Why can I not get up this hill?

paul the 6th

Ridden the same 6.7 mile route near to where I live over the past few weeks (prolly ridden it about near on 10 times now). It's about 60% road and 40% cycle paths up the river...

There's a bit where the path goes on a short meander to the right, then back to the left before carrying on in the same direction as it was already heading.... OR I can nail it up a short steep climb and down the other side to cut out said meander.

No problem with this one as it's only about 10ft in length and rises around 6-7 feet.

But then further on there's another similar thing where it rises about 10-15 feet and the climb is about 20-30 feet in length. I always get 2 thirds of the way up but lose momentum and usually end up with my foot slipping off the pedal or losing balance and having to stop.

This happens no matter what gear I'm in. Most of the time I've tried it in 1st gear on middle chainring and always failed. Yesterday I dropped right down to 1st gear, smallest chainring - apart from nearly flipping the bike (I've read so much about bending your elbows and balancing your weight towards the front, which I did) I also lost momentum again, being in absolute 1st gear...

I'm meant to be going to dalby forest in a few weeks with a few mates but am worried if I can't even conquer this little hill on a river ride, how the hell am I gonna manage in the forests?..

I'll take a picture of said hill later today if it's any help, but it seems that no matter how much I practice getting my weight over the front and laying the power down, I just can't get all the way to the top without failing. Any tips for this?

RevellRider

Attack the hill, it's short and sharp. Get out of the saddle and sprint at it.

miss notax

paul the 6th wrote:

Any tips for this?

Practice

There are some hills that it has literally taken me YEARS to finally ride up....

paul the 6th

cheers guys - think the first time I decided to take on the bigger hill (it's optional as you can just carry on up the path but I like to throw a few bits in to make it more interesting as a workout ride), I did try attacking it like a madman but got half way up in a really big gear & ended up struggling more than if I'd just set a higher cadence in a lower gear as all the stuff I've read suggests.

But yeah, practice is seeing me further up the hill each time. It's just starting to pish me off lol..

I'll try attacking it today and see how I get on

Anonymous

Answer is simple.
MOAR POWARRRR!


But, that only comes with time, so keep at it.

an_original_name

as everyone has already said, its just a case of practice and more power.

try spinning up it as far as you can in granny gear, then as soon as you feel like your loosing speed/momentum, get out of the saddle to give yourself a bit more power. also carying as much speed into it as possible will be a big help, so try sprinting towards it to make sure you've got a good amount of speed.

paulbox

- Carry more speed in to the hill - hit it hard!

- Practice until you find the right gear, too low and you might spin your rear and lose traction, too high and you won't be able to push the pedals round

- Change your pedal/shoe combination to get better grip and stop your feet from slipping off the pedal, maybe try SPDs

- Don't get hung up about it, it will come. Also, don't worry about going riding with your mates, everybody starts somewhere, just enjoy it. Riding with others will help you learn.

matt1986

Attack the hill and as you hit the hill change up to a comfortable gear for the climb as changing when it gets too hard will unbalance you and I'm told can ruin your gears as the changing won't be smooth. Also if you pick the right gear it will stop your feet slipping as it will never be too hard to pedal. Hope this helps mate.

mattl80

you might also wanna try zig zagging up instead of going straight to take the edge off the incline.

concorde

miss notax wrote:

paul the 6th wrote:

Any tips for this?

Practice

There are some hills that it has literally taken me YEARS to finally ride up....

That must be one loooooooong hill!

Lazy_Timmy

POSITION POSITION POSITION. Paul, get your bum right on the nose of your saddle (practically anal intercourse). Twist your wrists own on your bars with your elbows down. Keep your weight on the saddle so that your rear wheel maintains grip. Gear? - LOW.

diy

This sounds like a short hill, so sprinting it as fast as you can seems the best approach. However, for tougher, longer hills I would suggest the following:

- get your bum on the nose of your seat
- lean forward to keep the front from bouncing
- get in a low gear (70-80 cadence or 1st gear)
- pedal in circles, don't pump the pedals.

