Importance of cadence

[overlander]

Hello Guys,
Found myself at a loose end today so tried out a small experiment out of curiosity. Done my usual training circuit of 4 miles with a killer hill. For quickness I only done one lap per run. Before my knee had healed my cadence was way down about 40-50 mark so pretty low. Currently I am up about the 70-80 mark but no more after all I am getting older lol.

So I done the circuit on the electric bike at 45 and 75 cadence to see the effect on the battery. Now the battery gauge is not accurate enough unless the difference was massive and it was not. So the only guide I had was charging time back to full, the difference was 30% less charging time for the higher cadence so a resonable difference. Not sure what I expected and if this is in line with current thinking, maybe someone with more experience can confirm why the difference.

 

[Geebee]

I have a trainer that allows you to set a wattage and it will hold that wattage no matter the cadence.
The difference in pressure on the knees and muscles just going up 10 rpm is amazing, so if you have a bad knee spin fast your knees will thank you

 

[jackhandy]

My experience is that speed affects motor contribution - not sure about cadence:

Did you ride at the same speed on both runs, or did your speed match cadence?

When i'm riding with the grandchildren I have to use a low assistance setting, whereas I'm frequently over the maximum speed for assistance when riding at my normal speed in medium.

 

[flecc]

The higher cadence will normally give a very real advantage, so much so that there are enthusiasts who swear by much shorter cranks to allow even higher spin speeds. Cranks of only 100 mm length have been used by some including in race events, cranks normally being around the 160 to 175 mm length.