Did you choose your cadence or did your bike?
It might sound like an odd question but it has some interesting twists.
Lets start with the ideal cadence. It varies a bit from person to person but for the vast majority of us it will be somewhere between 80 and 100 rpm. We won't go into this as there are more than enough articles on it and whilst there are certain people like a particular Tour de France winner who deviate from the norm, most of us can't.
So 80 to 100 rpm. Your will find your cadence varies depending on terrain, fatigue, fitness, phase in your ride etc but did you know that your bike fit has a massive impact on your cadence? Most people who have a cadence affected by their bike fit, they are slow. An often heard comment is "but I'm just a plodder". This normally translates into "my position has always been wrong but I just didn't realise". It's not a criticism, if you don't know then you don't know, but it could be a reason to have a bike fit.
Things that can affect you cadence:
Poor balance on the bike.
Wrong saddle height
Incorrect crank length (normally long)
Incorrect cleat positions
In short it could be a multitude of elements of your fit that are causing your slow cadence, but does it matter?
Well yes is the simple answer. If your cadence is incorrect for you, then you can't work efficiently. When you cadence is slow you can be putting additional strain on muscles and joints to try and over ride that bad position which can lead to injuries and the dreaded time off the bike.
It returns us to the common answer but being efficient on the bike will make us perform at our best, reduce our risk of injury and lead to us getting the most out of our ride.