You could also invest in some bar ends. However they are a personal option like SPDs, you tend to benefit from them as a novice, ditch them with experience and then go back to them later, when you have got a taste for big hill climbing.

miss notax

Concorde wrote:

miss notax wrote:

paul the 6th wrote:

Any tips for this?

Practice

There are some hills that it has literally taken me YEARS to finally ride up....

That must be one loooooooong hill!

Ha ha ha

MountainMonster

I used to have a similar hill on one of my old routes that always killed me. It was at the top after about 800 verticle metres of climbing, and was a very steep 100m climb. I used to go slowly up to it, and try to sit and spin my way up, which usually left me on the side after losing too much momentum. Then I decided to give it gas, pedal as hard as I could up to it, and sprint up.

Worked a treat, and actually became my favorite part of the ride, and most energetic, seeing as my pulse would hit 202 by the time I got to the top.

Slack

More cycling is required, at least another few thousand miles. Lose body weight. Get some SPD pedals/shoes.

wordnumb

If all else fails, eventually wind and rain will erode the hill, try again in 4000 years.

specializedsteve

ooh spd's a no no, i hate the idea of being clipped in, but hey thats just me.

canal path so you should have good speed anyway so blast up it as far as you can. know before hand the gear you want for the cadence to get the rest of the way. nothing more irritating than trying to find a gear and keep the momentum etc.

oh and get some skater trainers or 5ten trainers if you can, for more grip. maybe try some dmr pedals too.
and keep practicing!!

Fudgie

You could always go round it. Everybody has to have limitations

specializedsteve

true but it sounds like he wants to reach summit!
keep going mate, dont back down and MOST IMPORTANTLY dont forget to let us know when youve got all the way up!

paul the 6th

nailed it yesterday guys - attacked the first bit of the worn in path straight on but then steered left to ease the climb and made it all the way up without feet slipping off or losing momentum

combination of sprinting at it and then knocking down a hand full of gears as my speed died down, along with being off the seat and almost over the handle bars to stop it from flipping.

Oh and I set a new fastest time 6.66 miles in 27 mins 25 seconds last quickest was 30 mins dead and before that around 32 mins so I'm getting quicker and improving my average speed..

Aiming for anywhere between 26-27 minutes on my next ride (tomorrow). Once I get it down to 25 mins I'm going to extend the route so it'll be just shy of 10 miles.

Thanks again for all the tips - I especially liked the idea of coming back in 4000 years after climate change has adjusted the shape of the hill for me

specializedsteve

ooh errr im doing something wrong - 4.5 miles in 27 mins on a back country lane. though it is coming down slowly.

paul the 6th

don't worry steve you'll bring it down in time - my first attempt was around 35-40 mins, then brought it down around 2 mins each time

it does help having a computer on the bike to indicate your time/distance covered at certain points along the route - I find myself thinking "shiit I'm at the steep bridge already and only on 20 mins! - I could be home in 7 minutes if I push" etc..

Oh and endomondo (smartphone app & website) allows you to record your rides via gps, tells you how many calories, speed, avg speed, altitude/elevation etc.

I'm currently trying the free version on iPhone which is great

mtb crazy

well done Paul!! sounds like a brilliant acheivement i find uphills a struggle and get very tired even in a low gear.... but will keep at it!

paulbox

Nice one, we knew you could do it... 8)

bmakabayan

Practice makes perfect.. try to go through smaller hills master them and a higher and a higher until you achieve the hill that you are pertaining to...

Mental Mickey

A little tip that should help climbing, bring your thumbs from underneath and place on top of the grips next to your first finger, while doing this, you should notice that your elbows naturally ''tuck in' a bit more, tucked in elbows help climbing, as does correct cadence, correct weight distribution.

El Diego

Attack it if its short'n'steep. High cadence with weight shifted to the front for longer more arduous climbs. I find SPDs really help with climbing but some people don't like them.

gregwari

Check your technique - try sitting as far forward in the saddle as possible, keep your elbows tucked in and lean forward to keep the front wheel planted. After that, it's a case of keeping the cranks moving at the same speed (too high a gear you'll spin the wheel and stall, too low you'll loose momentum)... and don't sweat over Dalby, it's generally a user friendly trail!