climbing

boh67

i really struggle on climbs, even small ones. I am overweight and unfit, is it as simple as losing weight and getting fitter ( which is the plan) or is there any techniques to climbing that i need to know :oops:

Bobbinogs

boh67 wrote:

it is as simple as losing weight and getting fitter

There you go, simple

slowmart

Nothing to it other than hard work.

You will get lighter, fitter and faster but the pain will always be there and perversely you will enjoy the pain

bianchimoon

put a rucksack on your back with weights in climb the stairs, take the rucksack off and climb stairs again, feel any difference?

danlikesbikes

boh67 wrote:

i really struggle on climbs, even small ones. I am overweight and unfit, is it as simple as losing weight and getting fitter ( which is the plan) or is there any techniques to climbing that i need to know :oops:

Yes & no.

Yes as in that will help. But the no is for no matter how fit you are you need to train for the specific terrain. I know lots of riders that are fitter than me but some can climb better than me & some climb worse than me.

You hit upon the right word there 'technique' you also need to lear this too. Things like carrying speed into any hill, being in the right gear on the lower slopes, learning if you are a bigger gear/low cadence or smaller gear/high cadence type of rider.

Thankfully BR can help as there have been quite a few things they posted over the years, see attached for some tips;
http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... tar-12092/
http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... asy-22491/

Where I live is relatively rolling with few large hills, however I do in the summer have a loop of about 3 miles with a large hill of about 0.5 miles and the rest as recovery. I go and ride up the hill and round the loop several times and try to work on my position on the bike, hand placement on the bars, seated & standing pedalling, gear selection & overall speed. I try to do 4 or 5 reps early on a sunday morning before the other half is up & I have seen quite an improvement in my hill efforts.

elderone

Hills are the devils creation so there for must be conquered.O n a serious note,just keep at it and you will get better,its just about time and effort.Im still crap on hills,lot are.Utube mow cop and you,ll see that lots ans lots have trouble with hills.

Anonymous

There is some technique but weightloss/training is going to be the big factor IMO.

I used to hate hills and avoid them, then just accepted them, but now see them as a challenge and look forward to them (in a weird way).
What gearing have you got on your bike? Triple? Compact? What size biggest rear sprocket?

My advice would be:
To go on the 5:2 diet to loose the weight.
Just keep plugging away at the hills. Stop halfway up if need be and resolve to beat it another day.
Don't wear too much and overheat.
Be in correct gear before the climb.
Take it steady so you do not burn out. Keep seated and relaxed if poss.
Know when you need to get out the seat (for a short burst) and up the gear to make the most of the extra effort, but be able to drop gear and carry on without blowing up.
Enjoy the moment when you beat a climb and use it to motivate you on the next.
Get to a point where you rest while cycling/coasting down the other side of the hill, rather than resting at the top thinking ,fcuk I did it'.

Crossed post with a couple above, so may be repeating/contradicting lol
Hope some of this helps, have fun

Buckie2k5

hills dont get easier, you just get faster

Anonymous

"I love mountains, but in the moment of exertion I am filled with a deep hatred. So I try to shorten the suffering."

Marco Pantani

pride4ever

In the winter/spring time I ride at 10st 2-4lbs. In the summer/autumn I often ride under 10st. There is no hill or gradient I havent conquered so yes its all about body weight and NOT bike weight. By all means lighten your bike but first lighten your own load, its far more important.

Anonymous

Who said anything about lightening the bike?

The OP is planning to lose weight but give him a chance

A lighter bike would be a help, but agree its pretty pointless until you get to an ideal body weight.
Nice treat when (if) you get there though

What difference would you say a stone would make roughly, given the same fitness levels?
I am 14 stone but aim to be 13 for my first 100 miler. Sounds heavy when I say it on here but I am 6'1" and my ideal weight is somewhere between 12-13 stone according to nurse at the doctors, but I did not listen to exact figure as started laughing when she said 12

marcusww

Keep at it, I found doing short milages with many hills helped a lot. My motivationn was to do long rides where hills would not put me off. I bought a light carbon bike but 2 x 750ml bottles and a saddle pack with 4 tubes (yes puncture Paranoia - 5 punctures in 600 miles) / tools etc soon adds to the bike weight!

pride4ever

Carbonator wrote:

Who said anything about lightening the bike?

