Cadence is how fast you turn the pedals, counted in revolutions per minute (rpm). You control it with your gears: a steady, comfortable rhythm on any terrain is easier on your legs than grinding a heavy gear slowly, but faster is not always better, and there is no single correct number. From the side the app reads how smooth your spin looks and whether your hips bounce; the exact rpm is best read by a cadence sensor.
Spin, don't mash
Count your cadence. Count how many times one knee rises in 30 seconds and double it. That is your rpm. A cadence sensor is more accurate.
a number you can check, not a guess.
Use your gears to hold a steady rhythm instead of pushing slowly on a heavy gear. For everyday riding Cycling UK suggests about 60-90 rpm. Trained riders tend to pick 80-100 rpm in short efforts. Start from what feels comfortable; no single number is right for everyone.
legs turning over steadily, not straining on each push.
Smooth and quiet
Keep your hips settled on the saddle and your upper body quiet as the pedals turn. If your hips start to bounce, you are spinning faster than you can control. Shift to a slightly harder gear you can hold smoothly.
fast enough to feel brisk, smooth enough that the saddle stays under you.
Adapt to terrain
Shift before the hill, not on it, and start a climb in an easier gear than you think you need. Your cadence will drop on climbs. In Grand Tours, professionals averaged about 71 rpm on mountain passes and about 89-92 rpm on flat stages and time trials.
the rhythm eases on the hill but the pedals keep turning.
On a hard climb, use your easiest gear to keep turning rather than grinding. In a lab study of competitive cyclists at the same hard effort, pedalling at 90 rpm gave about 29% less kneecap compressive force than 70 rpm.
pressure on the pedals, not a heavy shove on each stroke.
Match cadence to effort. The cadence that uses the least energy rises as you push harder (in elite riders, from about 60 rpm at very low power to 80 rpm at 350 W). On long rides at moderate effort, 100 rpm cost more energy than 80 rpm. So you do not need to spin very fast when riding easy.
breathing that matches the effort, not racing because your legs are.
Feel it
A steady rhythm you could hold for a long time, with your hips quiet on the saddle. If your thighs burn and each push feels heavy, shift easier. If your hips bounce or your breathing races on an easy ride, shift a little harder. Spinning faster feels odd at first and gets easier with practice. The app reads your spin smoothness and hip stability from the side; the exact rpm is best read by a cadence sensor.
Fix-its
- You grind a heavy gear slowly Shift easier so the pedals turn faster. At the same effort, slower pedalling loaded the kneecap joint more than faster pedalling in a lab study.
- Your hips bounce in the saddle Shift to a slightly harder gear you can hold smoothly. If it happens at every cadence, ask a fitter to check your saddle height.
- You stall halfway up a hill Shift down before the hill starts, one gear at a time, and start in an easier gear than you think you need.
- You spin very fast on easy rides and tire early Ease back to a cadence you can hold comfortably. A very fast cadence costs extra energy at easy efforts.
- Your cadence surges and drops Look ahead and shift before the terrain changes so the rhythm stays steady.
Drill
- Cadence count: on a flat, steady stretch, count knee rises for 30 seconds and double it. Do it a few times per ride so you learn what your normal cadence feels like.
- Cadence intervals: on long flat sections, shift 2-3 gears easier than usual and ride at 90-120 rpm for 5 minutes, then return to your normal cadence. Repeat several times. If your hips bounce, go one gear harder.
- Spin-ups (trainer, or a gradual traffic-free descent): start in a gear that gives about 70 rpm and, without shifting, let the cadence rise to over 100 rpm while keeping even pressure. Repeat 4-5 times. Stop raising the cadence when your hips start to bounce.
- Film from the side at your normal cadence and at your highest smooth cadence to check that your hips stay still.
Sources
- Cycling UK — A beginner's guide to gears
- Cycling UK — A beginner's guide to climbing hills on a bike
- Sheldon Brown (rev. John Allen) — Gears and cadence
- Vercruyssen & Brisswalter — Which factors determine the freely chosen cadence during submaximal cycling? J Sci Med Sport (2010)
- Lucía et al. — Preferred pedalling cadence in professional cycling, Med Sci Sports Exerc (2001)
- Bini & Hume — Effects of workload and pedalling cadence on knee forces in competitive cyclists, Sports Biomech (2013)
- Foss & Hallén — The most economical cadence increases with increasing workload, Eur J Appl Physiol (2004)
- Stebbins, Moore & Casazza — Effects of cadence on aerobic capacity following a prolonged, varied intensity cycling trial, J Sports Sci Med (2014)
- Active.com (Marc Lindsay) — 3 drills to improve cycling efficiency and pedal cadence
- Active.com (Marc Lindsay) — 3 drills to improve cycling efficiency and pedal cadence, page 2 (drills)
Last checked 2026-10-26.