Cadence and power

JungleBiker said:

I don't have a power meter, but hope to get one soon, so please excuse my ignorance...

If I were cycling along at a steady speed of say 20mph, and then I changed gears and cadence but maintained the same ground speed, would my power output change or would it remain the same?

I guess it would remain the same, but I'm not sure.

Thanks.

assuming the environmental and topographical conditions remained the same then your power output would stay the same as well

ric

This is a good question that comes up from even experienced riders who don't use a power meter. Some tend to think that using bigger gears requires more "power", but they are confusing torque and power. Maybe this is why some riders tend to want to mash. Of course, cycling is all about speed and hence, power.

JungleBiker said:

I don't have a power meter, but hope to get one soon, so please excuse my ignorance...

If I were cycling along at a steady speed of say 20mph, and then I changed gears and cadence but maintained the same ground speed, would my power output change or would it remain the same?

I guess it would remain the same, but I'm not sure.

Thanks.