Arsbars

I need hill help... major hill help. First off I have never liked hills (I'm a sprinter.) I took off the past 2 months, just riding 2-3 times a week, nothing hard or anything. I've noticed my climbing skills have just began to SUCK majorly.

I need advice in getting back into it, and to improve.. anyone ??

Thanks guys

dexmax

if you're are sprinter, you must me used to pushing hard gears at a very fast pace...

In hill climbs, try using the easier gears.. And maintain a cadence of about 80-100rpm.. I don't think going over 100rpm would be a good idea.

F1_Fan

Like anything else, practice.

As a sprinter you've gotta worry about climbing in too big a gear which would likely be your preference. A cadence of 80-90 rpm is good start. Incorporate hills into your training schedule in the same way you would intervals (number of hills, intensity, etc).

The number one thing is to relax. Hands on the tops, arms and shoulders should be totally relaxed. Pedal smoothly and in circles. I find after long hill training that my pedal stroke in much smoother on the flats. When climbing you've got time to practice.

You should keep a flat back (don't hunch over) as your butt muscles anchor in your lower back. Keeping a straight back ensures you get the maximum power from those muscles.

Don't stand unless you need to stretch. And if you do stand, shift a gear or two higher to maintain speed, shift back when you sit back down.

NZLcyclist

Unless it is a very steep hill where you HAVE to get out of the saddle......I have an 800m hill climb event this weekend and boy oh boy it is steep. Not even I, the king of spin, can spin up the first section in a 39x25 and its only like 50m, if that! plus 2 cattle stops...and wheel spin...very fun! but indeed, learn to spin at 80-100rpm on the not so steep hills.

Brendon

Arsbars

thanks guys!

BlueDevil

<Newbie advice advisory> I have been at it (road biking) now for about 6 weeks (had done extensive mountain biking before that). A good roadie friend of mine, gave me a hill climbing strategy that seems to work great for me.

I start up a hill, in a gear that I can keep a descent cadence (say 80-100rpm). On any long hill, I can keep this going for a while, but without a doubt, I eventually start to slow down. At the point where my cadence gets too slow, I shift one gear easier, to get back to my 80-100 rpms. I can usually keep this pace up for a while, but again, usually start to slow. Here is where things get interesting- now, I shift harder 1 gear (in back of course), stand up, and start to gain my momentum again, while standing. Once I build a quick cadence in the original, harder gear, I sit down, and maintain this speed as long as possible, then repeat the process.

It was hard at first, but now, I can climb all day doing this, and it gets me up the hills a little quicker.

-BlueDevil

SamDaBikinMan

Always start a long climb in much easier gearing than you need. This will save you from burnout and fatigue in the last miles. You can certainly shift into harder and faster gears if you feel like it but be careful not to overdo it as there is virtually no easy spinning on a seriuos climb to recover.

Short climbs less than 1/2 mile in didstance can be approached similarly but start easy and shift up as you see the crest of the hill coming. Doing this I can often maintain my speed I was carrying on the flats to limit the pace drop to 2 mph and sometimes I do not slow down more than 1 mph if I really attack the hill.

When training for them find a hilly route and ride easy recovery pace except on the hills. Attack all the hills ans use DH and flat for enjoyment/recovery.

The Toninator

I don’t got hills to train on so i practice on building leg strength and endurance.
Here's my philosophy (seems to be working)
Push a major gear out of the saddle at a reasonable cadence and elevate cadence as strength and handling improves. It's all about challenging your heart.
I do 1-mile loops on a very flat surface.
1 lap standing 53/12 75rpms (moderate heart rate)
1 lap sitting sprint 39/15 108 rpms (max hr)
rest 1 lap
2 laps standing same as above
1 lap sit (same)
rest
2 laps stand same gear 85 (elevate hr)
2 laps sit (same gearing and rpm as above)
rest
repeat 3 more times
then later in the week i'll try to do a full session standing 8 to 10 laps hardest gear medium cadence.
Application:
When climbing find a gear and cadence that challenges the heart but doesn’t push you over your LT. Sit easy spin in easier sections stand in harder. Stand to rest sit to push away. Stand sprint to push away from pack.

