Do you actively use the cadence readout on your computer during training - how about racing?
On my road bike, I tend to use the cadence more for training because I don’t want to fiddle with swapping displays during a race.
Selecting a computer for my new bike and running into the well documented issues of mounting a computer on aerobars that don’t interfere with an aerobottle and thats visible when in the aero position (ie. not on stem); and not wanting to drop $100+ on a Cateye double wireless…
deciding between Astrale 8 but the wires detract from my pretty new frame and the micro wireless that doesn’t have cadence.
Yes all the time. That is the only thing I use on my display while riding/racing. I use time/distance/ave. speed when I’m done. I have a Cateye that allows you to put the cadence as the primary function on the display in nice big numbers.
Ditch the bike computer during training and racing.
Physiologically, your body selects the most efficient cadence. Racing to an arbitrary cadence number is just… wrong. Might be useful in training though.
Yes. Regularly. Cadence is second only to power in terms of importance. You can burn your muscles easily pushing away in too hard a gear, and your RPE can be too high if you try to spin too much.
I race TT in fixed gears so cadence is pretty good data. I know if I am at 100 rpms in such and such gear , I am going X mph. I try and get 100 rpms and close to 25mph as a base.
Take more notice of cadence than speed. Interesting to compare how my legs are feeling at different cadences. Like to keep up around 90-95, but sometimes I’ll find 85 more comfortable and faster. Depends on conditions.
I’m no great cyclist (or swimmer or runner for that matter) but I always ride by cadence, both in training and racing. I never pay attention to speed. In fact, when I do my long rides, I set my cyclometer’s view to ride time and cadence so I can measure my effort and know when to eat.
I’m all about cadence on the bike. Especially on the trainer, as it helps ease the boredom. Plus, you can focus on high RPM, or low RPM/big gear stuff, more effectively when you know what those RPM’s actually are.
But on the road too. I ususally set my computer up so cadence it the largest, most readable display. It is that important to me to know what it is.
But - I’m not a slave to it. What’s interesting is, that this season I’ve found my cadence has dropped a bit compared to years past, but I’m riding faster now. I wouldn’t know that if I didn’t keep an eye on my cadence regularly.
I’d spend the $ on a wireless setup if I were buying one now. Either the Cateye or the Mavic, there may be other contenders too, but those are off the top o’ my head.