I can not do hills help please.

bellys

hi im new to the site and lookin for help.
i can not get up hills im not a small bloke 5ft 11 and about 100kg :roll:
my bike is a Raleigh r300 frame with ITM carbon forkset stem and bars and Shimano Tiagra 9 speed gears and mavic ksyrium equip wheels the chainset is a fsa 53t and 39t bike frame size is 56cm the bike is very light.
i can ride all day at around 16mph but when i get to a hill i can not get up it ???
im shifting on to the 39t and this makes me worse :oops:
i some times just want to chuck the bike in a hedge and walk home.

what am i doing wrong.
thanks chris :shock:

redddraggon

You need to keep practising, no easy to get better at climbing hills.

fizz

Practice Practice Practice Practice and then when you think you are done, more practice.

Depends how steep the hill is, how long it is etc etc. But I would have thought you'd want to be down in the 39 ring and then find a gear that you can comfortabley climb the hill in and then just try and get up it. Hill climbing is all in the mind, if you tell yourself you can do it you will. As Yoda himself said "Do or do not, there is no try"

How long have you been cycling for ? what sort of level of fitness are you at. Hills used to defeat me quite easily or I would end up down in my lowest gear and struggle up them. Not anymore OK I'm no Marco Pantani, I dont dance up the climbs like Lance Armstrong either, but I do get up the hills OK.

I'm wandering though if maybe you are overgeared and thats what the problem is....

Mog Uk

Practice, practice & then practice some more.....

Choose a nice low gear, sit back on the saddle, arms nice and relaxed on the tops and then just spin a nice steady gear..

bellys

How long have you been cycling for ?
i only ride on a weekend work comitments about 2 years.

not to bad good strong legs untill i see a hill

I'm wandering though if maybe you are overgeared and thats what the problem is
thats what i think but not sure.


thanks for the info i will just have to keep pluging away.

richa

How steep are the hills? What size cassette have you got?

bellys

its a 9 speed hill are short and steep (not sure on gradient) im not to bad on long incline i can keep it moving

redddraggon

bellys wrote:

its a 9 speed

9 speed could be anything from 11-21 to 11-34 etc etc - what cassette have you got?

bellys

are sorry not 100% its a Shimano i think its a 11-21 the bike locked up in shed so can not get out to look at the moment.

fizz

bellys wrote:

are sorry not 100% its a Shimano i think its a 11-21 the bike locked up in shed so can not get out to look at the moment.

It depends on your pedalling style and how you feel comfortable riding. But in your shoes I think I woudl be overgeared.

Have a count of your sprockets in the morning and confirm it, but I would think an easy way to give yourself a bit of an easy time would be to look at changing your rear casette for something with a few more teeth on the largest sprocket.

IMHO.

Mettan

bellys wrote:

hi im new to the site and lookin for help.
i can not get up hills im not a small bloke 5ft 11 and about 100kg :roll:

At 5 '11 you could possibly comfortably drop to 80kg ?? - on Hills, you'll notice the combination of increased fitness through months of regular riding and weight loss - the two gradually come together over time until hills that previously had you blowing and strugling, become much more manageable - and its a great feeling when you start to experience this.

So, weight-loss, regular riding to increase fitness and possibly a move to a Compact chainset or larger cassette, if need be.

alfablue

11-21, 21 is a high gear for your lowest. Beginner rod bikes should probably have a 26 or 28 cassette. I just swapped my G/F's cassette to a 12-28 and it has made a noticeable diference to her.

You need to get in the lower gears before you are grinding too hard, keep a steady pedalling rythm (cadence), preferably spin faster in a lower gear than slower in a higher gear. Don't look up the hill, keep calm. Stop if you have to, rest, start again. As the weeks go by you will stop less, and soon enough you'll be doing the hills in one go.

At 100kg you are fairly heavy and I think your bike is geared too high. Changing the cassette is easy and cheap (the SRAM cassette I got was £14 from CRC), but maybe you would be better off woth a triple chainset - 52, 39, 30 or soemthing like that , with a 12-28 cassette. It would be a costly conversion though. What about getting a different bike, maybe a cheapy with a triple until you get your fitness up a bit more.

st68

im 5 10 an 86kgs an i go up hills allright its about pacing yourself i sit and ride an sometimes i climb standing up but i would say 21 max on your rear cassette is to big my training bike has 53/39 on the front 11/25 on the rear but maybe a 28 would suit you.. you can always change up if you have too but hills can be hard work and there rarely easy just keep on at it youll get there

doyler78

I think if you can get over a hill but it is a real struggle getting there on a 39x11 then a 27-28 cassette would make a huge difference to you.

Also you say that you find shifting into the 39 ring makes things worse and that suggests to me that you are in the wrong gear as you start your climb and therefore you immediately lose all forward momentum and shifting down to the lower chainring, whilst an easier gear, because of your lack of forward momentum means its still difficult to get your cadence back up again. At least that's the lesson I learned after my "I can't climb" thread a few weeks back.

What a difference just 3 weeks makes and some consistent riding. On my biggest climb I was on the verge of throwing up and my body felt as though it was shutting down (told that was just the lactate buildup hitting me) and my heart rate monitor told the story. I was a few beats of my max and my heart rate was very high throughout.

On Saturday I done the same hill again and I started on my lowest gear and just tried to remain relaxed and focus on turning my legs smoothly. It felt nearly as tough but my heart rate monitor again told me the real story. My average heart rate was 20bpm lower and I hardly hit my top zone at all. Result

You will not be able to take this approach if you haven't got the right gearing to start with and by far your cheapest option is the wider cassette. As a point of reference I have an 11-23 cassette with a compact chainset 50-34 so my lowest gear is a 34x23 which would be very slightly higher than 39x27 so it is doable however I'm a good bit lighter at 75kg and 5'8" (173cm) so that will make things easier for me (if there is such a thing).

Still hate climbing at this stage however I think is one of those things you just grow to love or so everyone keeps telling me

markos1963

It is a question of practice and getting a rythym going. I am 5'11" and 85kg so no light weight but I can climb on my 39-24 gear without too much of a problem. Only sit down on your lowest gears, break up the climb with standing in the pedals a gear or two higher and when you sit down go back to a lower gear. I found that the best way to train for hills was to do plenty of intervals on the flats, this gave me the zip needed to get up the slopes.
Good luck it WILL get easier.

a_n_t

39x21 is going to be tough on the hills tbh! I struggled on anything over 12% with 34x23 which is a much easier gear to spin. A change to a 26 rear and I got up an [albeit short] 21% incline at the weekend.

What hills are you trying out?

bellys

thank you for all your input i will try a new rear cassette and keep you all informed
thanks.
chris.

boybiker

Our cycling club has hill climbing events in the winter :shock: :shock:
When I asked them about it they said we find a nice steep hill and see who can get up it the fastest and I was like O.K 'right I'll just get my coat'
So if they mention hill climbing now I just nod and smile and try not to make eye contact with them.

Infamous

Do some squats, build up your strength and keep going up as many hills as you can.