OWN the hills attack them with everything you have when training on them. Don’t let them defeat you before you even start on them.

Ray Huang

I used to be a very good climber and I would train with almost everyone heres advice!! I would train in an area with lots of hills and lots of variety and I would climb each one different. SOme I would sit and spin, and others I would hit in the big chain ring and attack it standing up till I couldnt stand anymore-then sit and spin-then attack over the top again with as much speed as I could muster for about a 1/4 mile. Then huff and puff till I recovered!!

If your a spinner-then spin at a fast cadence and keep your chest open so you can get maximum oxygen. if you clib out of the sdalle-make sure your force is directed into the pedals-not the handlebars. A lot of bigger guys will grunt and make all kinds of useless movements, swaying back and forth, swinging the bike in an attempt to get to the top-not realizing that their just burning energy. Relax the arms and put the power to the ground!!

I do think the major thing is to keep pushing yourself harder and harder, especially if you are planning on racing or just enjoy the effort. YOu know in a race-if you dont attack the hill-someone else will so you gotta be ready for the acceleration.

As they say-nothing ventured, nothing gained.

deliriou5

i noticed on a morning ride today that my heart rate doesn't go up until 15-20 seconds into the climb.... i think it's a good idea to get your HR up by spinning a bit before you start the climb so that you're not going anaerobic on the way up.

sch

Read an article once in Bicycle mag (!) by one of the American euro pros on hill climbing. For training purposes he said that his coaches recommended climbing longish hills in relatively high gears (as distinguished from riding up hills in races or on non training rides) such that a cadence in the 50-60 range was all you could do. The resultant high torque strengthens the legs and increases power. I think the idea was 0.5-1.0mi hill 5-7% grade so you could keep going but to stay in the low cadence as long as possible. This is NOT something you do early in the season or frequently, say 1-2x/wk after your conditioning and base are solid. Otherwise you use the methods already described by prior posters for non training purposes. As a sprinter he should have no trouble spinning at 80-100 rpm up hills. Steve.

firebolt

Is it a bad thing or a good thing? I think that's a good thing, no?

spinner5339

How often should you do hill climbs? Once a week? or more frequent?

deliriou5

well you want to get the blood flowing to your legs before you start demanding serious output from them so that you can get good gas exchange. if you have a sudden burst of speed, you're most likely gonna go anaerobic and build up lactate in your legs, which over the course of several climbs will really take a toll.

monte

How often should you do hill climbs? Once a week? or more frequent?


I just got done reading Lance's training book and C. Charmichael says that you should spend as much time on an aspect of riding as you need to improve. So the book recomends hills for a week, then sprinting for a week and so on. He says the shotgun approach is not very successful. I have been riding for less than a year and i now can destroy hills. On a hill week i will go to this nice one mile 6-7 grade hill and do it 10-20 times ina day. One day i will do power climbs in the big ring, and the next day small ring and spin. I ride with people that have ridden a long time, and I drop them on climbs, granted they drop me everywhere else, but oh well.

firebolt

All my rides, except to work, have hills in it. They are around 10 miles down the rides, so I think I warm up my legs pretty good before the climb. I try to keep my HR around 75-80% at the base of the climb and let it rises steadily (up to 90% with no problem). I take any opportunity to recover during the climb, and avoid any action that can cause sudden increase in HR, which WILL leave you gasping for air. Before I got a HRM, that happened to me all the time and stopped me on track (ohhhh, the humiliation ). With HRM, I can better regulate my air intake, so to speak, and conquer the hill..... and even drop a couple in the process Also, mentally, I am fighting with my HR to keep it low, not with the climb itself. It makes the hill a lot more bearable. Works for me.

bac

That's good advice, Firebolt. I just statred using my HRM again, and now I can pace myself much better. As a result, I end up doing the climb faster, and with less effort. Without the HRM, I tend to crack like an egg half way up the big, steep hills!

firebolt

Yeah, and what surprised me was that I could climb the hill I never thought possible right after I could pace myself using HRM. So, it's not like you have to train for months with HRM before you can do it.

