A typical pedalling cadence for a competent older rider is around 75 RPM (the green column below). We'll excuse ourselves for dropping to 50 RPM whilst going up really steep hills; and some of us (guilty as charged!) feel the need for speed on descents which will 'necessitate' a burst at 100 RPM or a bit faster.

In our table the columns indicate our bicycle's speed when pedalled at 50, 75 and 100 revolutions per minute. Unless you're having fun in the mountains, there is simply no need to stray from the green column – keep your pedalling speed constant (75 RPM) no matter what your road speed might be.

Let's spell it out:

• at 9 km/h our pedalling cadence should be 75 RPM
• at 18km/h our pedalling cadence should be 75 RPM
• at 36km/h our pedalling cadence should be 75 RPM.

Connection between Gears, Cadence & Speed

18km/h appears in each column. If this is our typical speed, we should maintain it by 'spinning' the pedals at 75 RPM, not straining along at 50 RPM or whizzing them around at 100 RPM.

The range of gears shown in the table approximate those found on a bicycle with a triple chainset (50—40—30) and nine-sprocket cassette (12—30).

Imagine:

We are on an 18km out-and-home trip along a canal (the one I have in mind leads into Queensland's Moreton Bay).

Unfortunately, we are not able to maintain our regular half-hour-each-way schedule because the outward trip is straight into a strong wind and we can only manage half of our normal speed (just 9km/h). We turn around and zoom home at twice our regular speed (36km/h!).

BUT (look at the green column), we still turn the pedals around at our customary 75 revolutions per minute on both the slow outward and the speedy return trip.

Comment:

Perhaps, this is the time to suggest that you equip your bike with a computer that displays cadence (pedalling speed). Watch the cadence readout and keep it high by changing down a gear or two.

Your cycle computer should be set to display both current cadeence and average cadence. Avoid pedalling too slowly (aim for 85 RPM but be satisfied with an average of 75).

We really should avoid the extreme speeds shown in the table: 6km/h is approaching 'wobbly slow' and 54km/h is nearing 'terminal velocity'. That means: 75 RPM is appropriate for almost all of our cycling. Keep to that cadence by changing to a suitable gear!