Originally Posted by
terrymorse
I think I gravitate towards a preferred power level, but it's grade dependent. I have no trouble maintaining power uphill, but it takes lots of concentration to keep the same power going on flat terrain. Shifting to a higher gear doesn't seem to make a difference -- the flat road power just doesn't seem to be there. Maybe I'm just "neuro-muscular" adapted to riding uphill.
For me power level is dictated entirely by the type of ride and my ability to generate it! All I can say is that I can generate more power at a higher cadence, but for less time. But for any specific steady state power I will have a “preferred” cadence and that preferred cadence tends to increase with power.
But then sometimes I like to vary my cadence at the same power level. Especially when riding on the flat for a long time at tempo. I don’t like riding a fixed cadence for a prolonged time.
So I see cadence as quite a dynamic variable.