The OP is planning to lose weight but give him a chance

A lighter bike would be a help, but agree its pretty pointless until you get to an ideal body weight.
Nice treat when (if) you get there though

What difference would you say a stone would make roughly, given the same fitness levels?
I am 14 stone but aim to be 13 for my first 100 miler. Sounds heavy when I say it on here but I am 6'1" and my ideal weight is somewhere between 12-13 stone according to nurse at the doctors, but I did not listen to exact figure as started laughing when she said 12

Your hugely overweight for a climber lol.

Anonymous

pride4ever wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Who said anything about lightening the bike?

The OP is planning to lose weight but give him a chance

A lighter bike would be a help, but agree its pretty pointless until you get to an ideal body weight.
Nice treat when (if) you get there though

What difference would you say a stone would make roughly, given the same fitness levels?
I am 14 stone but aim to be 13 for my first 100 miler. Sounds heavy when I say it on here but I am 6'1" and my ideal weight is somewhere between 12-13 stone according to nurse at the doctors, but I did not listen to exact figure as started laughing when she said 12

Your hugely overweight for a climber lol.

I shall just have to rely on my good looks then :roll:
Could go on the 2:5 diet I guess.

What do you mean 'for a climber'? Isn't everybody a climber, or are you talking about a certain category of climb?

smidsy

I suppose a climber is one who excels at climbing.

These individuals tend to be very light (say upto 65kg) as climbing is all about power to weight ratio.

So it helps to be light.

charlie_potatoes

pride4ever wrote:

In the winter/spring time I ride at 10st 2-4lbs. In the summer/autumn I often ride under 10st. There is no hill or gradient I havent conquered so yes its all about body weight and NOT bike weight. By all means lighten your bike but first lighten your own load, its far more important.

So only body weight counts then and not bike weight?
Or do you mean that if the OP is overweight then he must ride a heavy bike as punishment for eating all the pies :roll:

This forum is full of this sort of bunkum.

Anonymous

I assume he means that its not worth spending money to have a 16lb bike if the rider needs to lose a few stone.

Bikes (wheels) have weight limits too, so I can see why it might be better to lose weight on a cheap bike and treat yourself to a new lightweight one when trim.

pride4ever

Charlie Potatoes wrote:

pride4ever wrote:

In the winter/spring time I ride at 10st 2-4lbs. In the summer/autumn I often ride under 10st. There is no hill or gradient I havent conquered so yes its all about body weight and NOT bike weight. By all means lighten your bike but first lighten your own load, its far more important.

So only body weight counts then and not bike weight?
Or do you mean that if the OP is overweight then he must ride a heavy bike as punishment for eating all the pies :roll:

This forum is full of this sort of bunkum.

Butthurt cos you keep getting dropped on the hills tubbs? Lol so defensive you lardyboys. Your getting all hot under the collar over a bag of sugar that will cost you a grand to lose when you could lose 2 stone for nothing. Get a grip lol.

charlie_potatoes

Carbonator wrote:

Bikes (wheels) have weight limits too, so I can see why it might be better to lose weight on a cheap bike and treat yourself to a new lightweight one when trim.

So can I Carbonator but my point is that any poster on here asking about making their bike lighter is always, without exception, met with the 'you can't upgrade your bike until you have lost a load of weight yourself you fat, lazy b'stard'.
In many cases (I'm not referring to this one that I have hijacked :oops: ) nothing is known of the OP's weight or level of fitness.
Indeed, just by questioning these post's I am being accused of being a "lardyboy"

pride4ever wrote:

Butthurt cos you keep getting dropped on the hills tubbs? Lol so defensive you lardyboys. Your getting all hot under the collar over a bag of sugar that will cost you a grand to lose when you could lose 2 stone for nothing. Get a grip lol.

