Hill climbing tips

robhb

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has a few basic tips for getting up hills a little more quickly. My wife manages a reasonable 15ish mph on the flat stuff but as soon as she hits a hill seems to slow to a speed that my 6 yr old boys could match without too much problem. Everything I've suggested is either the wrong thing (probable) or is being ignored (likely)!

Thanks in advance

RobHb

sean65

I find it helps to check your technique on hills

Make sure you're spinning and not pushing. You'll feel the difference when you've got it right. You can feel your legs going in circles as opposed to up and down. Make sure you scrap the down stroke through to the 7 o'clock position.

Also, ride lots of hills, but be warned, they're addictive. 8)

Brian B

First make sure the bike has the correct gearing thats comfortable as some standard set ups can be a bit mean. If this means going compact or for a triple then do it.

Get in the right gear when you hit the incline and go easy to begin as the body take a little while to ramp up the cardiovascular system. Set a pace thats easy to begin as you can always up the tempo if you feel good further up. Dont worry about the climb as I know thats hard to do but worry clamps up the upper body and makes it difficult to breathe and you want to avoid this and try to stay loose up top. Focus on breathing and th legs will take care of themselves. Pull down zips on tops or roll up sleeves before the climb as when your body ups the power outage it has to get rid of a lot of heat thats generated.

Last and not least practice on hills is an evil necessary and as said before they are are addictive and you will soon be seeking out larger and meaner climbs.

Rich Hcp

Practise, practise, practise

John C.

There are two ways to climb hills:
Power up
spin up
If you haven't got the power then you have to spin, the best way to do this is to get the bike fitted with mountain bike gearing, you then ride hill after hill building confidence and power(fittness) once at this stage it's up to you iether keep on spinning or go up a gear or two. As said above beware hills are like a drug once on them you're hooked

Smokin Joe

On the approach to the climb take some deep breaths to fill your lungs with oxygen, that is your fuel and you want to store up as much as possible. On long straight climbs avoid staring at the horizon, it can be very demoralising to find it never seems to be getting any closer.

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

I try to look at the 2 metres of tarmac immediately in front of my front wheel. The brow disheartens me! Also, I try to do my times tables in my head to take my mind off the pain...

Works-ish for me.

robhb

Thanks for the advice, seems like she's gonna have to spend more time going up!
BTW, got a bike thru the County council Bike to work scheme, (Giant Scr02) love the bike. Took advantage of the great weather over the weekend and did a couple of 25mile rides @ 17ish mph which I was reasonably pleased with for my first rides, mind you it's pancake flat on the Somerset levels.
Thanks again

Rob

oldwelshman

Some interesting replies
Spin instead of push? Hmm even spinning you have to push or you would just pull?
I suspect your wife has no ambition to race so just wants to improve?
Rich HCP is ocrrect when he says practise, as your wife will find he natural climbing style and tempo and will improve the more she practices.
She would probably find it easier spinning lower gears unless she is strong and would prefer to climb out of saddle sometimes ot push higher gear, that may be dependent on her physique, it varies with individuals, but to be honest if not racing, it is better to spin lower gears and get used to it.
When I am on long or steep climbs, similar to Sea_green, I split the climbs into sections. I know roughly looking at a slope how many pedal turns it takes to go for a certain distance. So insteaqd of just looking 2 metres ahead, I look up, pick a point (crest, bend, steep bit etc) and judge how many revs to get to it, then get head down and count out my revs After a while you get used to this and judge distances good , honestly
It also becomes good for judging afforts towards top of hill as I know I can push max for 100 revs so know how hard to push without blowing before top of climbs.

il_principe

Just to add to the advice already given... Does she have clipless pedals? If not I'd suggest getting them and working on her pedal stroke. The joy of clipless is that you can pull up on the pedal as well, recruiting other muscles and adding to your power. If climbing with other riders (on shortish hills) I like to pick someone out in front of me and try to chase them down, gives a sort of added incentive. Also good high-tempo music on the iPod helps too.

rdaviesb

Don't give her any advice at all. It's probably all been said. My solution, by a tandem.

ut_och_cykla

From a chubby 40+ girly who hated hills but has now cycled ventoux, Alpe, galbier etc.

Make sure she has gears to allow her to ride as comfortably as possible up hills at her own cadence and speed. Don't half wheel her or fly off muttering - Either stay with her quietly or agree before the ride that you'll wait at the tops of hills. When she catches up - let her catch her breath, drink etc. Hills are hard but with the right kit most are doable by pretty much anybody - only the speed will vary.
Women carry more body fat, have smaller hearts/pump volumes etc and often have to put up with less than ideal kit due to lack of own understanding and that of those around them!
She'll get better with practice and before you know it she'll be beating you or at least giving you a run for your money!!

