i can not do hill climds

scarthie99
scarthie99 Posts: 209
edited October 2011 in Road beginners
i got cannondale super six 105 bike it 3 week old and the bike has 20 speed.i had Corratec XVert-1 Mountain Bike which was 27 speed i use to go up hill easy on the mountain bike.but its hard to go up on my road bike.if get Triple chainset i know i have to change the Front Mech as well.ps help i be out today it be a nightmare have to get of the bike push up 3 hills it soul destroying.only info please :P

Comments

  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    edited September 2011
    Well there's nothing wrong with the Cannondale. Get some road miles in your legs first
  • Gizmodo
    Gizmodo Posts: 1,928
    I had exactly the same problem when I started cycling 8 weeks ago. I'm 44 years old, I haven't been very fit or physically active since I was 18 years old. I have spent the last 2 years going through Chemotherapy which I finished in June this year.

    8 weeks ago I bought a bike to get fit. I started with 8 then 10 then 12 mile routes. For the first 2 weeks I had to get off the bike to climb steep hills.

    Now after just 8 weeks I am doing 35 mile routes 3 times a week including over 1000 feet of elevation. I can't say I find it easy, but I don't have to get off and walk any more.

    Don't waste your money on a triple, it won't make it that much easier. Stick with it, pick flatter routes for a while and you will be able to do it in a few weeks.

    How many teeth does your front 2 cogs have (for example 50/34)? That will tell us whether you have a "Standard" or a "Compact".
    Summer - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team
    Winter - Trek Madone 3.5 2012 with UDi2 upgrade.
    For getting dirty - Moda Canon
  • Omar Little
    Omar Little Posts: 2,010
    Rather than changing to a triple set yourself little goals - like find a particular hill that you cant get up at the moment, remember where it is on the hill you have to get off - then next time try and beat that. You will be able to see the improvements quite quickly and be making it to the top without stopping
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Heart and lungs
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • scarthie99
    scarthie99 Posts: 209
    the bike has FSA Gossamer Pro BB30, 50/34+Shimano 105 5700, 12-27, 10-speed
  • Gizmodo
    Gizmodo Posts: 1,928
    That is normally considered a Compact (those with more experience please correct me if I am wrong). That's a lower gear ration than my Standard which is a 52/39

    Keep at it, good advice from "Omar Little", you will get over it (the hill that is).
    Summer - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team
    Winter - Trek Madone 3.5 2012 with UDi2 upgrade.
    For getting dirty - Moda Canon
  • Casbar
    Casbar Posts: 168
    Change the "d" for a "b" and that should solve your problem ...LOOOOOL

    Joking aside, I agree with all who say that you need to get used to riding a road bike. Its just different and you will get the hang of it soon. There is a lot more getting out of the saddle on steeper hills etc

    Have fun
    exercise.png
  • Stiff_Orange
    Stiff_Orange Posts: 218
    scarthie99 wrote:
    the bike has FSA Gossamer Pro BB30, 50/34+Shimano 105 5700, 12-27, 10-speed

    On a triple the inner chainring (Granny) is usually 30 teeth, so it's not going to make a lot of difference.

    You could put on a 11-28 cassette, but again not a very great improvement.

    My guess it that you used to spinning up hills on the MTB with a ratio of less than 1:1 i.e. one complete revolution of the crank turns the wheel less than one revolution, but on road bikes it would be unlikely to get such a ratio.
    The only real way to improve is to ride more and get stronger on smaller climbs first.
  • MountainMonster
    MountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    In the great words of MTBers, MTFU. Road bikes are alot harder to go up hills as you normally don't have such smaller ratios to turn everytime, and less gears. The training is well worth it, but don't bother with a triple. The fitness will come eventually, and you will be flying up the hills!
    My London Road
  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    50-34 compact and 12-27 cassette should be good enough for all but the steepest stuff around! As I said very early on - there's nothing wrong with the set-up, you just need to work on your road fitness levels.
  • Roobsa
    Roobsa Posts: 37
    I'm not built for climbing (front row rugby player) so I find them particularly hard, however the best advice which has already been said is just get the miles in your legs.

    The first long ride I went out on had a hill towards the end of the ride that beat me the first time I tried it. I had to get off and walk. That was 1 month ago. Last Sunday I decided (after actively avoiding said hill) to tackle it again and I managed to get up without as much pain as I was expecting. I've beaten the hill 3 times this week so is now a definite addition to every future ride around that area. It hurts and I still crawl along at a snails pace, but beating that hill for the first time was a great feeling.
  • Duffer65
    Duffer65 Posts: 341
    I'm a fat(ish) f*ck and I find hills a bit of a chore to say the least...but I'm making it my goal to attack them and get over them. Maybe not the first time, but I keep going back to the hills that have beaten me until I've got over them. It's fun in a masochistic kind of way :twisted:
    Where would you be if you fell down a hole?.. Stuck down a hole... in the fog... Stuck down a hole, in the fog, at night... WITH AN OWL!
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    Omar Little wrote:
    Rather than changing to a triple set yourself little goals - like find a particular hill that you cant get up at the moment, remember where it is on the hill you have to get off - then next time try and beat that. You will be able to see the improvements quite quickly and be making it to the top without stopping

    I'd go with this, make it fun at first and just enjoy getting fitter.
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • gmacz
    gmacz Posts: 343
    You do not seem to be enjoying the bike.
    Fit the triple and enjoy your cycling.
    Eventually you will not need it due to fitness, until that time, fit it and enjoy.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF7qtyrtq9M
  • Bowden2017
    Bowden2017 Posts: 40
    Join your local club. Those Sunday rides will make you improve so quickly. Best thing I did. I have no fear of hills now and I have'nt been last to the top for a while now.
    Forget the triple, just keep at it.
    Cube Agree GTC SL
    Trek 1.2
    Old custom MTB
  • Garz
    Garz Posts: 1,155
    Stiff_Orange wrote:
    scarthie99 wrote:
    the bike has FSA Gossamer Pro BB30, 50/34+Shimano 105 5700, 12-27, 10-speed

    On a triple the inner chainring (Granny) is usually 30 teeth, so it's not going to make a lot of difference.

    You could put on a 11-28 cassette, but again not a very great improvement.

    My guess it that you used to spinning up hills on the MTB with a ratio of less than 1:1 i.e. one complete revolution of the crank turns the wheel less than one revolution, but on road bikes it would be unlikely to get such a ratio.
    The only real way to improve is to ride more and get stronger on smaller climbs first.

    Good call.
  • LongIslandTom
    LongIslandTom Posts: 51
    Many years ago my right knee's anterior cruciate ligament was injured while playing football and it required surgical repair.

    My physician specifically warned me NOT to mash pedals while climbing hills lest I reinjure my knee. Ain't no way I'm going to use a 12-27 cassette to get up hills on my Ultegra-equipped 50-34 compact double.

    So I put in an SRAM 11-32T cassette on my road bike, and my lowest gear ratio (small ring and big cog) is 34 / 32 = 1.06. Very close to 1-to-1 ratio, and I don't have to mash my pedals and abuse my injured knee to get up hills.

    The Shimano 105 5700GS rear derailleur can handle a 32T cassette, if the derailleur hanger on your Cannondale Super Six's frame is long enough.
  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    A gearing of 34-27 should allow spinning rather than mashing of pedals on all but extreme hills.

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