Problem when Climbing

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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,682
    Well I finally got back out on the road for my comeback today and one lesson I've learnt is that with my weaker leg muscles and 4 stone of extra flab a lowest gear of 42 x 21 is now too high for using around South Wales. Wasn't what I would have previously called a hilly route but there were about 4 climbs with gradients of around 8 - 10%, The longest of them (about half a mile in length) got the better of me and I had to push :oops: the final climb also sorted me out, only about 150m long but probably about 12%. Can't wait to get a new bike as even if I don't get a compact chainset moving to 10 speed from my current 7 will let me have a 25 or 27 on the back and I'll have a 39 on the front. Really enjoyed my ride though and can't wait to get out again :D
  • oldwelshman
    oldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    mask of sanity wrote:
    That's a pretty brutal gear set up if you're a beginner! No wonder you're struggling! Get a SRAM powerlink if you do have to replace the chain. Easy to remove so the chain can be cleaned easily.

    Brutal? He is only 65kg!! :D I am nearly 80kg and have same gearing and am 49 and dont have a problem.
    Save yourself some money and don't do so much on hills until you get a bit fitter, stronger and used to the bike. You will fly up them in no time at your weight. I wish I was 65kg!!
    Once your fit you wont need a compact or 27 rear :D
    http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll245/oldwelshman/
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5Bfqj5fxY
  • mask of sanity
    mask of sanity Posts: 610
    oldwelshman wrote:
    mask of sanity wrote:
    That's a pretty brutal gear set up if you're a beginner! No wonder you're struggling! Get a SRAM powerlink if you do have to replace the chain. Easy to remove so the chain can be cleaned easily.

    Brutal? He is only 65kg!! :D I am nearly 80kg and have same gearing and am 49 and dont have a problem.

    That would depend on what you call a hill! :wink:
  • jonmack
    jonmack Posts: 522
    I'm awful on hills, I can push about 20-24 comfortably on the flat but when I find a hill I find myself slowing to sometimes as low as 8/9mph, usually sit somewhere between there and 13 depending on the hill. I do 100 miles a week with a few ascents and don't seem to find myself improving which is a real disappointment. Last week I had 5 really fast rides on the way back, this week I've been lucky to get under about 32 minutes, when the week before I was hitting sub 30 pretty much every day, depressing :(

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