There’s something strangely satisfying about pushing a big gear.
You can feel the resistance through the pedals. Your legs are working. Every pedal stroke feels powerful.
Drop into an easier gear and suddenly it can feel as though you’re taking the easy option.
So some cyclists develop a habit of riding a relatively hard gear almost everywhere.
Harder gear = harder work = better training.
Except cycling doesn’t work like that.
Your gears are there for a reason. Learning to use them allows you to control your cadence, respond to changing terrain and distribute the demands of cycling more appropriately.
Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is shift down.
Don’t fear easy gears.
An Easier Gear Doesn’t Necessarily Mean an Easier Workout
This is the first distinction to understand.
Gear selection and training intensity aren’t the same thing.
Imagine you’re riding at 200 watts.
You could produce those 200 watts using a relatively hard gear and a cadence of 65rpm.
Or you could change into an easier gear, increase your cadence and still produce 200 watts.
Your external power output hasn’t changed.
What has changed is how you’re producing it.
At a given power output, increasing cadence generally reduces the torque required with each pedal stroke. Research examining cycling across different cadences has demonstrated that peak torque decreases as cadence increases. ScienceDirect
So selecting an easier gear doesn’t automatically mean you’ve backed off.
You may simply be asking your legs to produce the required power differently.
Stop Grinding Everywhere
There are absolutely situations where I deliberately prescribe low-cadence cycling.
I use lower-cadence work to develop cycling-specific strength and the ability to produce greater torque through each pedal stroke.
That has a purpose.
But there’s a significant difference between:
deliberately training at a lower cadence
and
riding a big gear all the time because that’s how you’ve always ridden.
The first is structured training.
The second can simply be a habit.
British Cycling makes a similar distinction in its guidance on gear selection, recommending cyclists use their gears to maintain an appropriate cadence rather than habitually pushing a large gear. British Cycling
Your training should develop more than one way of riding.
For Most Riding, I Like 90–100rpm
For most cycling situations, I encourage my athletes to become comfortable riding at approximately 90–100rpm.
That doesn’t mean every cyclist must sit at exactly 95rpm for every kilometre of every ride.
Terrain matters.
Power output matters.
The purpose of the workout matters.
Individual athletes differ.
But 90–100rpm provides a useful operating range to become comfortable with.
Interestingly, research involving trained cyclists has frequently found preferred cadences around this territory. One study found cyclists selected cadences between approximately 90 and 100rpm across several power outputs, while another study of elite cyclists reported a freely chosen cadence averaging 90rpm during prolonged cycling trials. PubMed
That fits well with what I want athletes to develop:
the ability to pedal smoothly and comfortably at a good cadence without feeling as though they’re spinning out of control.
Why Easy Gears Can Initially Feel Wrong
If you’re accustomed to riding at 60–70rpm, suddenly asking you to ride at 95rpm may feel horrible.
Your heart rate might respond differently.
Your breathing may feel different.
Your pedal stroke might become messy.
You may bounce in the saddle.
And you might immediately think:
“This cadence doesn’t suit me.”
Perhaps.
But there’s another possibility.
You’re simply not very good at it yet.
Cadence is a cycling skill.
Like other skills, it can improve with practice.
Research in endurance-trained cyclists has shown that cadence-specific training can alter freely chosen cadence. In one six-week study, cyclists completing high-cadence interval training increased their freely chosen cadence from 92 to 101rpm. UTS Opus
So don’t dismiss a cadence simply because it initially feels unfamiliar.
Your Gears Help You Control Cadence
This is where gear selection becomes important.
Suppose you’re riding along comfortably at 90rpm.
The road starts climbing.
If you remain in exactly the same gear, one of two things needs to happen.
You either produce considerably more power…
or your cadence falls.
Sometimes increasing power is exactly what the workout requires.
But sometimes it isn’t.
If you’re supposed to be completing a Level II Endurance ride, there’s little benefit in turning every small hill into a Level IV effort simply because you refused to change gear.
Shift down.
Use the easier gear to maintain your cadence and control your effort.
British Cycling similarly advises anticipating changes in terrain and using the gears to maintain cadence, including shifting before a climb rather than waiting until you’re already struggling under a heavy load. British Cycling
Your gears aren’t an admission of weakness.
They’re a tool for controlling the ride.
Easy Gears Can Help You Pace Better
This becomes particularly important during long rides and races.
Imagine riding a rolling course.
Every time you reach a hill, you stubbornly stay in the big gear.
Your cadence falls.
Torque rises.
Power climbs.
You crest the hill having produced far more power than you intended.
Then you recover on the descent.
Repeat that enough times and you’ve created a very different physiological demand from riding the course with controlled pacing.
Instead, anticipate the terrain.
Change gear before your cadence collapses.
Keep the pedals turning.
Control your power.
Then return to a harder gear when the terrain allows.
Good cyclists don’t avoid their gears. They use them.
Indoor Cycling Is the Perfect Place to Practise
Your indoor trainer gives you an excellent environment for learning how different gears and cadences feel.
There are no corners.
No traffic.
No potholes.
No descents.
