Purchased a 2nd Hand Cervello S1, but struggling up hills

whosthedaddy

Advice required please
Purchased a 2nd hand Cervello S1 with Shimano 105
Lovely bike, but I am struggling to climb the steep hills
The Front has a 53/39 on and the cassette is a 12-25
What do i need to change to make climbing easier?
Thanks
Phil

StageWinner

Whosthedaddy wrote:

What do i need to change to make climbing easier?

Your training.

whosthedaddy

StageWinner wrote:

Whosthedaddy wrote:

What do i need to change to make climbing easier?

Your training.

Just the advice that I needed................
Should have mentioned that I'm 56 and 90Kgs
Only been cycling a couple of years, mainly on MTB
Bought the road bike to improve fitness, did 45miles on Saturday without too much problem, but found the steep hills uncomfortable
Never had a problem on my MTB

DHTT

Either put a 12-28 cassette on the back, Cheaper and less hassle. Or put a compact chainset on the front which will give you a 50-34 as opposed to a 53-39, so a easier gear to climb hills

StageWinner

Whosthedaddy wrote:

StageWinner wrote:

Whosthedaddy wrote:

What do i need to change to make climbing easier?

Your training.

Just the advice that I needed................
Should have mentioned that I'm 56 and 90Kgs
Only been cycling a couple of years, mainly on MTB
Bought the road bike to improve fitness, did 45miles on Saturday without too much problem, but found the steep hills uncomfortable
Never had a problem on my MTB

Steep hills should be uncomfortable. But like the last guys says - get a 28t cassette on the rear, swap to a compact on the front (50/36 or 34) - or improve your training. The hills will get easier.

pilot_pete

A compact chainset may be the way to go (smaller chain rings), such as this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-105-5600-hollowtech-ii-compact-chainset/

I have a compact with 50-34 and the same rear cassette ratios as you currently have and I can get up everything on that.....having done a bit of training in the hills too!

PP

mattv

Keep riding. It will hurt to begin with, but after a few rides it will start to get better. Its all good!

petemadoc

It never gets easier . . . . you only go faster!

Sammyw23

keep the 12-25 and swap the front to a compact 50-34.

There is an element of truth in the "train harder" mentality though as well. I have just done my 2nd summer of road biking and have definitely noticed a progression throughout the summer especially in terms of hill climbing and leg strength.

Go for the compact chainset and then dig in and keep at those hills! Good luck

DF33

There's hills and hills. Where are you riding? London, Lake district, Devon, York?

ddraver

Climbing on a roadie does take a bit of getting used to as to you don't have the gears to sit and spin up hills like the MTB. Keep at it and you ll get better as you build power at lower cadences and get more used to climbing standing up.

Just try not to forget you can't stand when you get back on the MTB!

(a bigger cassette will ease the transition though)

whosthedaddy

DF33 wrote:

There's hills and hills. Where are you riding? London, Lake district, Devon, York?

Live near The Clent Hills in the Midlands, not massive but hilly enough for me at the moment

whosthedaddy

Guys
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated
Will shop around to see what I can get

DF33

I think, bearing in mind your probably carrying a little bit of excess timber and not in one of the 25%+ incline steepness hotspots of the country, that your weight will come down, your fitness come up, you don't need to cope with massively steep hills, so do as DHTT says and put on a 28t cassette and stick with the 53 39 on the front.

You'll swear a bit here and there until everything comes to fitness but then you'll be away with that set up and enjoy it.

Also you can stand up and honk up hills on the road on an MTB no problem. Just use slightly bigger gears out of the range. It's only on loose surfaces you can't because you lose traction.

neeb

Get a compact. I use a 53/39 / 12-25, but I'm 62kg and a pretty good climber. Even so, I'd prefer to have a 12-27 on the back if I was tackling anything with extended (i.e. several miles) average gradients of more than about 7 or 8%. If you are needing lower gearing as a matter of course, a compact gives you more flexibility and lets you run more closely spaced sprockets.

bobgfish

It never gets easier . . . . you only go faster!

