[synack]

Just curious, what is your cassette? (For instance, mine is 12-25t)

[StormStrikes]

Don't hold my feet to the fire, but I believe it is 12/28.

[synack]

How smooth do you find the shifting when you are trying to pick up the cadence? Do you find that your legs are "between gears?"

[StormStrikes]

I cant say that I have paid such close attention to be able to say that. I can say that it is so fast that I don't think I even have time to detect any loss of resistance in the pedal stroke as the chain shifts. All I can say is it is smooth and it is fast and I love it.

Hopefully that answers what you were looking for, if not, let me know.

[bikertank]

Originally Posted by stormstrikes

don't hold my feet to the fire, but i believe it is 12/28.

12/30

[bikertank]

Synack - that is interesting quote - legs being between the gears which is exaclty what I felt like on the hybrid before I changed my 9 speed 12-25 cassette to 10 speed 12-30 cassette - I will occasionally start to move around in the saddle but a quick upshift takes care of that

[carlharsch]

Scotty - I ran across this in the Road Bike Rider's newsletter and thought about this thread.

Optimizing Trainer & Outdoor Cadence
You've been reading that a faster cadence is better, so you’re trying to increase from 80-90 rpm to 100. On the road when you reach 95 rpm, it feels unnatural. But with your bike on a trainer, you have no trouble staying smooth at 95-100. How come?

I've noticed the same thing, and I think it depends on the kind of indoor trainer you're on. Because of the way resistance is generated (magnetic or fluid) some trainers reward you for pedaling faster. The resistance goes down because you're producing more pedal speed, thus dividing the workload per minute into smaller chunks.

On the other hand, wind trainers get harder in a given gear when you pedal faster. Likewise, on the road resistance varies with speed (given a flat road and steady wind), so the same thing is going on.

Also, road riding isn't a steady effort like on a trainer. If you use a power meter on your bike outside, you'll notice that the reading jumps around even if you're trying to maintain a steady pace on flat ground.

Small changes in grade that you can’t even see, minor puffs of wind or changes in pavement texture mean that you slow down and accelerate time and time again. It's this need for frequent acceleration – to overcome these “hidden” obstacles – that makes a fast cadence harder to maintain outside.

How can you increase your cadence on the road?

Find a slight downhill with smooth pavement and no undulations. Practice riding at a fast cadence, beginning with your usual 90 rpm and increasing it about 5 rpm every 30 seconds or so. Slow your cadence when you begin to bounce on the saddle.

A few minutes of this training, twice a week, will make a faster cadence much more natural.

[StormStrikes]

Thank you so much for that. I think I know the perfect stretch of road for this too.

[MNRider]

Try wind sprints to work on strength and cadence in the same workout. On a windy day, push hard and fast into the wind for 3-5 miles on a straight flat road, turn around and return to your starting point but don't shift up. Spin as fast and smoothly as you can with the wind at your back. Something that helps me keep it smooth is to think about wiping my foot on the bottom of the stroke rather than stepping down from the top. It also helps if you concentrate on lifting your back foot through the last half of the rotation, rather than letting it passively rise as the front foot comes down.

When I started riding two years ago, I mashed with an average cadence of around 60-70. Once I started riding with a couple of local clubs, some experienced riders/coaches taught me how to train for cadence. I can now maintain 90-100 rpm comfortably and keep it smooth to around 120. I notice that if I don't concentrate on my pedal stroke, I start bouncing much earlier and can settle it down just by paying attention.

[StormStrikes]

Straight and Flat. Combinations not frequently found around these parts. LOL. Wind, we have plenty of. However, point taken and thank you for the input. I love input like this so I can start working on things. I would LOVE to be able to average 90 - 100 rpm on long rides. I am, however, working on trying to sweep the foot as you described, but as of yet I do not have clip in pedals to pull up on the up stroke of the pedal motion.