Hi all,
I am a beginner mountain biker that started to use TrainerRoad about three months ago. My question is how do you know what your prefered or self selected cadence really is? I have thinking about it a lot and still I don’t really know what my self selected candence is.
When I am fresh, my cadence that feels great is higher, maybe around 95 rpm. But when I start to get a bit tired, it drops slowly to around 80 rpm. Same thing if it is a hard workout with high resistance, a lot harder to maintain 95 rpm. But when rest period comes, I like to spin around 95-100 rpm.
So how to know what my self selected cadence really is? Maybe it takes years of cycling to now it?
It is not that important for my training. I am mostly curious how you guys know your self selected cadence?
I think self-selected cadence is something that evolves with you as you grow as a rider. In the beginning, it is whatever cadence that helps you to just survive a ride. Once you get more fit and comfortable, it is the cadence you naturally drift to as feeling the most comfortable for you. As you become more proficient with technique and tuned in to your body while riding, it becomes the most efficient cadence for your goals/workout. At least, this has been my experience 
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There is no one cadence imho. It’s a moving target based mostly on fitness and how fresh or fatigued you are and obviously grade/gear ratio when climbing. So in a sense there is a wide wide range of self selected cadences. Definitely something to not worry about too much. Want to go faster just push down harder. KISS
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