+1

whosthedaddy

Going to invest in the 28 cassette for now
Will this one be ok to use
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-ultegra ... e/#buyitem

Higher spec, but will probably upgrade everything else if I improve later on

neeb

Whosthedaddy wrote:

Going to invest in the 28 cassette for now
Will this one be ok to use
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-ultegra ... e/#buyitem

Higher spec, but will probably upgrade everything else if I improve later on

Do Shimano not do a 12-28 or 13-28? You won't get any benefit going from a 12 to 11 smallest sprocket with a 53/39 chainset unless you are Mark Cavendish, it'll just further space out the gears, i.e. make the gaps between them bigger.

ddraver

Yep, it ll be grand!

FYI, SRAM and Shimano mix in very similar ways to MTB kit - campag is totally different

bobgfish

Save your money...You will notice no difference with a 105 model

http://www.roseversand.com/article/shimano-105-sprocket-cs-5700-10-speed/aid:443959

the 12-27 would be my choice. The 11-28 has bigger gaps between the gears

prawny

Tiagra 12-28 £18 from Ribble. Mine should arrive tomorrow, thinking it might be a bit excessive now. But never mind they're cheap enough to change now tiagra is 10 speed

ChrisSA

Yep - I shall be buying Tiagra cassettes now. about half the price of 105.

on-yer-bike

I think you need a gear that is at least 34-25 or equivalent. A 39-28 is close. Im 56 but 73kg and I wouldnt want to ride any less than this especially over a long distance, say over 70 miles. I ride with fast, younger climbers and I can stay with most of them.

Feetsocks

Live near The Clent Hills in the Midlands, not massive but hilly enough for me at the moment

You should be ok with a 39 - 28 round there, but if you have to ride home up Mucklow or Gorsty hill you'll need a compact

flanners1

on-yer-bike wrote:

I think you need a gear that is at least 34-25 or equivalent. A 39-28 is close. Im 56 but 73kg and I wouldnt want to ride any less than this especially over a long distance, say over 70 miles. I ride with fast, younger climbers and I can stay with most of them.

Yes you did yesterday, goddam flying you were too :shock:

yaya

A Compact would be good especially if you want or need to have better control over your heart rate

I ride 34-28 and am happy to sit back and enjoy the scenery and I still get to the top of the hill and feel that I've worked for it:-)

ziggycycledust

Whosthedaddy wrote:

did 45miles on Saturday without too much problem, but found the steep hills uncomfortable

Im sure Cav finds steep hills uncomfortable and he is the world champion!

jdmotion

I'd go for the compact before changing the cassette.
When I bought my first road bike I changed the cassette first and then discovered I still needed help, so then had to change the chainset. Honestly think that's your best bet. If you DO and up changing both then fine, but I bet you don't need to. I'd put money on you changing both if you start with the cassette.

chiark

For those recommending changing to a compact, can I check my understanding of something?

Changing a cassette = £20 for the cassette + 10 minutes with a chain whip and cassette tool, and will give a decent gearing drop
Changing to compact = Whole new front setup, including chain rings, cranks, bottom bracket, assuming front derailleur is compatible with compact and rear derailleur has enough slack to take up larger range.

So one seems to be to be a quick cheap fix that'll make some difference, and the other could involve a whole heap of expense running into hundreds of pounds but will make a bit more difference?

I'd change the cassette, see if that's enough to get me going, and hope that my condition gets better

canbakay

first of all, great respect for cycling at the age and weight (not saying youre old - just that its a tough sport).

I would say that a bigger cassette and lighter tires & tubes would help. I dont know what your tire-tube combo is but rotational weight loss will definitely help you!

having said that, in my opinion what will help you the most is reading up and practicing breathing while climbing and upper body positioning. It has incredibly helped me and climbing has become my (by far) favourite part of riding.

canbakay

first of all, great respect for cycling at the age and weight (not saying youre old - just that its a tough sport).

I would say that a bigger cassette and lighter tires & tubes would help. I dont know what your tire-tube combo is but rotational weight loss will definitely help you!

having said that, in my opinion what will help you the most is reading up and practicing breathing while climbing and upper body positioning. It has incredibly helped me and climbing has become my (by far) favourite part of riding.