Hills - going up 'em

Peddle Up!

Any tips for tacking hill climbing? I'm OK on the steady drags, but where a hill has a changing profile I usually find I have to stop to take a breather. Frustratingly, I only need a few seconds before I'm OK to continue, but I'd really like to improve fitness and/or technique to ascend in one.

sicrow

just practise thats all - the more you do the easier it gets. Set yourself a target to get past where you stopped last time and keep doing it

shmo

What cassette are you running at the back? Might be worth getting one with a few bigger sprockets so you can keep spinning in the comfort zone instead of grinding on the pedals or having to get out the saddle.

robbie the roadie

If the hill is steep at the bottom then levels out try and take it easier on the lower bit. This will leave you feeling fresher to tackle the top bit a lot faster then if you had tried to blast up the steep first section.

Similarly if it starts off easy then gets steeper then take it easy to begin with so you have something in reserve.

Another top tip is if you alternate between standing and sitting then each time you stand up change up 1 or 2 gears at the back to make the gear a bit harder. This is because you can push a higher gear stood up. Then when you sit back down you will be able to click back into the easier gears and not run out of gears. Does that make sense? :?

McBain_v1

Remember to keep looking ahead all the time so you get advance warnings of any changes in the hill profile, even short changes can be enough to put you off your rhythm and result in either desperate fumbling for a gear or the need to stop.

Steve_F

Try not to look up too much, get the idea of how steep etc then try to focus on getting a few metres in front all the time. I try not to stop no matter how hard it gets even if it means I have to take a breather at the top.

View every hill you approach as a challenge and be as stubborn as you can! I'm no great climber but I do get p!ssed off if I have to stop on a hill.

Bassjunkieuk

I recently changed one of my commute routes to avoid 1 hill in favour of another. The route I know use is a bit longer with a few more undulations but feels easier then the other way I used to go. I tend to find that keeping a steady pace is key to getting up the hill, the worst thing that can happen for me is to have another cyclist ahead of me as I then feel a need to try and catch them :-)

Be warned tho that hills can become addictive, I recently rode up one in my area, that gets very steep at the top (Cypress Road for anyone in the Crystal Palace area of London!!), and I wanted to see if I could do it without dropping down into the granny ring up front (have a triple crankset) and I did manage it, albeit at about 4mph but felt fantastic once I did. When I mentioned it to the sister-in-law, about having ridden up there for fun, she thought I was made as she wouldn't even consider walking up there!!

At the end of the day tho there is simply no replacement for practice, as you do more hill climbing you'll find the method that works best for you :-)

PostieJohn

It's all in your breathing (slight exageration, but it is important).
Set yourself a good steady deep breathing pattern, before the climb, and stick to it.
The fact that your ok after only a few seconds suggests your not getting enough oxygen around your body, possibly hyperventilating whilst struggling.

If that sounds like you give it a go, if not ignore everything I've said.

redddraggon

Just keep going up hills, they never get easier, you just go faster.

I've been up a few hills with my nephew the last week and I've found them easy, he's a beginner so he was struggling in 30-25 but I was finding it easy in 39-25 (at his speed - I was in a low cadence).

Try getting out of the saddle.

Mettan

Peddle Up! wrote:

Any tips for tacking hill climbing? I'm OK on the steady drags, but where a hill has a changing profile I usually find I have to stop to take a breather. Frustratingly, I only need a few seconds before I'm OK to continue, but I'd really like to improve fitness and/or technique to ascend in one.

Improving your fitness through riding uphill will help considerably - if you do the same hills once a week over a 3-6 month period you will notice at the end of the peiod that your heart-rate/breathing will be much more relaxed/mangeable on sections that you previous you blew up on.

There is one slight niggle here though - although your aerobic fitness will improve, you might find that your legs still have bad days - I've got a 2 mile climb near me that aerobically is now easy/comfortable - however, there are still days, when certain sections really get to my legs, (even though my heart rate is fairly comfortable).

Denny69

It's been said but practice practice practice I suffer badly on the hills and can easily be dropped, my +point is I'm a good sprinter!!!

feel

Peddle Up! wrote:

Any tips for tackling hill climbing? .

Lose weight

practice on the same hill so you can see your average speed improve.

don't look at the top of the hill, set yourself goals by breaking it into sections eg that signpost or that house.

get into your low gears early.

When you are out riding and you have just done a mega hill climb, turn round and do it again :twisted:

babyshambles

OK, its simple, concentrate on the road immediately in front of you , say a meter or two(look down once you have done it), but the most important thing is to anicipate the hil - so, if you are going downhill and see a hill coming, push harder as that will get you up the first bit.

Then, as you approach the incline, PULL, PULL, PULL on the pedals (you will naturally push down) and do not keep lowering your gears as this will prolong the agony. get up as fooking quick as you can then look down. Tis the best way.

Oh - chuck off the third cog!!

babyshambles

PS... average speed on an "uphill" is pointless. average the WHOL|E route a few times. You reduce the times by a good uphill rather than downhill at this level !! (ok at semi-pro level its the opposite) - - - remember your level, you're not a semi pro so dont listen to those nobs !

babyshambles

PS... average speed on an "uphill" is pointless. average the WHOL|E route a few times. You reduce the times by a good uphill rather than downhill at this level !! (ok at semi-pro level its the opposite) - - - remember your level, you're not a semi pro so dont listen to those nobs !