Understanding what gears to use when going up hills

kenny212

I have just treated myself to Giant Revel 1 so I can get abit more fitter , my question is all about gear , what is the best gears to be in when going up hills so I jam not putting too much strain on my knees , normal I stick to the middle gear on the forward and in between gear 3-7 on the back wheel .So any help would be grateful

Kenny

omegas

It depends on the rider and the terrain, but a pedalling cadence of around 72-82rpm is optimum – lower on steeper or longer climbs, higher on shorter climbs. You need to choose gearing that allows you to maintain this cadence.

The Northern Monkey

Honestly, this is an open ended question depends on the hill and personal preference!!!

For me, if its a boring fireroad, I tend to sit in the granny ring and creep up...because its boring,mainly because i'm lazy.

For techy stuff, I try to stay 1 gear higher than really needed. That way, when I put power down I'm not spinning furiously and having to change gears. Also means its easier to get out of the saddle and stomp some pedals pretty quick.

Recently been finding that more effort initially makes for a quicker/faster ride overall.
Prepare what you plan to do in advance by looking ahead down the trail.

Essentially, the more you ride the more likely you will be to get your gears right!

p.s. whats all this cadence bollox... just pedal, man!

cooldad

Don't think of them as numbers, the right gear is the right gear.
And read this
viewtopic.php?f=40043&t=12647117

kenny212

So I am best to put the front gear too the smaller ring and and set rear to the higher gear then move the rear until I find a comfort gear for going up hills ,then after my fittest build up then change the front gear too the middle an dstart again with the rear gears again .

Thanks for the advices

cooldad

Nope, use whatever ring and cog will make it easiest to ride. Often you will need to change going up (or down) a hill anyway, if the gradient changes, or your legs tire.
Just ride and it becomes automatic.

jeannot18

Try to change gear before you really need it (by this I mean don't wait to be really struggling going up to change your gear), it makes riding hills smoother. Again this come with experience.
JC

njee20

It depends on the rider and the terrain, but a pedalling cadence of around 72-82rpm is optimum

Based on what? That's pretty slow.

It's personal, some people are able to sustain a higher cadence than others. If you're worried about your knees then faster will be better. Faster will save your legs, but will increase your heart rate, turning a big gear will fatigue your legs quicker, but keep your HR down. In simple terms.

Stu Coops

njee20 wrote:

It depends on the rider and the terrain, but a pedalling cadence of around 72-82rpm is optimum

Based on what? That's pretty slow.

It's personal, some people are able to sustain a higher cadence than others. If you're worried about your knees then faster will be better. Faster will save your legs, but will increase your heart rate, turning a big gear will fatigue your legs quicker, but keep your HR down. In simple terms.

This spot on