Stopping midway up a climb, Gearing, technique, or fitness?

852Kompol

This probably was being asked a thousand times... but hey if its been answered a thousand times than it won't hurt if asked once more.

I am not a particularly strong climber, especially with anything over 10%

https://www.strava.com/segments/4449754

I have always been struggling up this particular climb, always stopped 2/3 or about 3/4 of the way up with a Heart rate beyond 180bpm... I ain't particularly slow even counting in the break in between finishing at just over 14 mins. But here's the tricky question, How can I make it up there without either stopping or my heart rate going crazy? or was I just ain't used to working out at such heart rate? should I get myself a 34t inner ring just for my hour of need?

Some information on the side :
I am 5'11" and weight about 74kg, current gearing is 52/38(Osymetric rings) with 11-28 at the back

wongataa

Lower gearing would obviously help. More practice would as well.

rolf_f

Yes - a 34 inner ring would be a good idea but you'll need a 50 outer to go with it. And a new crankset to fit them on unless you have one of these new fangled ones that can take both standard and compact.

imposter2.0

Appropriate gearing will get you up the climb. Improved fitness will get you up the climb faster.

dabber

How do you pace it? If you try and take the early part of the climb as easy as makes sense can you get up it without stopping (albeit slowly)?

jrich

Are you starting at the bottom in your lowest gear? You wanna just ease yourself into it gently, dont go charging in guns blazing...

Also, is there a medical reason which means that you've got to watch you HR? If not then don't worry about it! If you were to try running up that hill chances are you HR would get a fair bit higher.

Bottom line: if you're not falling off your bike sideways then you're not trying hard enough!!!

imposter2.0

The other thing to say is that quoting a HR of 180 is meaningless, without some additional reference to how close (or how far away) that is in relation to your HR max.

dinyull

Pacing. Without wanting to be a richard, it doesn't look that tough of a climb and the gradient isn't too bad either, so I'd guess your trying to blast up it instead of pacing yourself?

*ah, apologies. Just re-read your post and yes gearing.

mrfpb

I'd say gearing. Your BMI looks healthy so it's probably not massively related to fitness. If 180 bpm is your max, or near your max, then there's not much to be done about that, except go easier - so lower gearing, better pacing. Can you borrow a bike with lower gears to try out?

markhewitt1978

The gearing you have is probably forcing you to go too hard on the first half of the climb. But lower gearing is going to be the key. Get a compact crank and try again.

drlodge

As others have said, its down to gearing. But try taking it really easy at the beginning of the climb, keep your heart rate under 160 if at all possible and see how you fare then. You want to keep your heart rate as low as possible for as long as possible.

jrich

Not being funny but he's running a smallest gear of 38-28 and the hill is 6% and a constant gradient if Strava is correct. If you start out steady that should be perfectly do-able for the average cyclist. If you can spin up the first 3/4 sitting down you should be able to stand up and finish the last 1/4 - just take it really easy at the beginning, let the pain come to you.

webboo

You mention your heart rate being 180, what's your max. Climbing at your limit you might expect to be hitting it. Are you stopping because you think your H/ R is too high or are you keeling over.

Tom Dean

Instead of stopping, just keep going/pacing/ HTFU

852Kompol

Thanks for all the helpful replies folks, guess I need to give a bit more information on this.

The climb was pretty much a standing start climb with a roundabout at the bottom so you can't really carry any speed into the climb and I am literally into the smallest gear about 400m in keeping the power/HR steady(albeit raising for the Heart rate) and not up and down all the time. I am always seated throughout the climb.

The Profile of the climb is quite gentle for the first half and more sheltered /less wind the way up. the last 300 meters is a small descend & flatten out towards the end of the cul-de-sac, so the avg. gradient is not that helpful with this.

Rolf F : I am running those 4-armed Shimano Cranks, guess that can work with a 52t outer ring right?

My Max HR in theory should be about 195(given I am 25 yrs old that's the number right?) I have closed to that number before (189 bpm) but that's on a much shallower climb with a fast group.

