Cadence and Power in Level

VARacer

I have been doing a fair amount of indoor interval training the last few months. The focus of this training has been 2 days per week of varied L4 efforts (2x20' or 4x10') and 1 day of L5 efforts. The remaining days of the week are a hodge-podge of less intense workouts.

My question is this. My comfort level on the trainer is such that I prefer low cadence relatively speaking. Specifically, I settle in to a 65-70 rpm pace while generating the power necessary to stay in the respective level of the interval. My cadence outdoors is in the low 80s. Is the fact that my cadence is so low indoors adversely affecting my training? Put differently, will I realize more benefit from trying to match my cadence level inside to outside or does it matter?

In sum, is a watt a watt or "what"?

root

Watt is a Watt, you are certainly doing the work, however personally I would up the cadence a little to stress the cardiovascular system more and ease the stresses on joints and tendons.

Personally I never pedal slower than 105 RPM either indoors or outdoors and actually pedal slightly faster indoor (in ergo mode I find it easier that way). My cadence tends to be about 115 but I have been trying to reduce it down to 105 since I seem to be more efficient there.

daveryanwyoming

In general cadence is secondary to the power you're generating, but it depends in part on your personal goals and your target events. If you're a time trialist or triathlete and your events don't require frequent acelerations then cadence is less important. If you're targeting crits, track races or events with a lot of attacks, jumps and quick speed changes then there's an advantage to doing at least some of your training at higher cadences. It's generally easier to acelerate from higher cadences and the lower forces implied at a given power level. It's a lot harder to respond to jumps like coming out of crit corners while plugging away at a big gear.

So what will your events demand from you in terms of leg speed and acelerations? A lot of folks find they get more endurance by spinning easier gears and 65-70 rpm is pretty low as cadences go, but cadence is definitely secondary to power production.

-Dave

VARacer

Thanks for the replies. Wow! Root - I cannot imagine doing interval work at 105 rpm. The only time I hit that level is when I am doing indoor sprint training. Dave's comment makes a lot of sense. My goal is to do some crits (this is my first year racing) and I agree it would be hard - if not impossible - to accelerate from a low cadence/big gear. Also, you are right, I find that I have better endurance at the lower cadence. My fear is that I increase my interval cadence such that I cannot keep the power in zone for the required duration - thereby cutting the intervals short. I suppose I should just try and work on it a few rpms a session to get used to it. Thanks again.

On an unrelated topic, I hope the spam is taken care of. I have learned a ton from this forum and received a lot of encouragement (see my next thread). I would hate for this forum to be killed by the spam.

Alex Simmons

Then I would definitely put in some workouts to simulate the demands of racing. On one of your easier days, incorporate some short sprints, and a highly variable cadence workout. Then gradually introduce these into your higher intensity workouts.

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Terry Ferguson

What is your 'power meter'? Could it be something that shows a higher power at a lower cadence like a mis-calibrated power curve for a trainer? - TF

BTW - I tried to look at your other posts to find this answer, but you know how well the search fuction works.

VARacer

I have a PT 2.4 mounted on my bike. I have a Real Axiom V3 trainer that varies resistance based on simulated courses. The courses I like to use are mountains because then I am forced to battle the resistance. There is a power reading displayed on the computer, but I ignore it given that I can trust the PT.

wiredued

Have you tried a fluid trainer like the KKR or an eddy current brake trainer like the CT? It might feel better at higher rpms.

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tonyzackery

Because I also have a RealAxiom trainer, I curious to hear the relative accuracy, or lack thereof, of the PowerTap compared to the Real Axiom. Thanks...

VARacer

The accuracy is sadly lacking. At low wattages it is pretty close (under ~200 watts). Above that it is a bit of a crapshoot. For example, on a steady climb the Real Axiom is off by about 50 watts (the PT reading is 50 watts lower). However, when I do sprint workouts on the Real Axiom, my PT will get up to about 1300 watts while the Real Axiom will not get over ~800 watts.

Steve_B

To a large extent, a watt is a watt and if you can do 300 W for 20 minutes at 70 rpm then you can probably do the same at 90 rpm, though you might be a little challenged the first few times that you try it if you are not used to it. However, I find that if I get below about ~65 rpm then all bets are off and power production suffers. It sounds like you are using mountainous VR terrain to get the power out of yourself and I guess that's OK (Most of us tend to climb at higher power than on the flats, it seems) but like the others said, try to do some variable power efforts or do at least one effort per week at a higher cadence.

Because my first real races of the year are always my team's crits (where I don't want to look unfit) and my body tends to "forget" how to deal with such efforts over the winter, for the past few years I've been doing some variable power work once a week in the ~6 weeks leading up to racing. If it's indoors, it's usually a drill like 2x20 minutes of 30/30's (in this caase, 30 seconds @ ~140% FTP followed by 30 seconds @ ~75% FTP, then repeat) where I'm doing the "on" portions at 90-110 rpm for some and 70-85 rpm for others. I think it helps me cope and it sure makes the minutes seem to go by faster than a straight 2x20. (I am also doing steady efforts during the week too.)

Steve_B

The accuracy will be a function of what tire you have on the wheel, the roller pressure against the tire and the tire pressure. As you roll along, the temperaure of the tire will increase and that will probably change things too. I don't know this trainer but is there a calibration mentioned in the manual where they make you do a spin down test or something? That might help improve the accuracy, at least below a sprint.