Why am i so s**t at Climbing ?

limoneboy

This may seem like a Joke topic but actually its really getting to me and ruining my enjoyment of sportives.

So i can hit 3% climbs at a good pace in the top 10-20% on strava (not allowing for the obvious car strava's results), i can tank along on the flat at a good 30-35k on the flat , but put me on a 5% upwards and it all falls apart which is getting to me. don't get me wrong i would never walk and will only stop if my legs are bursting.

i am 44 years been riding all my life but started road again 6 years ago , i am not in a club but do 120-140k a week + sportives from march to october , less in the winter.I am 73kg 5'8" , 30-32 waist with very little fat

Can anybody advise me what to do , or am i a lost cause ,hope not

meanredspider

Assuming you've got your gearing right (what are you using?) then I'm really not sure. When you say it's your legs I assume that your lungs are fine. That's the opposite to me - what stops me climbing fast is that my lungs are bursting. If it's your legs, gearing down would help. Then it's really just climbing practice.

jibberjim

Well, you're not exactly light, your BMI is right at the top of "healthy", good climbers are right at the bottom. 30-35km tanking along on the flat isn't that fast (depending on road surfaces so it does matter a lot) but it's okay, if you're getting that speed through good aerodynamics rather than pure power though then you're not going to be that fast on slower speed strava sections.

It is also possible that you really don't like low inertia situations, keeping as high a cadence as possible will likely help with that and lots of training.

kajjal

What exactly happens when you struggle on the steeper hills ?

The normal things to look at are gearing, sitting / standing, over / under exerting etc. Also study the hill, one near me goes to around 20% towards the middle and I find it easier to choose a slighter harder gear and stand up at that point.

hypster

Well I'm 58 years old, 6' 4" and just down to 80kg training for the Marmotte next week. I don't exactly sail up the hills but I do climb them climb quite comfortably and probably enjoy that aspect of cycling more than any other. I train with two friends and at this time of year we are normally doing a couple of hill-climbing workouts a week doing multiple repeats on the shortish climbs we have in Essex from 8-12%. One of my friends is your sort of age and dimensions and he just flies up the hills and leaves the rest of us for dead.

There are a lot of factors involved in climbing hills most of which are inside your head. You quote Strava performances and I am wondering if that is what is most important to you? Is it not just a case of getting up the hills comfortably but you want to be high up the Strava leader board? If that's the case then you need to train regularly on hills of 8% and upwards and your times will improve. There is lots of training advice on the web about how to train for hills if you just search.

The other thing is as MRS speculates, what sort of gearing are you using and what is your cadence on these climbs? Many people seem to have the opinion that it is a badge of honour to climb hills in the biggest gear possible and 34 tooth chainrings and 11-28 cassettes are for wimps. Well if that's the case you might just as well ride single-speed.

When it comes to cadence everyone has a different natural pedalling speed but in general you will find it easier to climb steeper hills with a cadence around 70-80 RPM than grinding up in a big gear of 50-60 RPM. Higher cadences generally mean higher heart rates though so with practice you will begin to find you own natural cadence that balances the demands on your lungs and your legs.

I won't go into all the general advice about the best techniques for climbing hills because as I said before there is a ton of advice on the web if you just search. At the end of the day if you want to get good at something you just have to practice.

me-109

Is 3% a hill? :? Really?

homers_double

And which goon said 30-35kmh isn't fast???

cougie

Practice practice practice. Ride as many hills as you can.

I'd also not look at your computer. A 5% isnt a hill really - maybe its in your head - "you see the incline and you think - I'm gonna struggle here ?"

edhornby

is it a pacing thing ? if you are expecting to bomb up to the top of an incline and recover at the top you may be going to far into the red at the bottom of the hill and there is no opportunity to recover in the last half

usual tips are get in the small ring early and use your gears, stay seated and take your time, concentrate on maintaining 'cadence and effort not speed'

drlodge

To the OP - you're a little lighter and 3 years younger than me but otherwise very similar. I would say, other than improving fitness further, your weight is where the difference is. Most mountain goats are much lighter and that makes a big difference when the incline starts ramping up.

markhewitt1978

Man I wish I was 73kg, and I'm two inches shorter! I'm finding the same, that I can keep up a reasonable pace over undulating terrain but as soon as it kicks up to a proper climb i.e. > 10% it all falls apart and I'm down to grinding up in bottom gear huffing and puffing but then I'm carrying about 8kg more fat than the OP

slowbike

homers double wrote:

And which goon said 30-35kmh isn't fast???

It's between 18 and 22mph ... it's quick, but not fast - I know ppl who hit mid range speed for a hilly route and they're just cruising ...

okgo

homers double wrote:

And which goon said 30-35kmh isn't fast???

Many people come out with statements like " I bomb along at 25 mph on the flat" very few do for more than a minute or so, its pinch of salt stuff.

