CyclOptim pedals are equipped with force sensors and a gyroscope.

The onboard processor records the force measured by the sensors and uses the crank length entered in your GPS computer to calculate the torque applied to the crankset. It also records the instantaneous rotational speed measured by the gyroscope, then calculates power output.

This process runs dozens of times per revolution, ensuring maximum accuracy regardless of your pedalling style or chainring type — standard or oval.

Cadence is one of the data points measured and transmitted to your GPS by your CyclOptim pedals. It refers to the rotational speed of your cranks while pedalling, displayed in rpm (revolutions per minute — the number of full crank rotations you complete each minute). This means there's no longer any need for a separate cadence sensor on your bike.

On flat terrain, a typical cadence sits between 70 and 90 rpm, promoting smooth pedalling and reducing muscular fatigue. On climbs, cadence naturally drops, generally settling between 60 and 80 rpm.

In training, cadence data helps you work on the two core aspects of pedalling: strength and fluidity. Low-cadence work — between 40 and 60 rpm — places significant demands on the muscular system, making it particularly effective for hill efforts and accelerations.

High-cadence training, between 100 and 120 rpm, shifts the load towards the cardiovascular system. This helps spare the legs while improving neuromuscular coordination and, ultimately, pedalling efficiency.

Every cyclist has their own natural cadence — their optimal rhythm. At this cadence, energy expenditure is minimised and endurance performance peaks. Over long rides, it's worth keeping an eye on your cadence: as fatigue sets in, cadence tends to drop, and with it, your overall efficiency.

Cyclists — and humans in general — are not perfectly symmetrical. It's entirely normal for each leg to contribute differently to the pedal stroke. Left-right balance (available on Classic versions only) lets you compare the effort produced by each leg, expressed as a percentage of total power output.

Example: if the left leg produces 120 watts and the right leg 80 watts, the cyclist is putting out 200 watts in total. Their left-right balance is: (120/(120+80)) × 100 = 60% left, (80/(120+80)) × 100 = 40% right.

There's no universally good or bad balance — however, if a regular cyclist sees an imbalance exceeding ±10% from the "perfect" 50/50 split, it may point to a bike fit issue or an underlying injury. Balance is best monitored over time: what matters is its consistency and how it evolves. If it shifts with fatigue or changes gradually, it can act as an early warning sign — prompting you to check your bike fit or rule out a developing injury.

CyclOptim Classic pedals feature sensors in both pedals, meaning the power balance data displayed are real measured values — not estimates.

(Curve from ANT+ documentation)

Pedalling efficiency is a metric that calculates the percentage of driving torque — the "useful" force that actually propels the bike — relative to the total force applied to the crankset. During a pedal stroke, most of the useful force is generated during the downstroke. Throughout the rest of the rotation, particularly during the upstroke, the legs produce little to no useful force — and more often than not, they actively resist the crank's rotation. This braking force must be compensated by the opposite leg as it drives through its downstroke.

Efficiency = ( [(P+)+(P-)] / (P+) ) × 100

CyclOptim Classic pedals feature sensors in both pedals, giving you an independent efficiency reading for each leg. CyclOptim Lite pedals, which have a sensor in the left pedal only, measure left-leg efficiency exclusively.

As with balance, there's no target figure to chase. A natural pedalling style is often the most energy-efficient approach. That said, knowing your baseline efficiency and tracking how it varies can help flag early signs of fatigue, injury, or a bike fit that may have shifted.

Using the data from your pedals, your bike computer can calculate additional training metrics related to your effort, such as:

• NP (Normalised Power): a weighted average power that reflects the physiological cost of your ride more accurately than a simple average, by smoothing out surges and excluding freewheeling periods.
• IF (Intensity Factor): a metric representing the intensity of your effort. When the normalised power sustained over one hour approaches your FTP (Functional Threshold Power), the IF approaches 1 (or 100%).
• Power zone distribution.
• Power-to-weight ratio.

Check your GPS documentation for a full overview of the metrics it can generate from a power meter.