You can concentrate entirely on the relationship between:
gear → cadence → resistance → power → perceived effort
Try riding at the same power while changing cadence.
For example, hold a steady Level II intensity and spend some time around:
80–85rpm
then:
90–95rpm
then:
95–100rpm
and perhaps:
100–105rpm
Notice what changes.
How does your breathing respond?
What happens to your legs?
Can you keep your hips stable?
Can you maintain a quiet upper body?
Can you keep the pedal stroke smooth?
You’re not trying to prove that the highest cadence is best.
You’re developing your ability to ride competently across a wider range.
Smooth First, Fast Second
There’s no prize for achieving 110rpm if you’re bouncing around the saddle.
High-cadence cycling requires coordination.
As cadence increases, the timing of muscle activation changes to accommodate the faster pedal cycle. ScienceDirect
So when you’re developing cadence, don’t simply chase the biggest number on your screen.
Build progressively.
If 90rpm is comfortable but 100rpm becomes messy, work around 92–95rpm first.
Once that’s smooth, move higher.
Your progression might look something like:
90–95rpm → 95–100rpm → 100–105rpm → 105–110rpm+
But only progress while maintaining control.
Smoothness comes before speed.
Don’t Throw Away Your Big Gears Either
This article isn’t called:
Never Ride a Big Gear Again.
Lower-cadence work can be valuable.
I deliberately include it in training.
Riding around 60–70rpm at an appropriate intensity increases the torque required at each pedal stroke and can provide a useful cycling-specific strength stimulus.
There are also real-world situations where lower cadence is unavoidable.
A steep climb might leave you without another gear.
Mountain biking can require sudden high-torque efforts.
A strong headwind may alter your preferred cadence.
And different racing situations require different responses.
That’s why I don’t want an athlete who can only spin quickly any more than I want one who can only grind a large gear.
I want adaptable cyclists.
Develop a Cadence Toolbox
Think of cadence as a toolbox.
If you’ve only got one tool, you’re limited.
You should be capable of using a lower cadence when the situation requires greater torque.
You should be comfortable around your normal 90–100rpm riding range.
You should be able to increase cadence smoothly when you want to reduce the force required through each pedal stroke.
And you should be capable of changing between those cadences without your technique falling apart.
That’s useful on the trainer.
It’s useful on climbs.
It’s useful into headwinds.
It’s useful during races.
And it’s particularly useful late in an event when fatigue begins changing how your legs respond.
Practise Changing Gear Before You Need To
Another skill worth developing is anticipating your gear changes.
Don’t wait until you’re halfway up a hill, cadence has collapsed to 55rpm and you’re standing on the pedals desperately trying to maintain momentum.
Look ahead.
See the gradient changing.
Shift before you’re bogged down.
The same applies approaching a corner.
If you’re slowing significantly, selecting an easier gear before you need to accelerate again can make getting back up to speed much smoother.
Cycling UK’s gear guidance similarly recommends shifting before terrain changes and using gearing to maintain a consistent pedalling rhythm. Cycling UK
The best gear change is often the one you make before it becomes necessary.
Don’t Let Ego Choose Your Gear
Sometimes the resistance to easier gears has nothing to do with physiology.
It’s ego.
A big gear feels powerful.
A small gear feels easy.
Someone rides past you and you instinctively shift harder.
You see another cyclist climbing in a bigger gear and assume you should do the same.
But nobody gets bonus points for using a smaller cog.
The appropriate gear is simply the gear that allows you to produce the effort and cadence you need for that particular situation.
Let the purpose of the ride choose the gear—not your ego.
Don’t Fear Easy Gears
The next time you notice yourself grinding away at 65rpm simply because changing down feels like taking the easy option, try something different.
Shift.
Let the cadence rise.
Relax your upper body.
Keep your hips stable.
Pedal smoothly.
And see whether you can maintain the same appropriate training intensity while producing the power differently.
Remember:
An easier gear doesn’t automatically mean an easier workout.
Sometimes it simply means you’re using your bike properly.
Train your low cadence.
Train your normal cadence.
Train your high cadence.
Learn when to use each.
Because the goal isn’t to become the cyclist who can push the biggest gear.
The goal is to become the cyclist who knows which gear to use.
Develop Your Cadence With Velocity
Cadence isn’t something you simply have. It’s something you can train.
Inside Qwik Kiwi’s Velocity, you’ll find hundreds of coach-led video workouts covering Level II Endurance, Level III Tempo, Level IV Threshold, Level V VO₂ Max, technique and recovery, along with dedicated cadence sessions designed to develop your ability to pedal smoothly across different ranges.
My Coach Ray’s Cadence Session series progressively works through different cadence demands, while other workouts incorporate deliberate lower-cadence work to develop the opposite end of your cycling toolbox.
You can also join the Qwik Kiwi squad for two coach-led live sessions each week at 6:00 a.m. New Zealand time:
Tuesday: 45 minutes or less
Thursday: approximately one hour, sometimes a little more or less depending on the workout.
Can’t make the live sessions? The full workout library is available on demand.
Don’t fear easy gears. Learn to use every gear you’ve got.