The answers to these threads are always simple enough, there are two choices usually, get fitter, I climb OK and am much heavier than you, or the other choice is to lose some weight, a combo of both would be ideal I guess...

michaelede

I am a complete novice so treat my input with the contempt it deserves.

I did the Dartmoor Classic (107miles with 3000m+ of climbing) last weekend and was constantly amazed at all the people struggling on the hills on super light + expensive bikes (I also saw exactly the same on the only other sportive I've done, the Exmoor beast, again a lot of climbs). Now I am 189cm and currently 90kg (was 95kg at the time of the Exmoor beast) and I didn't need to walk on any of the hills, why? because my bike came with a compact crankset (34t) and a (32t) at the rear, so I can practically climb vertical walls on it. Can't understand why someone would fork out £3k on a bike and not have an appropriate cassette (and mech?) at the rear if they are planning on climbing a lot of hills.

As I climb more hills I am finding that I use the very lowest gear less and less and I am able to keep my cadence nice and high, in short the really low gearing is allowing me to teach my body to go up steep hills which I simply wouldn't be able to do (and would get frustrated with) if I had a standard road cassette on my bike. That coupled with a much better feel for the work rate I can sustain is helping me to improve, I know I can climb pretty much anything with a cadence of 70rpm if I can keep my heart rate below 160 if it is a long hill (e.g. the cat 2 climb to Haytor) or if it is short like Widecombe (a 20% gradient) I can push to the low 180's without blowing up. Presumably at some point I will be powerful enough (and fit enough) to ride slightly bigger gears up steep hills but I know physics is against me!

Just my (limited) experience.

frisbee

Sounds like your pushing too hard too soon on the hills and exploding.

slowbike

michaelede wrote:

I am a complete novice so treat my input with the contempt it deserves.

I did the Dartmoor Classic (107miles with 3000m+ of climbing) last weekend and was constantly amazed at all the people struggling on the hills on super light + expensive bikes (I also saw exactly the same on the only other sportive I've done, the Exmoor beast, again a lot of climbs).

Its called "All the Gear and No Idea" - they seem to think the way to get faster is to throw money at the kit ... completely ignoring that they actually have to get some practice riding the thing....

meanredspider

Slowbike wrote:

michaelede wrote:

I am a complete novice so treat my input with the contempt it deserves.

I did the Dartmoor Classic (107miles with 3000m+ of climbing) last weekend and was constantly amazed at all the people struggling on the hills on super light + expensive bikes (I also saw exactly the same on the only other sportive I've done, the Exmoor beast, again a lot of climbs).

Its called "All the Gear and No Idea" - they seem to think the way to get faster is to throw money at the kit ... completely ignoring that they actually have to get some practice riding the thing....

Some people just like having nice stuff - there's no harm in it (other than it provokes envy). I bought a better bike (albeit a second hand Cayo for £700) to motivate myself to get back riding after my son's cancer diagnosis. I then bought a really nice bike a year and a half later as a present to myself after we came out the other end of his treatment. It isn't just about thinking you can buy yourself speed.

michaelede

meanredspider wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

michaelede wrote:

I am a complete novice so treat my input with the contempt it deserves.

I did the Dartmoor Classic (107miles with 3000m+ of climbing) last weekend and was constantly amazed at all the people struggling on the hills on super light + expensive bikes (I also saw exactly the same on the only other sportive I've done, the Exmoor beast, again a lot of climbs).

Its called "All the Gear and No Idea" - they seem to think the way to get faster is to throw money at the kit ... completely ignoring that they actually have to get some practice riding the thing....

Some people just like having nice stuff - there's no harm in it (other than it provokes envy). I bought a better bike (albeit a second hand Cayo for £700) to motivate myself to get back riding after my son's cancer diagnosis. I then bought a really nice bike a year and a half later as a present to myself after we came out the other end of his treatment. It isn't just about thinking you can buy yourself speed.

I was definitely not being envious (or even critical) I just can't wrap my head around paying a lot of money for something (even if it is a small % of disposable income) and then using it inappropriately, if you struggle to get up longish steep hills why wouldn't you lower the gearing? Surely it wouldn't cost much? or do you think they are worried about what their mates think / what the mechanic in the bike shop will think who changes the cassette and mech? Is it a roadie thing? They can do what they want and that is fine but I can't help feel that they would enjoy it more if they had more options lower down.

Slowbike wrote:

michaelede wrote:

I am a complete novice so treat my input with the contempt it deserves.

I did the Dartmoor Classic (107miles with 3000m+ of climbing) last weekend and was constantly amazed at all the people struggling on the hills on super light + expensive bikes (I also saw exactly the same on the only other sportive I've done, the Exmoor beast, again a lot of climbs).

