Cadence, or the rate at which you pedal, is an oft-discussed and debated topic among cyclists: Are you pedaling too fast? Too slow? Are you struggling to speed out of corners, or finding yourself spinning but getting nowhere in the group sprint?

While some coaches and experts will say there’s a “best” cadence to pedal, just as many will argue that your natural cadence is likely better than trying to change it up in a way that feels awkward. But for some riders, getting stuck at your comfy cadence may be holding you back.

We talked to cycling coaches, pro riders, and researchers to finally answer the simple question: Is your cadence holding you back on the bike?

Understand that there’s no “perfect” cadence

Even if you think your cadence should be higher, or you’re just not pedaling quite as fast as the person next to you, it might not necessarily be a problem. “With cadence, you’ll read about all these different ideas of what the ‘best’ cadence is,” says longtime cycling coach and registered kinesiologist Peter Glassford. “You’ll hear stuff like ‘you should always pedal at 90 rpm on the road.’ But anytime someone throws out a specific number like that, you should pause. We are all different people, we’re different sizes, we have different ways that our bodies will solve the problem of cycling. So if you’re out there hitting the power numbers you want and achieving your goals, cadence doesn’t really matter.”

However, it is advantageous to be able to pedal at a variety of ranges with relative ease. “I tell athletes that cadence ranges are like knives in your kitchen,” says Cody Stephenson, education program manager at TrainingPeaks. “Yes, you can do everything with your single favorite knife, but the further away you get from its intended purpose, the less optimally it will perform, so you’re better off keeping all of your knives sharp and practice using them.”

And pro road racer Lauren Stephens agrees, adding, “Everyone has a natural cadence, but training to be able to perform well in different cadence ranges can be really helpful, especially if you’re racing in different disciplines, like gravel versus time trial. And it can be trained!”

How can you tell if low cadence is a problem?

There are a few questions you can ask yourself to determine if low cadence is an issue:

Are you struggling on climbs or speeding up out of corners? Do people mention your “interesting” cadence to you on rides? Do you notice you’re doing one pedal stroke for everyone else’s two?

If you’re a gear grinder—someone who loves to pedal around 50 to 60 rpm regardless of terrain—you may have plenty of power but still miss out because you struggle to get up to speed quickly.

“If you’re someone who is always pedaling at a low rpm and the group you’re riding with accelerates, it’s just hard for you to accelerate from a larger, heavier gear,” Glassford says. “It’s sort of like operating a standard car: If you were in fifth gear and you tried to accelerate and pass someone, the car would struggle to accelerate. You have to shift down to the fourth or third gear to speed up.”

“You also might find that postride, you feel a lot of muscular fatigue,” he adds. “If you’re riding at a low cadence, you’re pushing the pedals harder and using more force: You’re basically weightlifting. If you use a little higher cadence, a little easier of a gear, in order to go at the same speed, then it would be more of a cardiovascular effort and less of a muscular one.”

Even if you don’t use a low cadence all the time, check what you do when you’re late in a ride. “A lot of people tend to start using a low cadence when they get tired and start to feel bogged down,” adds Stephens. “That really low cadence becomes the default, but it can end up being way less effective.” (Stephens admits she tends to push these bigger gears later in races to such an extent that commentators actually call it out during the race. She’s working on it.) Learn how to increase your cycling cadence with this detailed guide.

Not sure about your cadence? While you may not have a commentator mentioning it on the mic, you can still collect some video evidence. Next time you ride, try to get a video of yourself with the group and watch the playback. Are you generally pedaling at the same speed or are you much faster or slower? A lot of people aren’t actually aware of their cadence, especially if no one has ever pointed it out. The comparison to others in the group is a great wakeup call for many.

How can you tell if high cadence is a problem?

While most coaches will laud a rider’s ability to pedal at a high cadence, it can be a problem. High cadence with low power is most often spotted in younger riders who simply aren’t aware of how to effectively shift, but adults can struggle with it, too. Ask yourself the following questions:

Are you able to meet your goals in cycling, or do you feel like you’ve plateaued in your fitness gains? Do you feel like you’re bouncing on the saddle because there’s no resistance to push against? Are you pedaling over 95 rpm yet still putting out under 100 watts of power?

If you look like you’re pedaling quickly, yet your low-cadence comrades on the ride are easily outpacing you, you may be pedaling too much and wasting energy and efficiency. “If you’re in too easy of a gear and pedaling fast, you might not be able to accelerate,” says Glassford. “You’d run out of how fast you can pedal, and you’d have to shift to a harder gear, and you’d have to shift harder, and pedal harder. I see a lot of people trying to hide from the muscular tension that comes from putting out power by pushing hard on the pedals.”