Webboo : I literally stopped just afraid the HR is running a bit high and let it drop below 160 before I am off again.

imposter2.0

I would ditch the hrm until you know what it is telling you - unless you have a true hr max to go by, then it's just useless. Also, hitting your max hr (whatever number that is) will not harm you, assuming you are generally healthy.

mamba80

All lower gearing is going to do is allow a higher cadence (or go slower), the HR will be the same for the same exertion, the climb isnt long enough and your young and light so forget about the gearing, its a red herring.

You dont know your max HR (220 - age is useless) and it sounds as if you are stopping because you think you ll have a coronary if you keep going? so unless you ve a reason to think this........so if you have too, ease your cadence down a notch and keep going.

and stand up when the climb steepens

jrich

You're only 25?! In that case I'm revising my previous answers to MTFU.

Ditch the HRM, put it in the lowest gear and, in the immortal words of Nike..... Just Do It !!!

markhewitt1978

852Kompol wrote:

My Max HR in theory should be about 195(given I am 25 yrs old that's the number right?) I have closed to that number before (189 bpm) but that's on a much shallower climb with a fast group.

There is no max number except the one that is personal to you 220-age can get you within say 10bpm but your max is the one that *you* measure simply by going at your max.

Webboo : I literally stopped just afraid the HR is running a bit high and let it drop below 160 before I am off again.

LOL. A classic case of the cycle computer getting in the way of the cycling then . High HR won't hurt you, your body has limiting functions which is why a max HR is a max HR don't be afraid to go up to your rev limiter, you only need to stop if you physically cannot turn the pedals over any more, you can't see the road because you're blacking out or that you've just fallen off your bike through exhaustion. Certainly never because your HRM is putting up numbers you don't like the look of, indeed if you're going hard enough you shouldn't be able to read your screen

napoleond

Fitness.

Alex99

852Kompol wrote:

This probably was being asked a thousand times... but hey if its been answered a thousand times than it won't hurt if asked once more.

I am not a particularly strong climber, especially with anything over 10%

https://www.strava.com/segments/4449754

I have always been struggling up this particular climb, always stopped 2/3 or about 3/4 of the way up with a Heart rate beyond 180bpm... I ain't particularly slow even counting in the break in between finishing at just over 14 mins. But here's the tricky question, How can I make it up there without either stopping or my heart rate going crazy? or was I just ain't used to working out at such heart rate? should I get myself a 34t inner ring just for my hour of need?

Some information on the side :
I am 5'11" and weight about 74kg, current gearing is 52/38(Osymetric rings) with 11-28 at the back

So, you're stopping on the cilmb, but you could carry on. Why are you worried about going over 180 BPM?

If you want to keep your heart rate lower up the climb, go slower, or get fitter (which requires that you train a lot with elevated heart rate )

Alex99

852Kompol wrote:

This probably was being asked a thousand times... but hey if its been answered a thousand times than it won't hurt if asked once more.

I am not a particularly strong climber, especially with anything over 10%

https://www.strava.com/segments/4449754

I have always been struggling up this particular climb, always stopped 2/3 or about 3/4 of the way up with a Heart rate beyond 180bpm... I ain't particularly slow even counting in the break in between finishing at just over 14 mins. But here's the tricky question, How can I make it up there without either stopping or my heart rate going crazy? or was I just ain't used to working out at such heart rate? should I get myself a 34t inner ring just for my hour of need?

Some information on the side :
I am 5'11" and weight about 74kg, current gearing is 52/38(Osymetric rings) with 11-28 at the back

Don't Osymetric rings equate to a lower tooth normal chainring?

roger_merriman

don't worry about the heart unless there is something to worry about? we are all different a friend of mine in his 40's heart runs fast 170 ish once on a ride. he did get it checked out, but it's just what his heart does.

38-28 should be enough for that climb but people do differ some need to spin, others like myself can roll up hills at low cadences.

I think your over thinking this to be honest.

maryka

Joe Friel had a good article on pacing TTs (which is what this is, an individual effort). Basically the first quarter should feel "easy", in the sense that you feel like you should be working harder, not that it's actually really easy. Then the second quarter you keep steady and that easy feeling should turn into a more steady/hard feeling. The third quarter is about keeping that going, not letting it drop. Should really be starting to feel hard now. Then the final quarter is whatever you have left, lifting your effort if you can.

