i’m a MOP’er on flats (average around 20mph) at racine and steelhead the last 2 years. i suck on hills.
anyway, here’s the thing- i know people talk about spinning at a high rpm (well, high for me). i’m more comfortable pushing a the small gears on the rear cassette at about 75-80 rpms. it seems like if i try to spin higher (using one of the middle size gears), i feel like i’m all wobbly and probably going to fall off the side of the bike.
how can i increase my rpm’s and maintain some stability? any suggestions?
Core stability excersizes and hills… It’s easier to “spin” uphill in the beginning. You have to train your body to ride at a cadence, so you have to do it a lot after that and focus on it.
That said, there is no magic rpm range, you may be better at a lower range depending on your physiology and strengths on the bike. Most people got on board with high cadence when they saw Lance, but Cadel Evans did well in the tour this year doing what most would consider “grinding” it out.
Cycle more at a higher cadence. See how fast (rpm) you can go!
If you are “wobbling” too much, check that your saddle is not too high as that causes a bouncing effect that is more noticeable at high cadence, due to your hips assisting the reach for the pedals, rather than the ankle extending, which is easier at a lower cadence.
Start out with your hands not on the aerobars. Find a relatively traffic-free road, and downshift until you are pedaling at a rate just a bit less than where you would begin to feel wobbly. Keep pedaling this fast for four or five minutes, then shift to a normal gear for a few minutes. Repeat several times.
After four or five reps, you should find that you have about 25 more RPM pretty comfortably, and 90 RPM will feel almost normal. Work toward doing this same exercise in the aerobars once you feel comfortable doing it on the base bar.
Practicing cadence is great because you see results really fast. You may not see an increase in bike speed (higher cadence does not necessarily mean higher power, as Flanagan pointed out), but it is really nice to feel comfortable on the bike at a range of cadences. Good luck!
to spin faster one must, well, spin faster. Regular cadence drills must be a weekly, if not bi-weekly part of your training.
stability though sounds like fit and/or pedaling form. If I were to bet, I’d say your form is wacked and you are applying most power on the downstroke and virtually nothing elsewhere. By learning to better spin “circles” you can keep better control. I found after my most recent fitting I was able to FEEL the circles - I had NEVER felt them before - and I think it will help considerable as I work to improve my cadence.
it’s gonna take a long time, just keep at it religiously. You have to retrain your muscles and it is going to take time for them to get used to it.
p.s. I am in your exact boat, speedwise and run around 70rpm. If I really work it and bring up to 80 I can add 1-2mph overall - so it is the best way to free speed.
Suggestion #1: If you have a road bike, buy some rollers and learn to ride them. You won’t want to use your tri bike on them, but the stability and spin discipline that they force you to learn will carry over to the tri bike.
Suggestion #2: Make it a habit. When you’re out on your tri bike on the road, whenever you settle into a gear that feels right, shift to the next easier gear and maintain the same speed. Do this ALL THE TIME. In a few weeks, you’ll be spinning your brains out. Once you learn to spin, when you apply the power, you’ll do so at a higher cadence and you’ll be very happy with how much faster you’ll be.
Suggestion #3: Reverse the order of suggestions #1 and #2 above. You can do #2 right now and you can work on #1 over the winter.
Suggestion #4: Don’t be overly concerned about it. Different strokes for different folks. I know some folks who are very comfortable spinning at high cadences and others who are not, and yet they’re all successful. Stories of “you’ll ruin your knees” are overblown. I’ve been an avid cyclist for 15 years now and I don’t think I’ve encountered a single rider who’s ruined their knees cycling. I’m a time trialist and I tend to be more of a spinner than a gear masher. Most of the folks who beat me seem to be rolling bigger gears at lower cadences. That’s not to say that what works for a 20k TT works for a 112 mile bike leg. The more you learn to spin, the more you’ll tend to preserve your legs in longer, hillier events.
I second that for the fixie. When you go downhill you have to spin fast, otherwise you crash Seriously though, I’ve tried to incorporate my fixed gear once a week this year and I’ve had some good bike results this season. I had my fastest HIM PR for the bike (and race) this year at Racine.
i’m a MOP’er on flats (average around 20mph) at racine and steelhead the last 2 years. i suck on hills.
anyway, here’s the thing- i know people talk about spinning at a high rpm (well, high for me). i’m more comfortable pushing a the small gears on the rear cassette at about 75-80 rpms. it seems like if i try to spin higher (using one of the middle size gears), i feel like i’m all wobbly and probably going to fall off the side of the bike.
how can i increase my rpm’s and maintain some stability? any suggestions?
This absolutely kills me. This stuff is not rocket science. Just pedal faster!!! You don’t need to have a cadence monitor. Maybe for a little while till you see what 90 cadence is.
Ah, the old “citing yourself” method. Very convincing. However, even if your premise is correct, it isn’t what’s being discussed here. Right now we’re trying to help the OP with a few drills for learning how to pedal faster.
Hopefully you can agree that shifting to a smaller gear while pedaling faster will not require any change in power output?
As someone who took a few years back in the 90’s to try and figure out how to increase my cadence from roughly the same speed as yours, I found the easiest way is to force the issue by riding to fast beat music on the trainer. Luckily, back then, I had all winter in Chitown to start with songs about 80 bpm, then have the next one move up to about 90 bpm, then move up to 100-110 bpm. This allowed me to build up time to maybe 60-90 minutes until I could get back outdoors in the late winter/early spring.
After a few months of riding between 100-110 bpm, natural tendency was to slow back down a little (until I bought a cadence cyclometer). At that time I had probably 40 races (over 5 years) under my belt and thus appreciated the substantial positive effect it had on my run performance in tris (and I was actually training exactly the same way I had the previous couple of years).
It is annoying at first - trying to keep up with the beat and bouncing all over, but you will probably see differences within the first week (depending upon how many days/week you are riding). Also, I’d start it in the off season - not mid way through any training plan/season.
Check your bike fit with a professional. If you’re unstable at higher RPM, there may be a fit issue involved.
Buy Spinervals Recovery & Technique 8.0. Do this video once a week on the trainer. The superspin sets in this video will do more for your cycling technique and cadence than any of the other suggestions on this tread based on my personal experience.
Cadence drills (always easier on the trainer than on the road.) But these are boring if you are just staring at the cadence readout.
Race crits. You have to jump fast so you are always spinning up. My max cadence (not necessarily average cadence) is always higher in a crit than in other events.
Finally, there is something to the thought that not everybody does best with the high-cadence model. Maybe you are a grinder?
Seriously though, I’ve tried to incorporate my fixed gear once a week this year and I’ve had some good bike results this season. I had my fastest HIM PR for the bike (and race) this year at Racine.