The other stock reply is 'Making your bike lighter will make no difference at all. My average speed is 25mph and my bike is made out of lead. Also some old bloke rode up a mountain really fast in the 1920's on a heavy bike and that proves my point'
This type of post is usually made by someone who, although super human, has no understanding of the laws of physics.

That's that off my chest. Thanks for listening.

Right I'm off now to get a grip

Have a good one chaps

philbar72

My way of improving is to improve my fitness, by riding further and improving my pedalling technique and to get up the hill no matter what! I’m by no means quick, but am ok on hills now, as my fitness has improved. I’ve done most of the surrey hills in not particularly quick times, but will improve them in due course as my training ramps up.

So what if people fly past you when you first go up the hill, don’t let it worry you, just go at your own pace and get your breathing right. If you feel you can shift up a gear then do so, if you need to stay in the current gear then so be it. Dependant on your type of riding ( do you spin your legs (high cadence) or power through (low cadence) you may have to adjust your way of working your legs – I’ve been told by varios people that between 60 and 70 RPM on the steeper hills is the way to go, so whatever gear you can spin that up).

Pace yourself if it’s over a kilometre, and also use the approaches to the hill to your advantage, so if there is a fast descent beforehand use that and power through the first part ( but be aware of your gearing and change up/ down when necessary). At the moment it is not a race.

boh67

thanks for the advice... big time diet and perseverance it is then

goonz

Lose weight/get a MTB and hit some hard trails/lose weight/when on the road bike stand up and grit your teeth and churn hard for as long as you can/approach the hill in the highest gear you can keep seated and churn away and lower the gear as and when you need, oh and if I didnt mention already, lose weight.

TommyB61

This is worth a look for climbing tips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6QvK1NXINY

Doesn't address the OP's issue re weight loss, but some pointers I've found helpful for improving climbing skills.

rick_chasey

At a beginner level most of it is just practice and experience.

The more you do it the better you'll get.

One thing I would say is if the climb is defeating you mentally, a new approach is worthwhile. So if you're trying to hoon it up and blowing up and getting bogged down, maybe it's worth focussing on the effort you're putting in and not focussing on the speed or lack of. So drop it in as low a gear as you need to to keep the effort and pedal rate the same as it would be on the flat.

Of course, it may be the other way around, and you're getting intimidated by the climb and maybe not allowing yourself to smash it so never really putting in that hard effort you need to see some improvement, but I suspect it's probably the former.

Mikey23

I've always been a bit scared of hills and rubbish at them. Which is unfortunate living in launceston Cornwall... There is a reason that it has a castle! Have done a couple of thousand miles this year and am at last learning how to ride a bike, how to make it work for me and how to get my clapped out old body up these hills. Did my least favourite today up Kensey hill, average 8% but starts at 10 and finishes at 15 over .4 mile. Today I rode up it steadily and confidently beating my strava PB by 14 secs and rather than collapse by the railings on the hairpin at the top, was able to keep on riding and recover on the hoof. My point it is takes time but worth sticking at it ...

rick_chasey

Mikey23 wrote:

I've always been a bit scared of hills and rubbish at them. Which is unfortunate living in launceston Cornwall... There is a reason that it has a castle! Have done a couple of thousand miles this year and am at last learning how to ride a bike, how to make it work for me and how to get my clapped out old body up these hills. Did my least favourite today up Kensey hill, average 8% but starts at 10 and finishes at 15 over .4 mile. Today I rode up it steadily and confidently beating my strava PB by 14 secs and rather than collapse by the railings on the hairpin at the top, was able to keep on riding and recover on the hoof. My point it is takes time but worth sticking at it ...