Its called "All the Gear and No Idea" - they seem to think the way to get faster is to throw money at the kit ... completely ignoring that they actually have to get some practice riding the thing....

Maybe but I did get the impression many where plenty fit enough (by the speed they subsequently flew past me at on the flattish bits) just they had the wrong selection of gears for what they were doing on the day. Serious question, do most of you with higher gear than me really use the top gears that often to push on past 60mph on the descents? (I assume that is the idea?) or is the idea to bimble along the flats at a low cadence?

meanredspider

I geared my bike to 33/30 for Alpe D'HuZes event (lowest I could go with 10-speed Di2)

But some people may not realise this. I have no idea the reason. Normally, in the Highlands, I wouldn't bother going below 34/28 and a 12-30 cassette certainly limited me on a gentle slope with the wind behind me. In NL I run a standard double with 12-23 - it's horses for courses.

ozzzyosborn206

how much climbing do you do on a average week? if you don't do much then you can't really expect to rock up to a sportive and fly up the hills, try and spend on ride a week doing hill reps, then you should adapt to them and get better. Probably no other reason, obviously losing weight will help but not always that easy

Mikey23

@michaelede... Wish i had had a 32! Coped with them all except that stoopid newly gravelled one. Got baulked and that was me stuffed...

michaelede

I almost had an off at the bottom of that climb, front wheel washed out in about an inch of gravel at the bottom of the climb, woke me up good and proper!

DeVlaeminck

Top 10% of any strava segment would be good if it were only people who were aware there was a segment there and decided to go for it. As it is the vast majority of people on the leader board were probably riding home from work, out to see a bit of the countryside, stopped for a piss half way through the segment etc etc. Any half decent rider will have a number of KOMs just through their everyday training without actually trying for them - the only ones that mean anything are the ones you know people target. As far as car strava results go - I don't think there are very many at all and they tend to get flagged straight away - some people really are very fast and get them with a tailwind on a TT bike or a bunch ride and you get some shockingly fast segments.

gubber12345

I think its all about pacing to be honest.i used to go at them at the bottom and try and spin up at 90-100rpm an blew up about half way, now I go up a few gears, drop cadence to about 65-70 and just plug away.now I find I can actually go up a gear at times and still have a bit in hand at the top.....and for good measure since I started employing this method I regularly beat my times on hills, maybe only a few seconds at a time but they're going the right way.

limoneboy

Thanks for all the reply's on this some positive some negative , i put in about 1000 meters a week climbing , too be honest i think i was been a bit hard on myself 3% was a bit of a under estimate its more like 6-7% i am ok at , the 3% average i ride is 14k long and goes up to horseshoe pass from Chester. i think its the sharp short ones i struggle with.

Also when a said tanking along at 32-35 i don't mean at top pace that's nearer 38-40

i have done dolomite climb so i am not completely s**t just not where i want to be , i agree more training is need maybe but my young family always come first, also i am not fat just athletic built never got my weight below 68kg and that was at 17 ! and club riding then , never worried about climbs then though :!:

OfficerDigby

There is also possibility that you are naturally s**t at Climbing ?

;-)

slowbike

limoneboy wrote:

so i am not completely s**t just not where i want to be ,

Ah - well, that's entirely different!! Very few of us are satisfied with our riding performance ...

jane90

I'm quite rubbish at climbing too but I'm a lot less rubbish than I was six months ago.

The most important reason for my improvement is a better power to weight ratio. I'm 3kg lighter and 70W better than I was last September. Surprise, surprise, I can climb a bit less slowly now than I did.

All the other stuff, the technique stuff, has helped too. Maintaining the correct cadence (appropriate gearing), staying seated as much as I can (I find it less tiring overall) and not going into the red, but managing my effort over the length of the climb (or climbs). But I think it's probably all marginal compared to the main factors of weight and aerobic fitness.

drlodge

I'll add too, that I have become better at climbing over the last two years, but its not all about speed and the first to in finish. I am never going to be a mountain goat!

- sure, I am quicker up the hills than I was, no longer the last person but more in the middle of the pack
- I can sustain climbing for a long long time, whether that's the Alpine type passes (moderately steep but very long) or the very steep & medium length climbs like in the Dales
- I can climb pretty well after very long distances, overtaking those who would normally be stronger than me when fresh.

You need to do 3 things IMO to get better.
1. Practice hills.
2. Practice hills.
3. Practice hills.

okgo

What is there to practice?

Its not a skill, its a mechanic of fitness, unless he actually can't get up the climbs (in which case pacing/gearing would be the place to look) then practicing is not going to make any difference. He needs to get fitter, or lose weight, both, or get a smaller gear...

drlodge

okgo wrote:

He needs to get fitter, or lose weight, both, or get a smaller gear...

So how do you get fitter or lose weight? Practice!!! Doing the same thing over and over again will make you better at it. Simples.