Snowblower

I know how you are feeling. I live in Lake Tahoe California where we have some of the most brutal hill climbs in the country. When I first started riding I couldn't climb anything. I wanted to get better on the hills so started out riding small hills (<3%) for short distances. I worked hard but didn't beat myself up. Do not try to climb too much too fast. About every three weeks add to the ride by finding a steeper/longer hill to ride. If you are unsure about the hill go drive it in a car first. If you kep this up in a season or two most hills will be a piece of cake to climb.

Snowblower

Code Monkey

i only got into cycling about a week ago and i've never liked hills... but when i read this thread (plus tips on hill climbing on the Internet) a couple of days ago, i now look forward to hills... i try to get off the saddle at the beggining of the hill... i do that till i start to feel the burning then i down shift and sit down for a while and do it all over again when my legs recover...

rippo

i just visited Tahoe for the first time last weekend, and was eyeing that Kingsbury Grade (didn't bring my bike). didn't see any cyclists on it, and it sure looks steep. does anyone do that and survive? it would probably take me two days and a lot of walking to get up that hill. perhaps next year.

Snowblower

Rippo, not to scare you off but Kingsbury doesn't even make the top five climbs near the lake. From the lake side it is approximately 1,600' vertical to the top (7,325'+ elevation). From the Carson Valley side a little tougher (approximately 3,100'+ vertical). The Carson Valley side works out to be 7.4% for approximately 8 miles.

Here are some other climbs for comparison:

Carson Pass is 7.6% for ten miles than changes to 6.2% for the remaining 11 miles. Yes, that is 21 miles of climbing!!! Pass elevation 8,600'+.

Monitor Pass, the "flat part" is 7.6%, but does increase to 10.3%. This spans over 14 miles. The backside of Monitor is easier, 8.1%-8.4% over 13 miles. Pass elevation 8,300'+

Ebbetts Pass, which I think is one of the toughest climbs around. 7.6% to 10% over 15 miles. The killer, the last 3 miles @ 12%+. Pass elevation 8,700'+

Mt Rose, 6.5% over 14 miles. Climb is from 4,700'+ elevation to the summit (8,900'+)

If you didn't pick up on it, notice that the other climbs are 1,000'+ higher to the summit than Kingsbury. Much longer too. Now you have something to look forward to.

Snowblower

rippo

well i'm reading this first thing in the morning, just before tackling what i thought were some hills. i'm not sure if now i'm inspired or completely demoralized. :/

on second thought, i'm inspired. if the Kingsbury grade - which looked like hell - is considered a mere warmup by some, then there's hope for me. thanks for the info, Snowblower! i'll definitely bring my bike next time.

Snowblower

Don't get discouraged. Up until a couple of years ago I wouldn't of ridden any of these grades even if you paid me!!!! I use to look at them and think why would anybody want to suffer so much to gain so little??? Now I understand completely. Save my user name and the next time you are heading this way I can give you some areas to ride that are beautiful and scenic but won't torture your legs too bad. Just remember, when you come up from sea level you have the altitude factor to address too.....

Snowblower

Bikesick

I Just got back from my Saturday group ride. After doing a nice prolonged climb, we were discussing how to climb (shoulda been before the climb - don't ya think!? ..ha!). Anyway, the key is to totally relax your upper body and focus on your motor (from the hips down). Nice spin. Concentrate on full 360-degree, smooth pedal strokes. Pick a fairly high cadence and stay with it. Push yourself a bit, but not so that you break your spin and start pumping your upper body. Your whole upper body, right down to the grip on the bars, should be relaxed and still. One dude says that he relaxes even his face - to the point that he drools (sounds crazy, but this guy is a former national champ so I think he knows what he's talking about).

If you do this consistantly, you'll get better. Mostly, it takes wheel-time! If you want to climb hills better, you gotta be out there climbing hills consistantly. That's how you get strong.

...an interesting discussion anyway