Training for a 17% grade hill?

robbo2011

Get lower gearing. I just fitted a 11-32 SRAM WiFli setup to my bike ready for the Alpen Brevet in a couple of weeks. A training ride yesterday with 2000m+ of climbing over several steep passes tells me that it is going to be worth every penny!

Tom Dean

We're talking about climbing 100m, not 2000.

dw300

OP, would I be right in saying that you like a fast cadence normally, maybe 90rpm or more? Maybe up to 120 when you're really moving? But when you hit a steep hill, where even your lowest gear means you have to turn at 60-80rpm you have to rely on generating torque via leg strength, which you almost never do?

robbo2011

17% grade for 2.8 km is more than 100m.

But why should the OP blow himself out trying to conquer one hill? Get lower gearing, get up and over the hill in one piece and carry on with the rest of the ride.

CyclingObsession

There's a race up that hill once a year an would like to do it next year but the challenge is getting up the hill,
I measure my heart rate and it's usually up to 160 on hills, is that too high I'd say that's holding me back more

okgo

Another one that seemingly doesn't read any of the replies in his thread.

1. If you're running out of gears get a 11-27
2. If you still can't get up it, just keep seeing how far up you can go.
3. Read the replies to your thread!!!!

dw300

okgo wrote:

Another one that seemingly doesn't read any of the replies in his thread.

1. If you're running out of gears get a 11-27
2. If you still can't get up it, just keep seeing how far up you can go.
3. Read the replies to your thread!!!!

This ^

Are you Soni in disguise?

Tom Dean

robbo2011 wrote:

17% grade for 2.8 km is more than 100m.

It's not 17% for 2.8km. OP please correct me. Let's see the map.

robbo2011 wrote:

But why should the OP blow himself out trying to conquer one hill? Get lower gearing, get up and over the hill in one piece and carry on with the rest of the ride.

Well, he wanted to get up the hill for the sense of personal acheivement, I think this would come from working harder, rather then buying new gears and making the task easier.

CyclingObsession

This is the map from strava http://app.strava.com/segments/2052067

jibberjim

Tom Dean wrote:

Well, he wanted to get up the hill for the sense of personal acheivement, I think this would come from working harder, rather then buying new gears and making the task easier.

The hill climbs 100m in ~800m.

"Working harder" and getting up the hill with the current gearing are unlikely to be the same thing - I can get up lots of hills in 36x21, I can get up those same hills much faster, having produced more power in 36x28. I can work harder when I have appropriate gearing.

Tom Dean

jibberjim I take your point but the hill is not that big, OP already has 34/25 and stopped because his legs hurt. When I say 'working harder' i mean 'pushing oneself'.

CyclingObsession

Trust its big at the start it says an average of 8% but the very first bit is the hardest the highest is a 20% grade and when I started it gravity took over and I couldnt go anywhere

Tom Dean

20% is never going to be easy, once you're over that bit you can ease off and recover a bit. Just go and grind it out!

CyclingObsession

Might try it again and see how I do Ill be hill training on Fri and ill try that one out first, worst thing is you cant reward yourself with the decent as its surface is too bad and its so twisty, Cheers for advice ill try and push through and let u know how I get on

styxd

If its 20%, that bit is always going to be easier done out of the saddle

jgsi

Gearing and fitness

Some Angliru gearing from Vuelta 2011... Cobo juiced or not, bat out of hell up that bad boy

Cobo 34×32 (28.3-inch);
Nibali 34×29 (31.2-inch);
Froome and Wiggins 38×32 (31.6-inch);
Kessiakoff 34×28 (32.3-inch);
Fuglsang and Mollema 36×28 (34.2-inch);

jibberjim

styxd wrote:

If its 20%, that bit is always going to be easier done out of the saddle

Maybe at over 3 minutes (probably over 5 for the OP) then that's a long time to spend out of the saddle - I certainly do the whole thing in the saddle, and yes I am pretty unusual and at the extreme end of preferring seated/standing etc. etc. but anyone who can happily stand up that climb will almost certainly also be happy at very low cadences so can get up in almost any gearing.

dw300

Check this video out at 3:10 and from 6:56 to 8:00 .. then decide what looks good and what doesn't!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKom0Y-Ww3A

CyclingObsession

Since I was on this last I reattempted this hill and I made it up, I was not last on the strava segment which was even better, cheers for your advice

ShutUpLegs

dw300 wrote:

Check this video out at 3:10 and from 6:56 to 8:00 .. then decide what looks good and what doesn't!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKom0Y-Ww3A

I hope the roads were closed for that guy pushing the 42x23

Cleat Eastwood

dw300 wrote:

Check this video out at 3:10 and from 6:56 to 8:00 .. then decide what looks good and what doesn't!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKom0Y-Ww3A

excellent vid that - what great countryside.

For what its worth I practised for the 25% mow cop - by doing hill repeats on a 14% going up a gear each time - 34/21 was the highest I could go - I was painfully slow and did it seated figuring that if I could do that beast then I could do the mow cop standing - still hurt but I did it. For hills over 14% i'd prefer to mix and match.

smidsy

You may well benefit from a 12/27 or even 28 if you are really struggling on the hills.

You can go back to the 25 when you have increased your ability to climb hills.

Unless you are spinning out on the 11 often it is not essential.

davidof

is the 17% on the inside of the hairpins?

drlodge

Went up Whitedown last night, in the dark at about 8 degrees C, and its only my second time - the first was at the end of a long run and had to stop twice. Went up without a problem last night but I think the following helped:
- gears are 34-28
- took it easy to start with so I didn't blow out half way up and had plenty in reserve
- the steepest bit is towards the top I think, I was able to sit down just before that, but got out of the saddle as I felt the road get steeper.
- Being dark definately helped, as I could only see so far in front and hence not see the extent of the climb still to go. Took it a small bit at a time.
- once out of the saddle, tried not to increase cadence/speed, just kept it steady
- Max HR was 179 I think, which shows I wasn't maxed out (its been 187 before).

Prevously I had 42-52 chainring and I wouldn't have made it up. I find lower gears a great help as I like to spin, and can actually get more power down with a higher cadence.

http://app.strava.com/rides/22422129#400358235

I'll attempt Barhatch Lane at the weekend hopefully!

t.m.h.n.e.t

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

dw300 wrote:

Check this video out at 3:10 and from 6:56 to 8:00 .. then decide what looks good and what doesn't!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKom0Y-Ww3A

excellent vid that - what great countryside.

For what its worth I practised for the 25% mow cop - by doing hill repeats on a 14% going up a gear each time - 34/21 was the highest I could go - I was painfully slow and did it seated figuring that if I could do that beast then I could do the mow cop standing - still hurt but I did it. For hills over 14% i'd prefer to mix and match.

I'm doing that run this weekend. Although I'm too chicken to attempt the hill route.

Fast and flat for me

poynedexter

CyclingObsession wrote:

There's a race up that hill once a year an would like to do it next year but the challenge is getting up the hill,
I measure my heart rate and it's usually up to 160 on hills, is that too high I'd say that's holding me back more

max heart rate is for the individual. mine is 194, so 160 may be fine or high for you. find out what your max is first. test it and get to know how it feels to be working at your real limit. you may find that 160 seems high but you are well within your spec. then its mind over matter.

nickel

philthy3 wrote:

styxd wrote:

A 34 tooth with a 25 at the back is easily sufficient enough for a 17% .

This, don't bother shelling out money on a new cassette or chainset, to be honest if you can't get up in 35x25, I doubt 34x27 will make it much more manageable. Just ride more hills, ride a variety of hills with varying lengths/gradients and in a few months you'll wonder how you ever struggled.