Apr 01, 2024 at 01:11 AM
A few comments on getting cadence right for riding with the pack up the hill in Prospect got me thinking of cadence drills.
First, while I, like most everybody, started out riding overgeared (aka in too big a gear, or riding too slow a cadence) much of the time, I eventually learned many benefits to a higher cadence.
I think of overgearing on hills kind of like when trying to sprint up stairs by skipping steps. I can do it for a while, but when I start to slow down, I really slow down, and it's hard to recover. So, a smaller gear has benefits because it's easier when pedaling a higher cadence to push either for a slightly higher cadence or relax into a slightly lower cadence. And, when the hill starts to bite and I'm starting to flail, I can then shift to a bigger gear. When you start in a bigger gear, the changes of speed are harder to handle, and once your cadence starts to drop due to fatigue or an increasing gradient, it's harder to recover.
So, a few workout ways to expand the range of where one is comfortable pedaling.
Add varying cadence to steady-state intervals.
Back in the day when people rode with maybe a speedometer or HRM, I learned a workout called 'multi-gear.' It was basically set a speed or heart rate and shift gears every minute. Like start in the 53x19, and shift into a bigger gear until you get to the biggest gear. Then shift into a smaller gear until you're in the 19 again. this can be attempted at almost any pace/power level/RPE. I used it do it some when I was doing 20m tempo efforts on flattish terrain.
I've also tried doing something similar on recovery days riding along the west side bike path. There, I'd get myself so I was pedaling 80rpm at a recovery power rate, something low, and then use shifting to get to 90, 100, 110, 120rpm, while keeping a recovery power. Sometimes, if I wasn't feeling totally blown, I'd then go 110, 100, 90, 80, 70. When I'm feeling ok, I'd do 3m at each cadence level, when I was really tired, it would just be 1m at each.
Another such workout is to over- and then under-gear. When riding at a steady state, ride at 80rpm for a fixed amountn of time, then, while keepign the same power, ride at 110rpm for the same time. Then repeat.
2. Riding rollers without resistance.
Just getting on rollers is good for pedaling technique. It seems that just being on the treadmill gets many to pull through the bottom of their pedal stroke more than on the road. Maybe it's because without the distraction of the road, you're more focused on pedal stroke. But once you've mastered riding them, moving on to varying cadence drills.
First, while I, like most everybody, started out riding overgeared (aka in too big a gear, or riding too slow a cadence) much of the time, I eventually learned many benefits to a higher cadence.
I think of overgearing on hills kind of like when trying to sprint up stairs by skipping steps. I can do it for a while, but when I start to slow down, I really slow down, and it's hard to recover. So, a smaller gear has benefits because it's easier when pedaling a higher cadence to push either for a slightly higher cadence or relax into a slightly lower cadence. And, when the hill starts to bite and I'm starting to flail, I can then shift to a bigger gear. When you start in a bigger gear, the changes of speed are harder to handle, and once your cadence starts to drop due to fatigue or an increasing gradient, it's harder to recover.
So, a few workout ways to expand the range of where one is comfortable pedaling.
Add varying cadence to steady-state intervals.
Back in the day when people rode with maybe a speedometer or HRM, I learned a workout called 'multi-gear.' It was basically set a speed or heart rate and shift gears every minute. Like start in the 53x19, and shift into a bigger gear until you get to the biggest gear. Then shift into a smaller gear until you're in the 19 again. this can be attempted at almost any pace/power level/RPE. I used it do it some when I was doing 20m tempo efforts on flattish terrain.
I've also tried doing something similar on recovery days riding along the west side bike path. There, I'd get myself so I was pedaling 80rpm at a recovery power rate, something low, and then use shifting to get to 90, 100, 110, 120rpm, while keeping a recovery power. Sometimes, if I wasn't feeling totally blown, I'd then go 110, 100, 90, 80, 70. When I'm feeling ok, I'd do 3m at each cadence level, when I was really tired, it would just be 1m at each.
Another such workout is to over- and then under-gear. When riding at a steady state, ride at 80rpm for a fixed amountn of time, then, while keepign the same power, ride at 110rpm for the same time. Then repeat.
2. Riding rollers without resistance.
Just getting on rollers is good for pedaling technique. It seems that just being on the treadmill gets many to pull through the bottom of their pedal stroke more than on the road. Maybe it's because without the distraction of the road, you're more focused on pedal stroke. But once you've mastered riding them, moving on to varying cadence drills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsl2qIirnno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u_Tw3S8KWA
https://youtu.be/Jda7VmuapCQ?si=MZouVBpk9stou28R&t=455
