Originally Posted by
xroadcharlie
I think the ideal cadence for recreational cyclists depends largely on the load. Whether we are climbing a hill, fighting wind, or just normal cruising. The greater the load, The higher up in our candace range seems best.
I consider myself to be of about average fitness for a 62 year old man, And am working on monitoring my cadence, using my speed in gears. It's actually easier then it seems. I just memorize my minimum speeds in my 3 or 4 favorite gears (16, 18, & 20 kph in 4'th, 5'th and 6'th) using 54 rpm as a minimum cadence, and adding about 1/3 for max cruising cadence (54 + 18 = 72) and max speed (18 + 6 = 24 kph @72rpm in 5'th).
Seems to working very well so far. Sometimes I find my cadence too fast or too slow, And during normal cruising, Switching to a better gear really feels good. I think its a good way to protect these old knees, and make biking more pleasurable too with longer, Less fatiguing rides.
FWIW, I have posted, including earlier on this thread,
that cadence decreases with increasing work load, as determined by Relative Perceived Exertion:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…my own, seemingly unique system for cadence (primary) and gearing (secondary):
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Cadence
I’m a 40+ year cyclist and I ride mainly for fitness. My training tool is the
Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale, and I use cadence to chose gears to maintain my desired exertion.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
This year though, I decided to go for speed (intensity), and I use the semi-quantitative, standardized, but personally relevant system of
The Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion (link) with my own particular adaptation.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
The RPE scale ranges from 6 to 17, with descriptions of the intensity. Multiply the RPE by 10 is the approximate heart rate. Jim's scale is the equivalent on a 0 to 100 scale, easier to think about:
RPE = 6, resting... Jim's scale = 10 to 20
RPE = 7, very, very light... Jim's scale = 20 to 30
RPE = 9, very light... Jim's scale = 30 to 40
11, fairly light...50 (my usual happy-go-lucky pace without thinking about it)
13, somewhat hard...60 (I have to focus to maintain)
15, hard...70 (I start breathing hard at about 30 seconds)
17, very hard (lactate threshold; breakpoint between hard but steady
breathing and labored with gasping)...80 (my predicted max HR)
19, very, very hard...90 to 100.
My basic training is to ride at my RPE of 50% for six miles to warm up, then cruise at an RPE of 60%, and do intervals (on hills) at 70%. I try to change gears to maintain a cadence of about 85-90 rpm on flats and rolling hills, and about 60 to 80 rpm on harder hills, to maintain my RPE.
Shift up to higher gears as the cadence rises, and shift down as the RPE increases.