, but the Kaiser still put his aero bars on and just grinded away for 2nd place.
No one has ever been able t match teh Kaiser and he was considered somewhat unusual within the peleton for his style.
Greg
What type of strength training are you doing for track?
Comment by gj on 12 July 2008:
Will,
Not doing much strength training at the moment as haven’t been training much. Main form of strength training I do is low cadence, big gear climbing. I did a few weeks of this at the back end of last year and was surprised at the impact.
GJ.
Comment by alex on 12 July 2008:
A good strength tool is to forget you have a small ring. Ride in the big ring absolutely everywhere for a couple of months.
Comment by gj on 12 July 2008:
Agree with Alex. I made a habit of leaving my bike in the 53 or 54 (depending on which bike I was riding) for my daily commute.
I’ve also got a couple of single speeds that have reasonable gearing - one has a 54×19 ratio, the other a 52×18 ratio. This makes for some good strength work on the hills or rises on the way to and from work, plus has the benefit of forcing me to spin fast on the flats and downhill slopes.
Will - I’ve still got a frame sitting here that I’m thinking of building up to another single speed commuter… Perhaps we can build this up for you - I’ll do the build and document it for the site and you can have the bike at the end!
Comment by Nick on 16 July 2008:
Love the site…just nitpicking, but avoid using the term lactic acid. Lactic acid cannot be formed in the body under normal circumstances. The correct term is Lactate.
Cheers
Comment by gj on 16 July 2008:
Nick - nitpick all you like, that’s the point.
Yep - should be Lactate and I’m all for making sure we use the correct terminology. In fact, this is one of the most mis-understood areas of exercise physiology and most don’t realise that lactate is a primary fuel source for muscles during endurance exercise and is not, per se, a bad thing.