Climbs and gearing

Robin_D

I've had a quick search but can't quite find exactly what I'm after.

I've done about 10 rides out on the bike now and am feeling that I may wasting a bit of energy by being in the wrong gear whilst climbing even the slightest climbs. I'm just unsure of what the gearing should be.

Now, could someone explain whether this is just me being unfit or just not quite getting used to the gearing or whether it is just a combination of both?

I know it's a pretty stupid question, but i'm not sure where else to ask.

diamonddog

Could be a bit of both, try using an easier gear with higher cadence and stay seated, I have found this works for me and leaves me with more energy at the top of the hill, some riders like to get out of the saddle and push a bit harder gear but IMO this uses more energy but hey we are all different.
It takes a while to get used to gearing if you are new to road cycling so just keep pedalling.
Enjoy your riding

drlodge

Generally I find my cadence goes down a bit when climbing, the steeper the climb the lower the cadence.

E.g. normal cadence is 90-100, when climbing up to 10% it goes down to say 70-90, really steep hills it might drop to 60-70 or so. But as cadence drops, so you need more strength in your legs, if you don't have the strength then you'll need to keep your cadence higher which can be difficult if you don't have low enough gears. There's also the issue that sometimes "spinning" a high cadence can actually waste energy, I've often gone into the next highest gear with a drop of cadence and found it actually makes it easier to maintain the same speed.

How does your cadence change when going uphill?

dai_t75

Think it depends on what position you want to be in. Do you want to sit all the way, stand up or a bit of both?

When standing I tend to drop 1-2 gears on the cassette (unless it is a seriously steep section!). When I started out (October last year) I would spend >50% of the time on any climbs out of the saddle. However, more recently I spend much less time out of the saddle. So I think it is personal and you should mix it up and see what works best for you. Sorry - probably not the exact answer you were after

What exactly do you mean by wasting energy? Do you think you feel more tired at the top than you should? General consensus is that you should try to 'spin' up hills, as this is said to be the most efficient energy wise which in your case may mean dropping to an easier gear (assuming you have some left!).

Robin_D

Thanks for the replies gents.

I'm just starting out so don't really have any idea of what my cadence is. It generally does go down when going uphill, but I find myself changing down a bit too much and then my cadence would go up but I dont seem to be getting anywhere apart from feeling the burn in my quads.

If I could get a decent speed then I'd sit for more shallow climbs and stand for the biggies.......

Monty Dog

For absolute beginners, it's simply a case of developing the fitness and strength to cope with the terrain. Where possible, try and maintain a steady effort throughout your ride and use the gears to adjust the ease or difficulty of pedalling. This will be impossible to achieve with long or steep hills and accept that you are likely to go into the 'red zone'. It'll take you a while to learn how much effort you can sustain over a given period of time / terrain and over time your fitness and strength will improve - it's a progressive process and can take years / months to develop the strength and fitness.

Schoie81

Robin - I'm relatively new to road bikes and when I started out, I tended to avoid hills if I could. More recently however I've started tackling steeper and steeper climbs trying to get better at it - all of which started when I set off up a hill and had to stop half-way up - i'm not determined to get better at climbing.

All the talk of cadence is, like you, a bit of an alien world to me. I have no way of measuring my cadence, and to be honest, its a technical analysis thats a bit of a step too far for me. I just want to get on my bike and ride it, see how far I can go, and do it as quick as possible.

The technique I use for climbing is to take it easy at the start and shift into a mid-range gear, but usually making sure i'm in the small chainring before starting anything steep because i find it can be reluctant to shift down once you're powering up a steep bit. Then I just keep changing down when it feels like i'm pedalling too slowly, or my legs start to struggle. I usually end up in the bottom gear and spinning up hills which works for me. I have never got out of the saddle on a climb - it doesn't help me, but others do. If I know the hill well, and no whats in store, than I might be able to attack it a bit more from the start - but on hills that are new to me I always take it steady as I've been caught out where I've run out of steam before the top or when it starts getting steeper! If that helps at all....

markhewitt1978

Robin_D wrote:

I've had a quick search but can't quite find exactly what I'm after.

I've done about 10 rides out on the bike now and am feeling that I may wasting a bit of energy by being in the wrong gear whilst climbing even the slightest climbs. I'm just unsure of what the gearing should be.

Now, could someone explain whether this is just me being unfit or just not quite getting used to the gearing or whether it is just a combination of both?

I know it's a pretty stupid question, but i'm not sure where else to ask.

First you need to make sure you are in your lowest gear, as for steepish climbs this is what you're going to be using. Which is smallest cog on the front, biggest cog on the back.

How many teeth are these gears? This will determine your ratio. You can find this out by counting them, or it'll be with the specificiation of your bike somewhere online.

Don't get too hung up on cadence, you don't really need to measure it, all the matters is can you turn the pedals around or not!

Robin_D

I'm running 105 running gear, am unsure of the cogs but will take a look when I get back later tonight.

markhewitt1978

Robin_D wrote:

I'm running 105 running gear, am unsure of the cogs but will take a look when I get back later tonight.

105 can be anything, what's the model of your bike?

Robin_D

It's a 2013 Cannondale CAAD8

markhewitt1978

This one I assume ? http://www.cannondale.com/gbr/2013/bike ... kset-28420

Your lowest gear is 34/28, which is fine for all but vertical climbs.

If you are indeed in your lowest gear, it's just a matter of plugging away really

Robin_D

Cool thanks for the advice, I just find that this isn't really propelling me. Is it a case of moving up to find the right gear?

markhewitt1978

Robin_D wrote:

Cool thanks for the advice, I just find that this isn't really propelling me. Is it a case of moving up to find the right gear?

Do you mean that you are spinning your legs around fast but you aren't going very quick? Then yes this means you in too low a gear, shift up until you find a resistance level you're comfortable with.

There is never a 'right' gear to be in, you just have to off what your legs are telling you and shift accordingly.

diamonddog

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Robin_D wrote:

Cool thanks for the advice, I just find that this isn't really propelling me. Is it a case of moving up to find the right gear?

Do you mean that you are spinning your legs around fast but you aren't going very quick? Then yes this means you in too low a gear, shift up until you find a resistance level you're comfortable with.

There is never a 'right' gear to be in, you just have to off what your legs are telling you and shift accordingly.

^This

jaxf

What MontyDog and Schoie81 said .....
it should be hard, but not so hard it hurts your knees, not so easy that you are spinning away. It depends on the climb - I find the british hills - short and sharp - horrendous, but alpine climbs - long and gentle - easy. I just play with my gears all the time, just as I would in a car. After all, it's not so much effort to tap the gears.

I started cycling in the Alps, so have always done climbs (it's that, or not cycle), have the benefit of my main sport being skiing, so leg strength is not an issue. I think this really helps climbing, as I have no worries about running out of grunt.

I have recently tried standing to climb, I find that 30 seconds of standing every half hour of climbing makes my back less sore at the end. I think that if I had more steep hills to climb, I might stand more often, but the steepest around me is just a 1km section at 21%, most is 5-12%, so no need.