hill climbing technique

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Comments

  • holker
    holker Posts: 88
    Italiafrenze advise is good. What you got to remember is that the hill is only part of your ride. The aim should be to minimise effort to save energy for rest of ride. Start slow in low gear. The only time you should make an all out effort is if it's the final hill of the day and you're near the end of your ride. However the reality is that by then you'll be knackered and it's just a matter of getting home. Also only stand if you absolutely have to. It's always more efficient to remain seated.
  • janwal
    janwal Posts: 489
    A tip I once read helps me keep a steady cadence. Count your pedal strokes and on every third one push harder with that leg.On the next three it will be the other leg you push with. You can alter it to every five if you want to.I find that the counting also takes your mind off the hill in front of you!!
  • lemoncurd
    lemoncurd Posts: 1,428
    edited February 2011
    Find the biggest, long hill near you, preferably with light traffic. Go up and down it until bored or you can't do it anymore. Start real slow, speed up if you have the legs and lungs for it. Fit this into your training plan - if you have one.

    It's also psychological, there's a short, steep hill a couple of miles from my house that I have to get up on my way home, it's always on my mind and fills me with dread as I approach it. It's not hard, almost a speed bump.

    But I know that it's there, waiting for me.
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    I didn't know that you could get flat roads ;-) My commute has 2000ft of climbing a day (see below).

    It's funny how different hills look in different lights and conditions. Dark is always good because you can't see the top but the hills also look very different with snow on them. I find wind makes all the difference to how a climb feels.

    Less weight makes a world of difference.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    lemoncurd wrote:
    It's also psychological, there's a short, steep hill a couple of miles from my house that I have to get up on my way home, it's always on my mind and fills me with dread as I approach it. It's not hard, almost a road bump.

    But I know that it's there, waiting for me.
    There's a hill like that near me, actually it's not even really a hill, just a slight rise in the road. But I always seem to struggle along it :(
    Whippet

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