Cycling Cadence: What It Is and What Yours Should Be

Rather than guessing, measure your actual position with your own camera.

€5 for one fit, or 10 fits for €25. See pricing →

What cadence actually is

Cadence is simply pedal revolutions per minute (rpm). At the same speed you can produce the power either by pushing hard on a big gear at low rpm, or by spinning a lighter gear faster. Same output, very different load on your body.

Most recreational riders settle somewhere around 60 to 75 rpm. Trained cyclists typically ride 80 to 95. That gap is where a lot of avoidable knee strain lives.

Why a low cadence is hard on your knees

Power is force times speed. At a low cadence, you generate the same power with more force per pedal stroke, and that force goes straight through the knee joint. Ride an hour at 60 rpm in a heavy gear and your knees absorb thousands of high-force repetitions.

Raising your cadence spreads the same work over more, lighter repetitions. It shifts load from your joints towards your cardiovascular system, which recovers faster and complains less.

Is there one correct cadence?

No, and be sceptical of anyone who gives you a single number. Optimal cadence varies with fitness, muscle composition, terrain and how long you are riding. What the evidence does support:

• Very low cadences with high force increase knee joint load.
• Trained riders naturally self-select higher cadences than untrained riders.
• The most efficient cadence for oxygen use is often lower than what racers actually choose, because racers optimise for repeated efforts and fatigue resistance, not for a single efficient hour.

A practical target for most riders is somewhere in the 80s on the flat, adjusted to what feels sustainable.

How to raise your cadence

Change it gradually. If you normally ride at 65, aim for 75 before you aim for 85. Use an easier gear on a familiar route and accept that it feels inefficient at first, it takes a few weeks for the coordination to settle.

Short spinning intervals help: a few minutes at a higher cadence than comfortable, then back to normal. Most bike computers show cadence; if yours does not, count your right leg for fifteen seconds and multiply by four.

The link to your saddle height

Here is the part most cadence guides omit: a saddle that is too high caps your cadence. If your leg over-extends at the bottom of the stroke, your hips rock to reach the pedal, and rocking gets worse the faster you spin. Riders who "cannot spin smoothly above 85" often have a saddle a few millimetres too high rather than a coordination problem.

A saddle that is too low causes the opposite: an over-bent knee at the top, which is exactly the position that makes a hard, low-cadence push painful.

Measure before you train

If spinning faster feels awkward or your hips bounce, check your position before you blame your technique. A BikeFit/LAB analysis measures your cadence, your knee extension and how much your hips rock while pedalling, so you can see whether smooth high-cadence pedalling is being blocked by your saddle height.

Rather than guessing, measure your actual position with your own camera.

€5 for one fit, or 10 fits for €25. See pricing →