Tips for the hills?

declan1

Another question from a newbie!

What is the best cheap upgrade that will help hill climbing? Riding for 70 miles yesterday was fine apart from the hills (Highlands of Scotland...) which killed my legs. Do you recommend clippy pedals or better saddles or something?

Thanks for any advice!

CiB

Keep riding up hills. What's that phrase? They don't get easier, you just get faster. Ride up hills, and riding up hills is less of a chore.

Edit. No clippy pedals? Buy some clippy pedals.

declan1

CiB wrote:

Keep riding up hills. What's that phrase? They don't get easier, you just get faster. Ride up hills, and riding up hills is less of a chore.

Edit. No clippy pedals? Buy some clippy pedals.

I suppose if you do it faster the pain doesn't last as long

Can you recommend a cheap clippy pedal/shoe combination? I have cages already, but they're a bit of a pain to get my foot into.

napoleond

Cheapest is to get some Shimano MTB (e.g. SPD 520) pedals and some MTB shoes.

Otherwise have a look for look keo pedals on ebay and some road shoes.

Calpol

CiB wrote:

Keep riding up hills. What's that phrase? They don't get easier, you just get faster. Ride up hills, and riding up hills is less of a chore.

Edit. No clippy pedals? Buy some clippy pedals.

I am a bit of a beginner also and the above I find to be very true. There is a CAT 4 climb near my home which Strava has set at 0.8 miles and 8% average. Its quite a good test of your fitness. since i started measuring it in april I have ridden it about 6-7 times and have taken a minute off my time. As the poster above states - it doesn't get easier but you get faster and can push a bigger gear or have higher cadence. a month ago I was thinking about changing my cassette to have a 28/29 bail out gear but now 34-25 would be more than enough. so it is a case of keeping at it

declan1

Calpol wrote:

CiB wrote:

Keep riding up hills. What's that phrase? They don't get easier, you just get faster. Ride up hills, and riding up hills is less of a chore.

Edit. No clippy pedals? Buy some clippy pedals.

I am a bit of a beginner also and the above I find to be very true. There is a CAT 4 climb near my home which Strava has set at 0.8 miles and 8% average. Its quite a good test of your fitness. since i started measuring it in april I have ridden it about 6-7 times and have taken a minute off my time. As the poster above states - it doesn't get easier but you get faster and can push a bigger gear or have higher cadence. a month ago I was thinking about changing my cassette to have a 28/29 bail out gear but now 34-25 would be more than enough. so it is a case of keeping at it

Cool. Thanks for that. I have a hill about 100yds from my house which is about 2 miles long and is very steep (I don't know exact gradient). I've decided to cycle up it every day, which should help a bit! It's very exciting riding back down it again

Gizmo_

Rule 5 / Rule 10.

Repeat them to yourself. Repeatedly. Block out everything except the calming rhythm of the tyres on the road. Ignore the burn. Remember to use your calves and to breathe.

But above all, Rule 5.


And don't try and ride up anything that looks like a wall.

daveski12

Rule 5?

smidsy

Rule 5 is MTFU and is becoming very boring.

But it is true that going up hills more does make them easier after a while.

daveski12

Thanks for the explanation. Is there a list of the rules anywhere?

I seem to be getting quicker up the hills just with more practice. A mate has just got a road bike so having someone out with me should help too.

smidsy

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

But I personally take them as a bit of fun and not gospel....cue tirade of contradictory posts 8)

thecrofter

smidsy wrote:

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

But I personally take them as a bit of fun and not gospel....cue tirade of contradictory posts 8)

I can't believe anyone takes the rules seriously (although I have noticed some on this forum who take an anti-rules stance VERY seriously :? ) they are just a bit of fun, aren't they?

BobScarle

declan1 wrote:

Cool. Thanks for that. I have a hill about 100yds from my house which is about 2 miles long and is very steep (I don't know exact gradient). I've decided to cycle up it every day, which should help a bit! It's very exciting riding back down it again

Whilst riding hills will make you stronger I would suggest a little caution. You say that hill is about 2 miles in length. This will be a great workout and will give you a good idea of where you are fitness wise. Problem is, that you also say it is 100 yards from your house. This is no distance at all to warm up! IMO you need to ride a couple of miles at an easy pace before you tackle the hill. That way your muscles will be ready for what will be a stern test.

declan1

BobScarle wrote:

declan1 wrote:

Cool. Thanks for that. I have a hill about 100yds from my house which is about 2 miles long and is very steep (I don't know exact gradient). I've decided to cycle up it every day, which should help a bit! It's very exciting riding back down it again

Whilst riding hills will make you stronger I would suggest a little caution. You say that hill is about 2 miles in length. This will be a great workout and will give you a good idea of where you are fitness wise. Problem is, that you also say it is 100 yards from your house. This is no distance at all to warm up! IMO you need to ride a couple of miles at an easy pace before you tackle the hill. That way your muscles will be ready for what will be a stern test.

