"ideal" cadence for FTP/VO2 work

drmariner

I  believe this may have been addressed in the past:

Is there any consensus on an ideal cadence for FTP/VO2 bike work when power is the metric? Does it relate to heart rate in any way (or perceived exertion)?

My typical cadence for FTP sessions is around 85-87 and for VO2 is 95-97. For the FTP sessions I like to watch how my heart rate responds purely for information (rest/hydration status etc.) but I don't focus on it or change the work-out because of it. I pretty much totally ignore my heart rate with VO2 work. What I'm asking is this: Does It make sense to experiment with cadence and heart rate? If a certain (lower/higher) cadence delivers the same power at a lower heart rate then that has to be a good thing. Right?

 Do folks work/experiment with this or just settle into what feels "natural" (as "natural" as FTP or VO2 work can be). Is there an ideal cadence for these work-outs in terms of training benefit?

Thanks for the information team.

 

 

 

zwuba

From my own experience I can give you similar cadences for both FTP and VO2.
I don't believe there's an ideal cadence which fits everybody - just try to ride 10min FTP with 60rpm and I'm sure your body will tell you that this will not work for you

What I can add here is that I've recently watched a pretty nice report about the most economic cadence on long distance bike splits. The short summary was that for the vast majority of people (lets call it >95%) the most economic cadence is somewhere between 80-85rpm.
Medical inspections have shown to have shown that people riding at that cadence have a lower HR as well as a lower blood lactate at the same power output than the reference group using 95+ rpm.
Of course if you are a former pro-cyclist who is well trained to ride at 100rpm all day long that pattern won't apply to you but as mentioned before 95% will fit
Additionally one more thing - from a physical standpoint a lower cadence will also decrease your aerodynamic resistance! (Get faster by pedaling slower ... but be careful slowing down your cadence and review your quadrant-analysis to stay within the lower 2 quadrants (low force)

Brenda Ross

I come in with the same numbers.

Coach Rich

I think your current cadence is good. Generally, most people sort out at 85-93rpm, for pretty much all intensity levels. If you have power you can have an additional metric to see what the watts are doing at all cadences. You'll often find that lower cadences, while they may feel more powerful, can actually put out fewer watts than higher cadences. IOW, the watts never lie.

And good call discounting HR on these intervals. They are probably not long enough for HR to rise to Z5 and reflect your true effort

imc1792

I just transitioned out of JOS and into GetFaster with Vo2 sets soley on tue-thur and inaddition to FTP work saturdays. For some reason I equated GF with higher cadence. So my natural race cadence is generally around 85-87. I try to hit and hold 90 in FTP and back to my GF must mean pedal faster I have upped my Vo2 cadence to 90-100. I can generally keep the power there but I seem to run short of breath/hr really climbs and I thought that is what Vo2 is all about.

Tomorrow I am gonna try to mix it up a bit.

drmariner

Thanks for all the replies!

Peter Wick

What about mixing it up with the gears & cadences when you do them? I mix in some hard gears with cadences around 60 rpm to do some different neuromuscular training than the usual 90+ rpm stuff. Two reasons why I do it. It builds strength for tackling the really insane hills we have around here and it also reminds me just how taxing it is to be pushing a gear that I can only spin at 60 rpm or so. There are many hills make me deliver the mail, struggling with everything I have to keep the 34x28 going around standing out of the saddle on my road bike. Sure, I'm not going to ride such hills in the triathlons I do but I also do some road racing. That requires a different tool set.