Bassjunkieuk

Some great advice here! I'm starting to try and get more practise in on hills as I'm doing a charity ride in July and my mates who did it last year said it was a bit hilly! Having said that I'm a much more regular cyclist then them so I might be doing all this for nothing!

Since getting my new bike, a Giant SCR 3.0, I have found it much easier on the hills. Not only is the bike much lighter then my old racer, I have a much nicer range of gears and the benefit of a bail-out granny ring! I haven't been up a hill yet where I have needed (or should that be allowed!) myself to use such a low gear, as I'm finding it strangely fun to challenge myself on the climbs! Living near near Crystal Palace I have some nice hills (for someone living in London!) to play around with and went for a longer ride on Saturday using one of the longer one's near where I live and despite busting a gut getting to the top I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I think the best way to motivate yourself to get up a hill is to remember - What goes up must come down!! All that hard work and effort getting to the top is usually rewarded with a great (albeit somewhat quicker!) decent

geoff_ss

I wonder if your wife realises that you have to get somewhat out of breath on any significant climb no matter how strong you are.

A couple we know bought a tandem and the wife was amazed at how heavily her husband was breathing when they climbed. The husband was a very successful road and time trial competitor and the wife is also an ex-international road rider so you'd think she'd have appreciated the effort needed.

The sprint or push approach option only applies to short hills. Once climbs get long the sprint option goes out of the window. We live at the top of a significant hill so both my wife and I have to get used to climbing and keeping a little in reserve just to get home.

Geoff

knedlicky

The riders I know who are fine on the flat but really slow on hills are those who tend to change down too low. They then don't spin at a rate to compensate for the low gear.
The same riders also tend to drop down too rapidly, not in stages, maybe right away to their lowest gear for a hill of only 6-8%. That way, they mess up their cadence (it should alter gradually for best efficiency) and perhaps also don't make use of any momentum they have. Also, they then have nowhere to go if it gets steeper.

Having spoken to them about why they behave like that, my impression is that they want to avoid as much suffering as possible, or don't realise they have to suffer to succeed. So it's often a mental thing.

Doobz

there is a really cool PDF document called "Pro secrets" from roadbikerider.com - it gives some really cool tips on all apects of riding including climbing hills..

rdaviesb

The other great tip I read came from Lemond - spend as much time thinking about getting your trailing pedal leg out of the way as pushing with the other; works for me.

JWSurrey

I can never quite understand why my wife, despite cycling further than me every weekend, doing triathlons, and generally keeping running fit, can still be slower than me on rides.
I managed to reduce the moaning partially, by fitting her bike with a 13-29 and long cage derailleur in preparation for the moaning to increase to a level when a triple would be required!
Seems to have done the trick, although I still have to wait at the top... and the bottom... and on the flat... and at cross roads... and any junction... and every pub... and every cafe

John C.

JWSurrey wrote:

I can never quite understand why my wife, despite cycling further than me every weekend, doing triathlons, and generally keeping running fit, can still be slower than me on rides.
I managed to reduce the moaning partially, by fitting her bike with a 13-29 and long cage derailleur in preparation for the moaning to increase to a level when a triple would be required!
Seems to have done the trick, although I still have to wait at the top... and the bottom... and on the flat... and at cross roads... and any junction... and every pub... and every cafe

You are a very Brave or foolish man,

The reason is :
BECAUSE IT IS. OK !!!!!!!!

geoff_ss

JWSurrey wrote:

I can never quite understand why my wife, despite cycling further than me every weekend, doing triathlons, and generally keeping running fit, can still be slower than me on rides.
I managed to reduce the moaning partially, by fitting her bike with a 13-29 and long cage derailleur in preparation for the moaning to increase to a level when a triple would be required!
Seems to have done the trick, although I still have to wait at the top... and the bottom... and on the flat... and at cross roads... and any junction... and every pub... and every cafe

There's an obvious answer. You could try the same solution my wife and I tried years ago after we got separated in our own village when going out for a ride and didn't meet up again until we both got home. Get a tandem - you'll fly. And there'll be no waiting.

Geoff

NWLondoner

Climbing hills are my Achilles heal at the moment

Last week I tried a 25 mile ride. I went via Edgware Road-Kilburn to Parliament Square and came back via Euston-Camden Town - Hampstead to Colindale.

I made it to Belsize Park and that was it my legs were dead. My average speed was 12.5 MPH

I could ride on the flats but I had to push and walk all the way to the top of Hampstead.

It's not that they hurt i just had NO fuel/energy left in them (if that makes sense)

So out of 24 miles I had to walk/push for about 1-2 miles.

I have made my front suspension as hard as possible but you cannot turn it off completely, do you think getting a bike without this would be any help??

redddraggon

NWLondoner wrote:

I have made my front suspension as hard as possible but you cannot turn it off completely, do you think getting a bike without this would be any help??

