Research on Bike Cadence and Run Pace in Triathlon

In my last blog post I offered the observation that all of the experienced triathletes I've coached over the years typically had lower cadences in Ironman-distance than in Olympic-distance triathlons. Several readers asked how that may have affected their run times. I really can't say because they seem to have always done that. So I have no data from triathletes who used a higher cadence, or even a similar cadence, in Ironman races as they used at the shorter distance. But it is a great question. So I took a look at the research to see what it says.

Unfortunately, there has been very little research on this topic. I found 5 such studies. None of them addressed the issue of the effect of cadence on the run at different distances. The longest ride in these studies was 30 minutes. Some were only 20 minutes. They found three results: 1) run times were faster with a slower cadence, 2) run times were slower with a slower cadence, and 3) there was no significant difference in run times regardless of cadence. So the matter remains to be resolved. You need to decide what works better for you - which is what it almost always comes down to anyway.

If you want to read the abstracts yourself go here.

Comments

[TriogyRacing]

I beleive in Ironman is better lower cadence as its "more hard for legs than heart" and that means lower heart rate which indirectly or directly means less dehydratation and less possibilitie for cramping (maybe bigest issue for running).

But than we have Crowie who smashed last year with such a high cadence...

And in ITU, from the first hand I expereinced higher cadence work better (with shorter crank size), and I had training period (long) when I would ride really high cadence and periods with lower cadence.

So you think its just individual and it depends on way of training or it can be generalized to some point?

Thanks
Ogy

[Mike Hardy]

Assuming my memory serves and it was Hunter Allen on the panel @ Kona 2011 and I remembered his comments correctly, I attempted to contact Hunter Allen to see if he'd respond here and share what he's seen. No idea if he'll have the time to respond but it would be great to hear what he's seen if he does. It's a really fascinating topic, to me anyway.

Thanks for the follow up Joe!

[Tim Egge]

doesn't Lance Armstrong use Training Peaks? maybe he will let you have a look at his cause from the footage I have seen, his cadence was a lot higher then the other triathletes he was racing at 70.3
I know it isn't Ironman but maybe worth looking at

[Drew Wilson]

Commenters... it doesn't matter if a particular athlete has a higher or lower cadence! The point here is the athlete's RELATIVE cadence across different length rides. What works for one dude, or what is fast or slow cadence for one dude is irrelevent. The point was that on longer rides the riders wound up with slower cadences.

Besides that, I'm no triathlete nor TT expert but I think your missing the point if you are worried about your cadence.