Cadence; the measure or beat of movement. Cadence is usually referred to as a balanced, rhythmic flow. But what about the cadence a quarterback shouts-out to his offense? Does it sound balanced or rhythmic? It may sound random and without pattern to the defense. But to the quarterback’s offense it sounds perfectly sound and predictable. Cadence in the bike world refers to the number of crankset (or pedal) revolutions per minute.
I hear the question, “what should my cadence be?” a lot. If I give you a solid number, I probably know you pretty well. Because an ideal cadence for a workout can vary from rider to rider. It even varies within the rider. For example, rider X may be most affective rolling in the peloton at a higher cadence than most, say 100. But when climbing, rider X may be best at a little lower cadence than his/her counterparts, say 60. And another rider may be the opposite. Remember Lance Armstrong spinning a light gear up the French Alps, while Jan Ulrich grinned-out an enormous gear with, for the most part, the same result? Two different riders with different takes on cadence.
The cadence metric is an average of what goes on within a single pedal stroke. So, what goes on in a single pedal stroke? A lot. It is anything but average. When you talk about average cadence for a ride it’s like talking about how your year was. A pedal stroke is like a day and a series of days make up a year (average cadence.) Some studies talk about how a rider does not pull up at all on the backside of the pedal stroke. They say it is your opposite pedal pushing down that pushes up the “weak” side. If that is true riding Powercranks would be impossible. But what is happening, for sure, is uneven pressure within the pedal stroke. The actual speed of the pedal stroke changes throughout the orbit. So that brings-in another factor, momentum. And, yet another factor, the resistance of your “weak” leg. Yes, getting out of the way of yourself is a factor. These are just a few factors going on, and it’s happening in milliseconds. What happens when you move on the saddle, stand, sprint? One thing that happens is a change in your cadence. What about cadence on a fixed-gear? Big-time change.
I’m working on a comprehensive report on cadence, so stay tuned for an in-depth report on all of the things I touched on. But until then, go outside of your comfort zone and try some different cadence drills…do some big-gear action and some serious extended spinning.
-Rocket