I've got a short stretch of main road before the hill which is a little warm-up, then steep hill, flat, and gradual hill after that. I did it just now, and it was very hard! Hit 35mph on the way back down though

daveski12

smidsy wrote:

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

But I personally take them as a bit of fun and not gospel....cue tirade of contradictory posts 8)

Some of the explanations to the rules are brilliant.

Thanks for that.

Gizmo_

smidsy wrote:

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

But I personally take them as a bit of fun and not gospel....cue tirade of contradictory posts 8)

A bit of fun, definitely.

But personally on long hard hills I find it motivational to meditate on something other than how unfit I still am...

dubcat

I'm a mountain biker (I'm lurking on this forum because I plan to buy a road bike next year). Anyway - I find the absolutely best thing I can do when cycling up hills is to not look up the hill. As long as I stay focussed on the stretch of road just a few meters in front of me and use the peak on my helmet to hide the rest of the road/hill from my view I do fine. I also make sure I am in a gear where I can keep pedalling away without having to fight like a mad man to get up the hill - although you don't want to go too low as pedalling away at a high rate and not moving too far is extremely annoying and demotivating.

I think clip in pedals are a mandatory - well they are for me anyway. I hope this helps but take it with a pinch of salt as i don't have a road bike and i don't shave my legs either.

smidsy

Now see what you've done Dubcat - you've broken one of the rules...a peak on a helmet when riding on the road...tut tut :-)

dubcat

smidsy wrote:

Now see what you've done Dubcat - you've broken one of the rules...a peak on a helmet when riding on the road...tut tut :-)

Hahaha i did say i was a mountain biker

daveski12

I'm breaking the same rule, as well as a few others.

Number 5 is definitely used though when commuting in the rain.

Silly Old Hector

Dubcat wrote:

Anyway - I find the absolutely best thing I can do when cycling up hills is to not look up the hill. As long as I stay focussed on the stretch of road just a few meters in front of me and use the peak on my helmet to hide the rest of the road/hill from my view I do fine.

This is my mental technique on days when I'm struggling, but on days when all is well I do the opposite

dubcat

Silly Old Hector wrote:

Dubcat wrote:

Anyway - I find the absolutely best thing I can do when cycling up hills is to not look up the hill. As long as I stay focussed on the stretch of road just a few meters in front of me and use the peak on my helmet to hide the rest of the road/hill from my view I do fine.

This is my mental technique on days when I'm struggling, but on days when all is well I do the opposite

a) i only have days on which i struggle
b) you are a sadist cool!

declan1

Gonna get a set of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006 ... d_i=468294

And a pair of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shimano-Mens-Mt ... d_sim_sg_2

Do you guys think they look ok?

ethanhayes

declan1 wrote:

Gonna get a set of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006 ... d_i=468294

And a pair of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shimano-Mens-Mt ... d_sim_sg_2

Do you guys think they look ok?

Don't know about the shoes, never used them. These might be a better idea for a similar price tag, certainly will be stiffer. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/louis-garneau/ventilator-road-shoe-ec034776#answers

sparkins1972

Dubcat, I do exactly the same (minus the peak) - I used to ride with a mate who focussed intently on the top of the hill, but I found that a bit dispiriting especially when struggling.

I think the cheapest upgrade is practice - find a method that works for you - I used to try and grind up the hills but having experimented I have found a cadence that suits me and spin up now. The biggest improvement I made to my climbing (and all round cycling in fact) was hill repeats. Painful but very effective.

declan1

Just found out that my bike has a 14-28 Shimano freewheel at the rear - is this too high for the hills? If so, could you recommend a replacement that will help?

smidsy

The 28 is good for the hills. The 14 may mean you lose speed on the flat/downhills but if you have not been constatntly running out then why worry.

Many people will have something like 11/25 or 12/27 so your 28 gives you a nice bail out gear for the hills.

What is your front chainset - if its a traditonal double 53/39 that may hinder you and you could go for a compact 50/34 to help with the climbs.