crap up hill

stubs

lukasran wrote:

i was asking why people trot out that same line time and time again when if you looked at it its a total contradiction and clearly wrong. just from your own experience you can see improvement in your own abilities and it certainly gets easier. truthfully it just irritates me as something of a no brainer staple statement that people seem to say with great authority. myth. jumped on from leMond, nice sounding little qoute but total bs. im overeacting.

Yes your overeacting but hey this is the internet where going over the top is compulsory

My experience climbing doesnt get easier. As fitness and skill increase with practice I just push harder I end up at the top quicker but just as knackered.

Maybe the likes of LeMond find climbing easy but then if I had the talent and physique of LeMond I would be a millionare as well

CycloRos

Total over reaction and its certainly no contradiction to say "A tough climb is still a tough climb no matter who is climbing it", you might get quicker but it'll still be tough. That is not a myth it's a plain simple fact!

can't be bothered to argue anymore...

steelo

I think technique plays a huge part in how 'smoothly' you get to the top of a climb. If you are able to get weighted correctly on the bike and maintain a smooth rhythmic cadence then you won't be wasting energy bouncing on the pedals or tensing your arms trying to keep the bars straight - therefore you'll use your energy to better effect and get to the top quicker and more efficiently and recover quicker at the top.

Someone I bike with is always pedalling up climbs as though he is pausing momentarily between each stroke of the pedals. Left foot down, pause, right foot down pause, etc. etc. He hates climbs and will do all he can to avoid anything steep. Another guy has an incredibly smooth technique and he flies up the hills, they are both about the same build on very similar full-suss bikes.

Hopefully I'll pick up my technique through the winter and build my fitness too!

bails87

The "climbs don't get easier, you just get quicker" thing isn't really true though. Sure, I may be able to go up a hill quicker than someone less fit than me, yet find it equally tiring, but that's because we're both putting in maximum effort.

If Paula Radcliffe and a fat bloke who's never done a spot of exercise in his life were running at the same pace, I know who'd find it harder, yet if they were both trying to run as quickly as possible they might find it equally tiring.

Rather than being unfit and putting in 100% and throwing up at the top of a hill, I'd rather be fitter, put in 80% effort, make it comfortably to the top quicker than someone less fit and enjoy the ride!!

projectsome

find a gear and practise.

ride_whenever

actually tehy do get easier, the fitter you are the better you can handle the increased lactate and develop a smaller oxygen-debt for a given climb so it takes you less time to recover.

Daz555

Best thing about being better up hill is that you get to rest whilst your mates catch up. Makes the whole day much more pleasant! 8)