Hill climbing set-up?

slow turner
slow turner Posts: 58
edited June 2010 in Road beginners
Any tips on how to set up my bike for climbing, i know the obvious is to shave weight of the bike, but is there any adjustments i can do with out spending cash?


Thank you
Arran
Carpe Diem

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Smaller chainrings / bigger sprockets?

    It really depends on what type of hills you're riding and your riding style/ fitness...

    Long, steady climbs means you're likely to be seated whereas steep, shorter climbs may necessitate efforts out the saddle - each is a compromise. Shorter cranks may aid prolonged seated climbing too i.e. enhanced ability to 'spin' whereas longer cranks might be better for uphill 'grinds' out the saddle.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    The most obvious is to shave weight off the rider. Do you have any weight you can shed?
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,541
    it'll be a lot more effective, and far cheaper, to lose weight off yourself

    unless you are already slimmed right down, you probably have several kilos of "opportunity" - i certainly do

    if it's road, make sure you've got slick tyres - more efficient and better grip than knobbly/treaded ones, aside from that, make sure everything is correctly adjusted, cleaned and lubed

    you could fit super-light tyres/tubes, but it'll cost more and probably have lower puncture resistance, and the weight saving will be minimal


    the equation is simple, energy expenditure to go up a hill is proportional to weight, aerodynamics isn't so big an issue on steep ascents...

    w is the weight of you y plus the bike b, assume y = 90 and b = 10 to keep it easy

    if it takes, say, 300,000 joules energy (pedal at 300 watts for almost 17 minutes) to get to the top of a hill, then if you want to cut that by 5%, or go up it 5% faster, you need to lose 5kg from w

    if b = 10kg, then you aren't going to do it, trying would probably cost more than buying a lighter bike

    for a 90kg person, losing 5kg is not a huge challenge, it'd take 2 months if done gently, but could be done faster

    of course if you are a 70kg whippet with a 7kg bike, then you don't have so much scope
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny