Know Your Cadence

What is cadence? And why is it important? And how do I know what my cadence is?


Bicycling |

What is cadence? And why is it important? And how do I know what my cadence is?


Cadence is the number of revolutions of the crank per minute. Ie. How quickly your feet turn the pedals.

Most beginners tend to mash away in a big gear at low cadences of 60-80rpm (revolutions per minute). This might keep your heart rate down at first but research has shown that spinning in a lighter gear at a higher cadence is in actual fact more efficient and won’t tire you out as quickly. A higher cadence reduces muscle stress and improves the blood flow to the quadriceps muscle (the key muscle for the downstroke in the crank’s cycle). This reduces local muscle fatigue and allows for sustainable power production. It might seem rather difficult at first, but the more you practice, the easier it becomes.

Becoming aware of your cadence will help develop leg strength, pedal stroke efficiency and endurance, which will all help you tremendously come race day.

If you do not have a cadence metre (some bike computers have this function already built in), try to get a feel for spinning your legs faster in a lighter gear when required, rather than grinding away in a heavier gear and tiring yourself out halfway into the ride. Alternatively, you can count the number of pedal strokes that you complete in a 15 second period. Multiply this by 4 = cadence.

 

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