Hills

KiNgOfThEmOuNtAiN

Hi, I have a 1970 somet pegueot road bike. It's got ten gears, quite sticky but it's enough for me.
Question- when i go up hills even a slight incline I struggle. My mate can get up fine with his 18 gear dawes bike, and i always say its the ten gears because he has a few extra "easier" gears if you like. What i'm trying to say is 1.Am i right in saying it will be harder with a bike with 10 gears 2. how do i overcome this?
cheers

ballspondroad

How many teeth are there on the front and rear ?

Ben6899

How much does your mid-70s Puegeot summat weigh?

Bike weight does make a difference on hills...

Heckler1974

On the London to Brighton I saw a guy cycle up Ditchling Beacon on a single speed, so I suppose the simple answer is if you're fit enough then one gear is enough for you, until you are, having more choices can help (at least in your head). Ulttimately the only way to feel better on hills is do more hills.

Bikerbaboon

its not realy how many gears you have its the ratio that you have.
Check to see what his lowest gear ratio is compaired to yours.
Normaly the advantage of running more gears is it allows you to have smaller jumps between the gears.

If you are running the same ratio then the only way to get round this is to get fitter

or get your self a new £5000 carbon bike that will replace any need to train and make you 20X faster up the hills

KiNgOfThEmOuNtAiN

I wouldn't say im unfit- im 15 and pretty active as they come. The bike is pretty heavy-couldn't tell you the weight for the life of me. It says "carbolite" tub-basically light steel. The tyres have some annoying tread on them which could be slowing it down.

Pross

What you are saying is likely to be true to some extent but also the weight of the bike will have some effect as well as your relative ability on the bike compared to your mate.

You could try to find a rear block with bigger spacings between the numbers of teeth or try to find a smaller chain ring for the front but it may not be easy for a bike of that age. There are other things that you could change such as lighter wheels and lighter tyres but they are unlikely to be economical.

KiNgOfThEmOuNtAiN

cheers everyone, i'll take it into consideration

oldwelshman

KiNgOfThEmOuNtAiN wrote:

Hi, I have a 1970 somet pegueot road bike. It's got ten gears, quite sticky but it's enough for me.
Question- when i go up hills even a slight incline I struggle. My mate can get up fine with his 18 gear dawes bike, and i always say its the ten gears because he has a few extra "easier" gears if you like. What i'm trying to say is 1.Am i right in saying it will be harder with a bike with 10 gears 2. how do i overcome this?
cheers

I don't think it is the weight of the bike.
As it is 1970 it is probably more to do with the grear ratios as in those days they tended to be 52,42 front and up to only 21 on the back, so high gearing.
These days bikes have 53/39 front (maybe smaller for compacts, see other threads) and 12 to 27 typically, over 10 sprockets, giving 20 gears so easier for climbing.

Guyzie

How about swapping bikes with your mate and seeing whether that makes you quicker and him slower relative to one another on a hill you've ridden before?

A lot cheaper than buying bits for your current bike, although it does lead you into hankering after a new machine... possibly :-)

skyd0g

Train on hills more...
...until then, change your moniker to WuSsOfThEmOuNtAiN

Garz

skyd0g wrote:

Train on hills more...
...until then, change your moniker to WuSsOfThEmOuNtAiN

+1

My work colleague has just taken up cycling and has a new machine, but did borrow a double geared bike off our friend. Whilst he struggled up the hills on the tank-like double, he did get up it quicker than on his new bike as he was forced to grind up in a harder gear.

I do think gears/weight play a part but it will never factor in above technique and fitness which are free to upgrade

KiNgOfThEmOuNtAiN

skyd0g wrote:

Train on hills more...
...until then, change your moniker to WuSsOfThEmOuNtAiN

haha -will do