*taps temple* is as much up there as it is to do with your legs.

defycomp2

Mikey23 wrote:

I've always been a bit scared of hills and rubbish at them. Which is unfortunate living in launceston Cornwall... There is a reason that it has a castle! ...

Yes, Launceston makes Bodmin look flat!

simon_e

Mikey23 wrote:

Today I rode up it steadily and confidently beating my strava PB by 14 secs and rather than collapse by the railings on the hairpin at the top, was able to keep on riding and recover on the hoof. My point it is takes time but worth sticking at it ...

Well done Mikey.

It's true that perseverance pays off - power, endurance and ability to recover all improve with practice. I agree with Rick, and you are also learning how to control your effort, breathing etc.

Bike weight is a distraction. There's far greater gain from losing weight from a 70-90 kg rider than shaving a kilo off a 8-10kg bike. Carrying less lard will also allow your heart, arteries and organs to operate more efficiently, it's a win-win. And life expectancy will go up, mental health and wellbeing may improve as you'll feel better about yourself, a win-win-win

Edit: diet is simple - lots of fresh food, plenty of water, less junk, less starchy carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes).

marylogic

I'd thoroughly recommend looking at gearing. I just got a new cassette with slightly lower gears and tested it today - I wasn't any faster or slower than normal but I could keep a higher cadence going which was much more enjoyable
and if you enjoy the hills you'll ride them more and you'll get better at them.

Best wishes

vortice

boh67 wrote:

thanks for the advice... big time diet and perseverance it is then

But more importantly, getting fit, which will help you lose weight too.

If you can't ride for a few days for some reason, do some other form of exercise instead.

Ok, maybe my story will help illustrate the fact.

Mid last year I found out that my company wanted to base me in Gran Canaria but I would also spend time in Scandinavia too. Knowing that the Canaries are a Mecca for cycling and needing a bit of a hobby, I bought myself a road bike. In the month before I left the UK, it was as much as I could do to ride on the flat for 20 miles. I'm 44, was carrying about a stone too much and wasn't the fittest, but I found it uncomfortable and exhausting, despite a bike fit. I must add at this point that I'm not very good at just plodding along.

So, with a few testing rides under my belt, I arrived in Grand Canaria, about 5 and a bit months ago eager to get going. Now I'm sure you know, but the weather and roads here are fantastic, the drivers courteous and the post ride beer is cold! However, it's a bit lumpy. There aren't many flat bits! But, having failed at climbing a mountain, I found a reasonably flat bit - well, it's undulating for the first 8 miles and you need the granny ring quite a lot. But to start with, I did the 17 mile stretch (34 miles there and back) sometimes three times a week, getting stronger and fitter and losing a stone in weight in the process. When I had to fly to Scandinavia, I would exercise to the insanity DVD in my hotel room to make up for the fact that I couldn't ride.

I noticed massive improvements in my fitness and body shape, endurance and strength and although I was still pretty uncomfortable at the end of the ride I wanted to go greater distances. In the first week in January, I did my longest ride. 52 miles. At 20 miles there is a 5 mile climb for 2000' at an average of 13%. Although I could hold my own on the flats and undulations, pretty much everyone passed me on this climb, but I was proud of myself for not giving up and not stopping, but I admit to almost crying with exhaustion when I got back. I was a wreck! Total climb was 4500'.

Fast forward. With a bit of base fitness behind me, but less than three months later I did the same ride today. I haven't even looked at the stats but I know I was a hell of a lot faster. Despite many "pro looking" bikers out there, not one person passed me and on the climb I passed 6 people. Getting back home I still feel fresh and I can't wait to do it again.

Rather long winded, but if you are anything like me I wanna know other people's stories. This is my summary.

Ride as many hills as often as you can.

If you can't ride, do some exercise.

Stretch out your muscles after a ride.

It's that simple. (Note I didn't say easy!).

Good luck.