Cycling cadence chart: RPM to BPM for every training zone

Cycling cadence matches music tempo one to one: 1 RPM equals 1 BPM, so a 90 RPM cadence needs 90 BPM music. The chart below maps every cadence from 60 to 160 RPM to its matching tempo across six training zones, plus half-time and double-time options for tracks at other tempos.

This is the quick-reference version of our longer cadence-to-music guide. If you want the reasoning behind the numbers, read that. If you just want the chart, bookmark this page.

The one rule behind the whole chart

Each pedal revolution lines up with one beat, so your target cadence in RPM is the exact tempo in BPM to look for. Ride at 82 RPM, cue up 82 BPM music. There is no conversion factor and no multiplier.

Because the match is one to one, the chart doubles as a cadence planner. Pick the effort you want, read across to the tempo, and build a playlist around it.

Cadence to BPM chart (60 to 160 RPM)

Read the row for your target cadence. The music tempo column is the BPM to search for, the zone column tells you where that effort sits, and the effort column describes how it should feel.

Training zones at a glance

If you think in training zones rather than exact numbers, this table groups the cadence ranges. The ranges are typical and they overlap in practice, so treat them as starting points rather than fixed lines. Inside Siasola Cycling Beats, these collapse into five built-in energy zones (warmup, endurance, tempo, threshold, and sprint) that you can browse by effort.

When you cannot find music at the exact tempo

Some cadences sit in tempo ranges where good music is scarce. Recovery spins need slow tracks, and sprints need very fast ones, and both are harder to find. Half-time and double-time matching solves this. A track can lock you to your cadence at half or double its printed tempo, because your legs follow the pulse you feel, not the number on the label.

So a 150 RPM sprint syncs to a 150 BPM track or a 75 BPM track, and a 70 RPM recovery spin syncs to a 70 BPM track or a 140 BPM track. Your target tempo, half of it, or double it can all keep you on cadence.

How to use the chart during a ride

1. Decide your cadence for the effort ahead, for example 100 RPM for a tempo block.
2. Find that row in the chart and note the music tempo, which is the same number.
3. Queue tracks at that BPM, or use the half-time and double-time options if the exact tempo is hard to find.
4. When you change effort, jump to the new row and switch tempo to match.

Building a separate playlist for each cadence takes work, and songs at less common tempos like 73 or 107 BPM thin out fast. Siasola Cycling Beats removes that step by generating original tracks at every tempo from 60 to 160 BPM and locking them to your pedalling speed in real time, so the chart happens automatically. For the deeper background on why tempo and cadence work together, see the science of cadence-matched music.