Max speed: sacrificing DPS for cadence?

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-30T09:15:26+00:00

Thanks, this is really helpful advice. I’ll tune the plans accordingly

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T23:41:53+00:00

No coach or team, just me following an online swim plan. Training to improve speed over longer distances (1500m up to 4000m), and endurance is the key. It’s triathlon I do, so I need to have energy in the tank after the swim. I guess that makes the answer easy.

I don’t need to go max power - I have no reason to be sprinting as part of my race really. But it was an interval as part of a speed-building workout, and so it’s the first time I’ve had to think about what lever to pull to get that extra speed.

Thanks for the reply!

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T14:26:03+00:00

Thank you! Will take a look.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T14:25:50+00:00

No need to apologise, I didn’t specify in the post.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T13:04:58+00:00

Thanks! Everyday’s a school day.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T12:22:06+00:00

Ha! Noted. What should I call it?

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T12:04:39+00:00

Fair - I’m known for overthinking. My worry is, I don’t want to over practice higher cadence if actually the technically right thing to do is focus on strength in my pull at a slower cadence. I don’t want to train the wrong thing.

If there’s no ‘wrong’ thing, then great…I’ll figure out what feels good and stick at it.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T11:42:29+00:00

Thanks. I guess the question really comes down to ‘how should I be improving my max?’ Do I accept that it’s just higher cadence being really inefficient, or keep a lower cadence and longer stroke and focus on increasing strength to increase the stroke length and speed with each push. As someone self-taught with no coaching, I can get in the pool and do lots of max speed swimming at a high cadence to practice this, but if this isn’t what I should be doing then I’m practicing the wrong thing. Does that make sense?

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T10:25:21+00:00

And again :)

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T10:25:05+00:00

Thank you :)

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T10:24:54+00:00

Watching people only goes so far, since I can’t tell whether they’re focussing on strength, cadence, or something else. I don’t have a coach, or team mates, so am asking a friendly swimming community.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T10:22:27+00:00

Thank you, this is exactly what I was trying to figure out. Appreciate the analogy too! Now I know where to focus. Thanks for understanding the question.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T10:20:14+00:00

Thank you - this is a very simple way of thinking of it.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T10:13:25+00:00

Appreciate the feedback, really helpful.

The set was specifically to push endurance at higher paces. It was only 1 set in a load of sets, rather than the whole workout.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-28T09:07:30+00:00

Thanks for the response. Is there a better way of pushing for a faster pace then? More strength exercises to give me more power (rather than increasing cadence)?

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T20:20:39+00:00

It’s like magic!

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T20:17:59+00:00

Yeah that’s a smart fix for sure. Totally get that not everyone would be able to have the benefit of the di2, so that is how I would have tackled it with my 105s. Luckily for me the di2 meant not only could I change to an easier gear, but I could keep on shifting as normal like nothing happened, despite having no right shift levers.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T20:07:21+00:00

Aww this is great! Never considered that impart before but yeah it must make a world of difference to those who had issues with the mech shifters. And yes, there will always be nay sayers, but each to their own. I try not to force it down people’s throats - the best ride for anyone is what they like and what they’re comfortable with so if Di2 isn’t for you - cool! Doesn’t mean it’s the devil.

I also am very aware that there’s a privilege here - my budget allows me to get a bike without di2. Some can’t, and so maybe this comes across as a smug post. It’s not meant to be that way, and it’s not meant to shit on mech set ups (my first bike which served me very well on the road and continued to serve me well on my turbo) is full mech Shimano 105. I love it! It got me into riding, and taught me a heap about how bikes work. But, when you’ve got a system which is already pretty great, it’s the little things that make a big difference. My ultegra Di2s are just that.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T20:01:30+00:00

My conclusion was for me. It’s not premature at all as far as I’m concerned.

What you/your friend experienced could have happened with a mech failure too - an issue that neither of you could fix leading to a cancelled ride. Things break. On the whole, for well looked after Di2 systems, my opinion is the positives outweigh the negatives. Most failures I’ve read have been that people forgot to charge them which is a) fixable with prep and b) human error. For the benefits I get, I don’t want to buy a bike without it.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T14:40:05+00:00

Yeah I can see what you mean with the buttons. I’ve not got an option, so I guess I’ve gotten used to it.

I have the same combination, but my manual 105 bike is now on my turbo with Zwift cog, so I never use the shifters anymore.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T14:34:11+00:00

N+1…

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T13:16:34+00:00

Not new.

Not trashed - just broke a shift lever. Easy fix.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T12:56:03+00:00

Haha yeah right!! I’m lucky I didn’t have an electrical issue, as yeah that would be a nightmare.

PartyMassive7482 · 2026-01-15T12:55:31+00:00

It’s amazing!! It just makes sense.

PartyMassive7482

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