You can swap to a 36T inner ring which is known as a semi-compact crankset, it will work fine with your 52T and you won't need to do anything with your chain length.

Sounds like your issue is pacing, going out too hard in the first quarter/half. Go and ride it forcing yourself to hold back for the first half and see how that goes. If you are working too hard with the 38T to be holding back, then get the 36T inner ring.

For those saying MTFU, I do have to laugh... everyone was an unfit non-cyclist once upon a time (or multiple times in your life if you've had a major injury or other reason to be off the bike and start over), how quickly you forget especially when you only joined Strava once you got fit and decent at it.

CRAIGO5000

I'm 35 and max out at 197bpm.

You need to get appropriate gearing. 53T in 2016 is so silly.
Fitness and climbing technique are things to certainly work on. You'll be surprised how hard it is to hold back at the start of a climb and slowly ramp into a pace that is not only constant, but achievable for the duration of the climb.

Blow up at the start, and you're done in terms of getting a PB.

VamP

Will it stop being silly in 2017?? I wouldn't want to sell all my doubles only to have to get new ones next year.

CRAIGO5000

omg I keep running out of gearing all the time when I'm desending at 40+ mph for hours on end and cba to aero tuck.

Said no one. Ever...

I've never heard anyone moan about being too quick up a hill because they ran out of gears on their tiny compact crankset.

So either you bought the wrong gearing on all of your bikes. You're a slow pro rocking an FTP of a measly 6w/kg. Or you're saying that climbing hills on 53/39 gearing is a perfectly acceptable way to go about improving your climbing technique?

napoleond

Wtf is 'climbing technique'

Im sure it's a term created to click bait sportive riders into looking at an article or to buy a magazine.

You ride your bike in a way that's comfortable to you.

Bottom line is, it's fitness.

Did my climbing technique improve when I lost 10kg and got a lot fitter? No. But I got a lot faster.

CRAIGO5000

What is climbing technique?

The ability to not slam into a huge gear and convince yourself this is the quickest method as your legs fill with lactic and your heartrate spikes when you know there's about 15 mins left.

Or knowing the incline you're about to undertake will require you to go through a 5% grade before it eases and then ramps up to 20%. Your technique here being not to splurge 150% of your FTP in the first 400m.

I race, and I'm only offering my thoughts and they are quite obvious and easy to understand thoughts. Spinning a compact crankset up an incline at 90rpm is going to create less lactic than pushing a 39 at 70.

So what's your plan when you're about to climb? Seriously - I'm intrigued. You just go ahead a smash away until it's over? Kudos.

VamP

Dude, you're hilarious.

There's no magic cadence. Use whatever gear works for you, but don't go round telling the world you've cracked some miraculous 'climbing technique'.

If I can keep below threshold on a 20% incline with a 39 then why would any kind of blowing up be likely? And the cadence is really rather irrelevant.

53T silly in 2016. Chuckle.

napoleond

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

What is climbing technique?

The ability to not slam into a huge gear and convince yourself this is the quickest method as your legs fill with lactic and your heartrate spikes when you know there's about 15 mins left.

Or knowing the incline you're about to undertake will require you to go through a 5% grade before it eases and then ramps up to 20%. Your technique here being not to splurge 150% of your FTP in the first 400m.

I race, and I'm only offering my thoughts and they are quite obvious and easy to understand thoughts. Spinning a compact crankset up an incline at 90rpm is going to create less lactic than pushing a 39 at 70.

So what's your plan when you're about to climb? Seriously - I'm intrigued. You just go ahead a smash away until it's over? Kudos.

That's not 'technique'. It's just riding your bike within your fitness levels at an appropriate pace.
As for generating 'lactic' then that's a red herring.

As I said, you ride at a cadence that's comfortable. On the flat in a TT I'm comfortable at around 75-80. In a track race nothing happens under 120. I climb hills on how I feel, sometimes I spin, sometimes I mash. It's how I feel. There's no magic bullet.