spinning?? what? how? and why?

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Just a quick question I think. I keep reading how I should 'spin' while riding. Is this true? If it is - WHAT is spinning exactly?
- HOW do I spin?
and - WHY should I spin?


OK - maybe it's not such a quick question after all. Thanks in advance.:confused:

Just a quick question I think. I keep reading how I should 'spin' while riding. Is this true? If it is - WHAT is spinning exactly?
- HOW do I spin?
and - WHY should I spin?


OK - maybe it's not such a quick question after all. Thanks in advance.:confused:

Generally, spinning means riding in a gear sufficiently low that you can maintain a relatively high cadence or turnover rate. Most well-conditioned cyclists, especially racers, try to maintain a cadence in the 90-100 range.
Those endowed with the ability to sprint often can turn the cranks at 140 rpm or higher. Spinning helps to achieve a smooth cycling motion. As you practice spinning, you need to exert a good push with the quadriceps (thigh) muscles on the downward stroke and then relax the muscles at the bottom and on the upstroke. If you do not relax the muscles after the push, you will tend to bounce on the saddle. Practice pedalling smoothly at higher and higher cadences. You will find as you practice that you will improve your ability to pedal at higher cadences while remaining smooth and comfortable on the bike.

As an aside, it's important that your pedal to seat distance be right in order for you to achieve a smooth pedaling style.

You can achieve the same speeds with high cadence/low gear riding as with lower cadences and higher gears. Low and moderate gears tend to be gentler to your knees, hips and tendons. To some extent, your optimum cadence will be dependent on the type of riding you are doing and on your own physical characteristics. Large riders often find it more comfortable to ride in somewhat higher gears. I personally ride in much higher gears for time trialling than for other types of riding. In time-trialling, I am trying to maintain a constant high speed. In riding with a lot of speed changes, it is much easier to maintain these changes in a lower gear. You are able to accelerate back up to speed more quickly and with less joint, tendon and ligament strain. Further, in hills or varied terrain, most people find it easier to "spin" up the climbs in lower gears.

A well-trained racing cyclist can maintain astoundingly high cadences in gears that would seem monstrous to most of us.

Lance Armstrong's high-cadence style has inspired a lot of riders to work on this aspect of their riding.

By the way, many people when talking about spinning, advise you to concentrate on pedaling "round". That means really trying to have your feet describe a smooth circular movement. Some suggest pulling up on the upstroke but I have never found that to feel natural. Others, I'm sure, would differ. On climbs, I sometimes get that "pulling up" feeling but most of the time, I don't find it to be helpful. Pulling up on the handlebars during sprints and climbs is another matter.

Just a quick question I think. I keep reading how I should 'spin' while riding. Is this true? If it is - WHAT is spinning exactly?
- HOW do I spin?
and - WHY should I spin?


OK - maybe it's not such a quick question after all. Thanks in advance.:confused:
I am only an amateur cyclist, but I have learned to spin in a lower gear, with a cadence of between 95 and 100. I find I get less muscle fatigue and am improving my cardio-vascular fitness. I am also not as young as some on this forum, so have to let my heart do the work!

I am only an amateur cyclist, but I have learned to spin in a lower gear, with a cadence of between 95 and 100. I find I get less muscle fatigue and am improving my cardio-vascular fitness. I am also not as young as some on this forum, so have to let my heart do the work!

How do you work out the speed of your cadence?

How do you work out the speed of your cadence?

Many bike computers have a cadence function. These computers usually have a sensor attached to the cranks and count the number of revolutions per minute for you.

If you don't have such a computer, just use a watch and measure the number of full revolutions of the cranks for a minute (or for 30 seconds and multiply by 2). For me (out of habit) I count each time my right foot reaches the bottom of the pedal stroke.

I find the actual counting method to be useful even though I have an allegedly sophisticated bicycle computer (the PowerTap) because the PowerTap provides "virtual" cadence (estimated) rather than real and it is inaccurate.