| Experienced bicycle riders know that fatigue comes | | | | Most bicycle riders do best when they chose gears |
| from how hard you press on the pedals, not how fast | | | | that allow them to pedal at a cadence of 80 to 90. |
| you turn them. Novice racers may try to ride with | | | | You want to pedal as fast as you can with the |
| maximum force on the pedals, but they quickly | | | | greatest force you can maintain on your pedals, but if |
| exhaust themselves and often can't even finish the | | | | you spin too fast, your brain cannot coordinate your |
| race. Cycling is a power sport. The number of times | | | | muscles so you lose efficiency. Try to choose a gear |
| you spin your bicycle pedals in a minute is called your | | | | ratio that allows you to spin as fast as you can and still |
| cadence, and your power is the product of the force | | | | feel some pressure on your pedals. If you have to |
| that your feet apply to the pedals time your cadence. | | | | push on your pedals so hard that your body moves |
| A study from Ithaca College in New York shows that | | | | from side to side, you need to reduce the gear ratio |
| a very high cadence does not help in shorter races | | | | and pedal faster. If you are spinning faster than 100 |
| (International Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 26, | | | | times a minute, you are probably losing coordination. |
| 2006). | | | | Bicycle computers that show your cadence are |
| Competitive cyclists were asked to ride a 5-mile time | | | | available in bike shops and online bicycle catalogs. |
| trial at their usual fast cadence. For most racers, this is | | | | When you are going out on a long ride, try to keep a |
| more than 90 rotations per minute. They then rode a | | | | comfortable fast cadence. However, if you are going |
| second 5-mile time trial at a 10 percent lower cadence | | | | to sprint or race for less than 30 minutes, you will ride |
| and a third trial with a 10 percent increase. The riders | | | | faster by putting more pressure than usual on you |
| raced far faster at the 10 percent reduced cadence. A | | | | pedals, which will slow your cadence by about 10 |
| study from Toledo, Spain also shows that spinning the | | | | percent. You can also use this technique to pick up the |
| pedals too fast slows you down (Medicine and | | | | pace when you want to catch up with another rider. |
| Science in Sports and Exercise, May 2006). | | | | |