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Re: Calling all Coggans [Slowman]
Slowman wrote:
i don't see what's train wrecky. what i see in the thread is that a few people have raised this question. me, i don't know. i'm just asking.

alex wrote two things: "metabolically, knowing your torque or cadence is not particularly helpful, while knowing power most definitely is," along with, "far better to focus on effort level and choose a gear appropriate for the situation."

to me, just reading those two statements, they don't square for me. if you choose the appropriate gear, you're choosing on what basis? what makes it "appropriate"? is the thesis here that you don't need to pay any attention to either torque or cadence? i very strongly suspect that the great majority of folks who earn their living from cycling, as cyclists - or coaches, etc. - would not agree that cadence is not to be considered.

i don't want to put words on anyone's mouth, but i can only read your words, not your mind.
I don't see an obligatory train wreck either. But you probably have the data already. Power and cadence gives you torque (average per rotation) with a little bit of post-processing, from there a few exploratory scatter plots will tell you if there is a pattern indicating a relationship.
Ramp test data tells me that as power demand increases, I choose to use a higher cadence, I do upshift as speed increases but not enough to keep cadence constant.
With a cubic power curve, 26% faster = doubling the power. So on a constant gear, 26% increase in cadence 59% increase in torque. Constant cadence, 100% increase in torque. Constant torque, 100% increase in cadence therefore 59% reduction in gearing for 26% higher speed. So I'm certainly choosing to reduce the increase in torque that would have been required for a constant cadence, but definitely not keeping it constant.
I could check on two turbotrainers with completely different power curves to see what consistency I exhibit, if any.

Am I making the right choices? Who could tell me, apart from my own internal feedback?
My first guesses are that I have chosen a crank length that provides the "right" balance between pedal force and limb articulation, and then choose a cadence that provides the "right" balance between pedal force and speed. A shorter crank and lower gear could provide unchanged pedal force and speed for a given power, it would be produced with a higher cadence and reduced limb articulation. What is most effective for (a) an individual performance and (b) positive adaptation for individual future performances are further questions that I lack the knowledge to answer. I probably couldn't even fathom the correct intermediate questions.
Last edited by: dontswimdontrun: Mar 26, 18 16:24

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