Cadence

Around 90-110 is a good cadence, for the hills u should try to keep above 80 rpm, anything below kills ya muscles(or so I've read.).

It more depends on what's comfortable for you, if you can ride at 100-110 without getting tired then go for it. Like Sprinter said most people find 90-100 good. But generally the faster your cadence the less strain there is on your knees.

As for hills use lower gears and try to stay above 70, though for some hills around here I drop into the 50s. Straining up hills in high gears will build muscle strength in you legs, but can be hard on the ligaments and tendons.

eric_the_red said:

It more depends on what's comfortable for you, if you can ride at 100-110 without getting tired then go for it. Like Sprinter said most people find 90-100 good. But generally the faster your cadence the less strain there is on your knees.

As for hills use lower gears and try to stay above 70, though for some hills around here I drop into the 50s. Straining up hills in high gears will build muscle strength in you legs, but can be hard on the ligaments and tendons.

The peloton appears to be in the 80-100 range most of the time. When chasing, or in a break, it's more like 90-120.

110 is pretty high for all-round cruising, but there's nothing wrong with it if you like it.

sparknote_s said:

I was just wondering what the most common accepted general racing cadence is. I just got a bike computer the other day, and comfortable ride at a constant 100 - 110 rpm. Is that too high, too low, or good, or what?

On hills, it's hard for me to pedal that fast, with my double ring. Is that normal as well?

You have to find a range that works for you. I find that my hamstring muscles can't contribute much above 90 RPM, so much so that when I tried to train at 110 RPM I started hurting my calves, as they were the only muscles that could generate force at that cadence. I also started having problem with my iliotibial band which is susceptible to injury from friction/repetitive motion - both are increased at higher cadence. Maybe if I try to increase more gradually I could teach my hamstrings to twitch faster.

The big advantage of 90+ cadence is an increased ability to accelerate. It is much easier to spin up from 90 to 100+ than to go from 60 to 70.