Question: A friend tells me that I can improve my climbing power by riding a steep half-mile-long hill in the big ring at a slow cadence. Wouldn’t that ruin my knees? – Jerry S.
RBR Replies: You’re right to be wary, Jerry. Pushing a big gear for any reason can cause knee problems.
That said, big-gear/low-cadence workouts can be very effective – if done correctly.
To keep knee gremlins away, follow these 6 rules for big-gear training on hills:
1. Do not even think about it if you have a history of knee problems!
2. Warm up completely.
3. Do the first repeat in a gear that’s low enough to spin at about 90 rpm. Increase the gear and decrease the cadence in the next 2 intervals until you’re down to about 50 rpm with a correspondingly high gear.
4. Concentrate on smooth, round pedal strokes. You must keep good form.
5. Don’t do this workout more than once a week until you’re sure your knees can handle it. Then, if you’re motivated, you can do it twice, separated by at least 2 days of easy recovery riding.
6. If you experience any knee pain, stop the workout and spin home. Don’t try it again until your knees feel right.
In the ’80’s Avocet did a study and found that pushing hard at a cadence of less than 60 would cause fatigue in the knees. The only way to recover was no pedaling for at least 5 hours.
What will hurt your knees even quicker is too long of crank arms which will cause excessive shear and compressive forces on the patellofemoral joint. Look up Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS)
The article says “big-gear/low-cadence workouts can be very effective.” Very effective at what? What would be the purpose, and expected benefits of deliberately grinding up a hill in the wrong gear? It’s not something I have ever considered doing!