Front suspension? Get a proper road bike.

NWLondoner

redddraggon wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

I have made my front suspension as hard as possible but you cannot turn it off completely, do you think getting a bike without this would be any help??

Front suspension? Get a proper road bike.

Hey don't shoot me

I hate drops so a "proper" road bike is out of the question.I am thinking about getting the Focus Corrente which seems to be a good compromise.

Nice and light,700c skinny road rims 25 max.

redddraggon

NWLondoner wrote:

I hate drops

Why?

NWLondoner

redddraggon wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

I hate drops

Why?

Just my personal preference.

If I were riding on A or B roads then fine I could live with them.

However I ride in Central London and prefer the control and confidence of flat bars.

I also prefer the more upright riding position of flats. Thankfully i do not suffer from any backache after my rides or any discomfort in my hands

I know i will take flack for this but i prefer to ride with what i find comfortable/confident.

geoff_ss

redddraggon wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

I hate drops

Why?

I've got 3 'proper' road bikes with straight bars - a 653 custom built frame, a 531 custom built tandem and my new alloy framed Kinesis Tk - so drop bars aren't essential for a road bike. However, before arthritis/injury set in, I did 1000s of miles in perfect comfort with drop bars.

btw I think you deserve a medal for doing a 25 mile ride in the middle of London. I prefer our local hilly lanes - in fact I prefer hilly lanes anywhere out of a town.

Geoff

redddraggon

I think discomfort and lack of control with drops is a myth. If you get the geometry right you can be just as upright with drops as with flats. Drops have more hand positions and don't offer me any less control.

If I had a mountain bike, I'd have to have bar ends to give me a comfortable position that flats alone don't provide. I'd be miles away from the brakes then - and that doesn't inspire confidence on the roads.

And London....personally I wouldn't want to go anywhere near there, let alone do any cycling there - so hats off to you. London has hills?

NWLondoner

redddraggon wrote:

And London....personally I wouldn't want to go anywhere near there, let alone do any cycling there - so hats off to you. London has hills?

A few, especially as you leave the central area to the NW suburbs where i live.

Anyone here manage to get up the hill from Golders Green to Hampstead Heath?? :shock:

geoff_ss

redddraggon wrote:

I think discomfort and lack of control with drops is a myth. If you get the geometry right you can be just as upright with drops as with flats. Drops have more hand positions and don't offer me any less control.

I see from your profile you're a student and,therefore I assume, under 30. I assure you in 40 years time you may have reason to modify your opinion.

I was totally paralysed due to neck injury in a cycling accident. Fortunately the paralysis was mostly temporary but the only way I'm able to continue riding is if I use low gears and flat bars. Even then the pain can sometimes be excruciating and I need to stop for a while. I persevered with drops for a while but virtually gave up cycling for several years because of the discomfort. Only fitting straight bars has made cycling possible for me. It's getting worse so I guess I'm getting some arthritis as well (my hip's beginning to ache quite a lot).

I know things are easy when you're under 30. I was under 30, 38 years ago. It takes a bit more effort now and sacrifices have to made.

Geoff

redddraggon

Aye, I'm only 21, so I'm a young 'en.

I've had a run in, albeit temporarily, with paralysis, after a rather serious neck/shoulder injury during a rugby match. It took 6 months to get full use of my right arm back, luckily that's all healed now 3 years later. However I still get discomfort with my right shoulder, so I have be careful of weight on my hands, and I'm glad of the multiple positions that drops provide, otherwise the slightly discomfort would get worse. I'm lucky in that I don't have any flexibility problems, just need to make sure my saddle isn't sloped forward, and the bars are wide enough.

Geoff, you're a different case to most of the drops haters though. Most have got misconception that drops are uncomfortable - I must admit I was probably one of them until I got my first road bike. For most people it's just that drops are less used to the more common flat bar handlebars. Most people, for I don't know how many years, have started cycling with a MTB which flat bars - so it's just the fear of the unknown, and the misconception that drops are uncomfortable and inappropriate for use in traffic.

Bassjunkieuk

When I got my first road bike with drop handlebars I found it rather uncomfortable as I wasn't used to the pressure it placed on my hands whilst riding on the hoods and operating the brakes (not helped by the fact it was a rather old second hand bike so the brake levers where a bit stiff!)

After a few weeks I soon got used to it, mainly due to the fact I was using the bike for commuting to and from London each day! I don't think I ever thought they offered less control then my wider MTB bars, and I certainly wouldn't be able to filter through the gridlocked traffic in London as well as I do on my new road bike :-) I think the other point that sold me on the drops was descending the rather steep (as far to short!) hill near me whilst down on them! The sensation of speed was amazing, although I think part of it might have been due to the higher gearing available!