Cycling Cadence Explained 

Cadence was probably the biggest help for me when I resumed after 25 years off the bike.

Here at the coast, I just grind into the gales, and feel glad I got home. Cadence, 1 revolution per minute!

Dude, you deserve more views. That. Videography.

As a newbie 50+ fatty to cycling, your videos are priceless. I'd skipped this one as i had no idea what cadence was. Thank auto play for this lol. It's a must see, the secret to cycling. I swim, i liken it to when you realise crawl is all about the breathing, then the penny drops. What a difference that has made to my cycling, in only 2 months. :-)

Probably one of RU-vid's best cycling cadence posts🙌🏾 Thank you Leonard.

My home cadence is 60-70 I put some focus into making it higher on the trainer but out in the wild i tend to revert back without thinking.

Hi Leonard, I use a lower cadence, around 66-74 but will spin up above 110 on rollers. However, the tendency is for me to use a lower range cadence. Your's is impressive at 90. As always, your videos are always so well thought out. Thanks Again

Great information, I have grown as a cyclist because of you, thank you

Thanks for the simplified video.. I only looked at cadence late last year after I upgraded my cycle computer so I haven't really had a chance to get back into it.. But I definitely looking at the "home cadence". 🚴‍♂️👍

This is helpful. I bought a cadence and speed sensor pack to augment my bike computer without understanding what the information is telling me. The job now is to apply the information to improve my performance.

The most important metric to judge efforts is power. I find my cadence is usually around 85 but doesn't tell me much about my effort. but in a pro they can still put out really high watts in high cadence and spin out lactic acid

As someone that is known as a big ringer my cadence is very low. I have always relied on my strength to get me up the hills. Where I live in Sheffield it is famous for being a very hilly city. I have found as I have gotten older that unfortunately the hills I flew up years ago,are now a bit of a grind. I have tried to go on the higher gears,but have found that I tire really quickly in them,as my breathing needs to be altered to compensate. It's virtually as if I am doing a entirely different exercise.

I seem to be stuck in the 90’s. 1990s. I run simple corded Cateyes on both bikes with no cadence input. However, with some knee issues I need to stay above 80 at least so I print a shift point list that uses 90 for the shift up point and at least 80 for a low. Tape that to the stem. Mostly I don’t pay attention to it anymore but it’s there if I need it. I know, old school and goofy but it has worked.

My home cadence is around 80rpm. Since I have been riding a gravel bike more than my road bike, I have increased my cadence,and it has helped a lot. It was not easy to do at first because I would get winded, but with time and practice, I can now spin at 90-95 rpm much more comfortably. It's very helpful because my gravel bike is heavier, and with a faster cadence I ride almost as fast as my road bike and feel less stress on my body, especially my back.

Finally. A nice and objective explanation on cadence, its use and benefits! Congrats!

Love all your videos L. They are very clearly explained, great camera work all of which I’m sure is hard work and your commitment to help fellow cyclists is fantastic. Thanks so much, one of my go to cycling channels on RU-vid. Keep peddling . 👍🏻

That is the best explanation of this subject. No other video I watched out of about 5 good me the things you mentioned! This is the information i needed to understand whether this is something I need and how to use it! Thank you very much.

I use cadence on my bike tours as a reminder to keep peddling and not get lazy and coast all the time. I find my daily average is just 70 rpm on a loaded bike over 5-6 hours of pedalling over a day. If I get higher than this I can start to feel more fatigue in energy or muscles, which may mean I’m not consuming enough protein or electrolytes.

I just got a bike computer, speed and cadence sensor. I'll improve my bike performance now, since I'll see what I'm really doing.

I took up cycling again in February 2020. Been hearing a lot about gear changes & candence since then. I got my head around correct gear changes withing 6 months. I'm only beginning to get my head around cadence. I have a Samsung Galaxy A32 5G phone which has the Samsung Health App pre-installed. With the last 2 upgrades on my phone, I discovered that the cycling feature has a list of accessories that I can use in conjunction with the phone. I'm looking at the Bontrager DuoTrap Digital Speed & Cadence Sensor TREK. I telephoned my bike shop this morning to ask if it would work with my phone. Luckily, one of the mechanics there has the same type of phone, he set it up on his device, he got back in touch to say that it works like a charm. At €49.99, I wanted to make sure the phone would at least pick up the cadence data. I'm off in tomorrow to the bike shop to have the mechanics set it up on my crank arm for me. I'll let you know how I get on with it. I know that there's loads out there to try out. I'll let you know how I get on with it.

Great comprehensible explanation and hats off to you with a home cadence of 90. I'm impressed.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS LESSON! You have taught me and my friends a great deal.

Thanks for this video. It is easy to follow and clarifies doubts for newer fellows.

Hand in hand or rather foot in foot with cadence is pedalling technique. Some cyclists really do 'pedal in squares'. Amplified at higher rpms, the cyclist bounces in the saddle, easily spotted when on their wheel. One legged pedalling drill is one way of smothing out the dead spots. What are your thoughts on this & the use of oval chainrings. Thanks for your well put together & informative videos.

As an oldie, I want to maintain my fitness but also my strength. For that reason, I combine my usual relatively high cadence with shorter periods of higher gear/lower cadence to keep my legs strong. I don't have a cadence meter on the Bosch computer of my Gazelle bike but don't really need it as I am quite aware of cadence at all times.

Excellent explanation of cadence!👍

Thanks, your video is very straight forward and easy to understand.

Cheers Leonard - this the best video I have ever seen on Cadence.

A big THANK, to you, sir, for this helpful and clarifying education about what cycling cadence are all about! Thank you so very much for the enlightenment! Much appreciated! Wishing you all the best! Greetings from Sweden! 💯👍👌

New to biking. Thanks for the information

Brilliant explanation Lenard thank you so much can you do more like theses cheers

Good imformation Leonard, never thought of this before. Thanks.

Fantastic information again I'm learning such a lot from you thank you

Thanks for the great information and teaching us some more basics. Enjoyed this video along with your others. Keep cycling and posting!

Best explaination of cadence I've seen on RU-vid, thanks for sharing.

Thanks, great video. My home cadence went up from 92 to 100 in summer time. I would say 98 to 100 is my level now. No idea why but it feels great to pedal bit higher rate. I bet it is down again in next summer season start on the road.

Very useful video on What should be the Cadence while cycling. Thanks

Nicely explained Leonard.

As a musician, the easiest way for me to keep track of cadence is to pedal in time to a song I hear in my head. For example, “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin has a tempo of 80bpm. This translates to 80 RPM - a respectable clip. Far cheaper (and more accurate!) than any cadence monitor I’ve encountered.

Good insight for a beginner like myself!

Great explanation 👌

Brand new 🚴‍♀️... thanks for the articulate explanation 😀

I think I'd choose 90 for like a half hour time trial, usually less on a cruise, although more on a sprint or when I demand high power even on my electric bike so as not to overload the mid-drive motor too much at full power.

best explained in a simple way and understandable thanks alot .

Great reminder to me as I setup for my indoors training with a cardio workout in mind. I'm 68 years old and I've been riding a recumbent trike (tadpole) for a little over two years, always endavouring to keep ensure I keep riding at a level with cardio benefits. Understanding cadence will benefit me greatly! I use a Wahoo cadence sensor & speed sensor with their app.

the best explanation so far

Very good simple explanation.

Thx for the explanation sir

Brilliant advice and approach! Many thanks

Nice and Easy Leo!

clean .. nice and simple thank you

Great video! If you are using a HR monitor and are zone training would you still benefit from a cadence sensor? Thanks

Thank you! Great video!

Nicely explained :)

You are so awesome. I love your videos.

Thank you for the information

Awesome & Thanks :)

You can reach identical power and heart rates but with many different cadences. Lower than 70RPM it seems to become much more of a high resistance exercise and above 70RPM more of a cardiovascular exercise. "Zone 2" seems the best for building the heart and aerobic endurance, but I can't figure out which cadence is optimal for increasing heart chamber size, stroke volume, and other cardiovascular adaptations. What do you think is the optimal cadence to improve stroke volume, cardiac output, and other cardiovascular adaptations? What heart rate range do you think is optimal for building the amount of blood the heart can pump?

The one reason, again for me personally, I ride the fixie in winter with a slower cadence. Simply because cardiovascular stimulus is easier to maintain in winter. The loss of muscle mass in winter, for me, is harder to compensate. Thus I run up and down the stairs to maintain cardio and the fixie to maintain muscle mass. And yes, the Netherlands is a perfect place for it, 15km commute one way is nice. Just, rain spoils it a bit. 😄

As my leg strength improved my cadence actually went down but I went with it as it keeps my heart rate lower. Ok for shorter races but on a 100 mile ride I'd keep it up higher.

Thanks Leonard

What’s the name of the song in the beginning of the video?

How do we do candence when we cycle on a single speed?

Great info 🙏🙏🙏

I love waching your video :)

Could you maybe answer a Zwift question? What’s the deal when you see a fellow rider with the curved data screen in front of the handlebars?

Thank you for the explanation. I often times riders talk about 400 wats of power. How do you get this number? Cheers mate..

Great explanation, I got. Karoo for Christmas and want to use it to its fullest

Hi Leonard. Happy New Year. Kim

I have a Trek Emonda SL6, my cycling computer doesnt have a cadence option. What computer do u recommend?

Very concise explaination. Thank you

Watch the anime yowamushi pedal youll love it

Whats the intro tune mate? Cracking video

As I cycle purely for pleasure do I even need to think about cadence?

👍

music ? plizz

👍🏻

Just getting started on cycling for more than a commute. Really struggle and feel like I am spinning out at anything north of 70rpm

You made me miss Whitby,

Sorry to ask you (Please forgive me) I mean all love. I want to buy a fitness bike to lose weight. I see you are above average in body size. Is biking not helping to lose weight or anything else you can advice me. Thank you

Spinners are winners

I prefer to be around 80rpm. Most of my riding ends up at about 78rpm average.

Had to watch this video to understand Oracle's Java tutorials...

So I understand it’s basically pace

Mood music and basically the video doesn't begin until 1:14 minutes in.

There's something humurous when the big boys give fitness advice. Do this so you can be big like me? 😀👍

What about, Watts ?

I've a lot to learn :(

Is ur voice over layed or something?

one thumbs down still dont get it lol

I thought it was the name of a reality tv tit...

Based on your video u are spinning to fast brooooo

👍