Allegheny Jet

All you guys claiming to have the slowest climbing speed. I call B. S. and don't believe you.

ModeratedUser150120149

OK, at what point does one point to the engine as primary? At what point does one point to the gears? I can get over the hill but I definitely am straining on the long or very steep hills.

I'm very definitely in the experiment stage. But, if different gears would help improve speed....

billydonn

Well I have been known to draft off of dog walkers when the grade gets to 3 percent! !

Allegheny Jet

OK Nebraska gets a pass. How about the wind?, not much different than a really long 3% climb.

BikeWNC

Well yeah, the engine is the primary factor that will determine speed. So now you have these techniques so you need to increase volume or intensity to improve. It will take time but improvement happens with training.

big john

Different gears would help if you don't have a low enough gear now. Everyone is different and you may see two riders climbing at the same speed in far different gears. Some are mashers and some are spinners. It's generally suggested to spin as much as possible and this will help train your muscle memory and save your knees.
I also think if you have a gear that is low enough for your body it won't help to go lower, but it's nice to have a low "bail out" gear for when you are gassed.

cyclinfool

I use my 12-25 when doing the normal club rides. However there are a few rides my club will do that I will switch to the 11-28, these are ones I know that the group will go fast and there will be some wicked climbs - like the Mt Greylock ride - ~70 miles with 3 big climbs, one being Mt Greylock which is 2800'. The 16-27 has limited usefullness, if I were doing a long climb which had a variety of grades than the 16-27 is good because the spacing is tight. The problem is it spins out really quickly so you have to shift chain rings a lot. I don't keep the 11-28 on because the spacing is broader. When riding the flatter terrain my optimum power/cadence is narrow. I would use it for A level club rides where I know the group will tackle some steep BMF hills. However they still kick my butt.

cyclinfool

If you find yourself lugging the engine early with no lower gear left and a lot of hill to go then you need a lower gear. However, to climb the hill faster you need to work on the engine & possibly the body weight. If you can climb the hill faster your cadence will increase.

LesterOfPuppets

I utilize visualization when I climb. One of them is to remember taking T-bar ski lifts back in the day. I look towards the top and imagine I'm on one of those. Another is to imagine I'm on an old-school rollercoaster and my chainring's teeth are linked into the teeth of an imaginary rollercoaster rack (rack and pinion type of rack in the middle of the track).

Back in the day I could get around with a 42x23 with ease, even do OK with 42x21. Then for a while (the lazy years) I could barely scrape by in a 42x28. Now I'm getting to where a 42x25 is acceptable for most hills. Hopefully soon I'll get a BB for the 53/39 crankset I have and I'll be set for any hill around here.

Oh, and I find the longest cranks I can comfortably spin on the flats work best in the hills. Hills seem just a little easier on 172.5. I can climb like a mofo on 175s, but can't bear spinning that big a circle on flats or downhills. If I lived in a flat place, I'd run 170s on the road at all times.

stapfam

I can remember some of the rides I did in my earlier days of riding and the hills used to kill me. Those same hills are taken with just a slight drop in pace now so I can conserve my energy for the steep ones.

And a hill tip for once it is done. Do not stop at the top of one. Ride over the top- even if you are out of breath and the legs are killing you. Once over the top "Silly Spin" for a while to get rid of the lactic acid build up- if that is one of the problems- and keep going. Within a short while you will have recovered but if you have to stop- do it on a flat part or once the legs have recovered.

cyclinfool

Be careful here - a longer crank length allows you to apply more torque but does not increase you output power (unless your pedal stroke is more efficient). Output power is torque times cadence. You need power to climb and that comes from the engine. If you plan to spin up a hill - use a smaller crank, if you are mashing a longer crank may be easier but will make your spin more difficult and you may need knee replacement soon:

Reference: https://www.cptips.com/crnklth.htm

LesterOfPuppets

Indeed. There's a super steep 30 ft section around here that I can get up on 175s but I'm incapable of getting up it on 170s. I'd hate to run around on 175s on the road bike all day, however.

ahsposo 

Here's an old thread I just saw referenced About being slow

When I finish slogging through the Thread that Never Ends in a couple of years maybe I can read it.

ModeratedUser150120149

Well...I went to a hill yesterday that starts at about7% and rapidly increases to 11.5%. I rode a few miles before going up the hill then did it twice before heading home on rolling 5-8% hills. I made all the hills but had to use a lot of mashing and was tired. Cadence got down in the mid-50s toward the end on the steepest hill.

This particular hill is pretty typical of what I have to ride. Except for one that isn't quite as steep but is 6 miles long.

Today I went to the LBS. Seems I have 12-25 cassette gears. I ordered an 11-28. I'm told with that setup I should get up hill with energy left for the next one instead of being slowed by simple fatigue. Around here hills propagate like rabbits!

I'm anxious to see what difference the new rear gears makes.


Oh yes, I should acknowledge that with a big enough engine gears don't matter. But, realistically while my technique will definitely improve since I'm a near newbie my cardiovascular and leg strength will only make marginal improvements. So, proper gearing may well pay large dividends.

ModeratedUser150120149

Thanks. Among other similar posts this led me to the trial yesterday and the parts order today.

billydonn

Hah! We do actually have hills here... just not the ones that go on for miles and miles. Hills are especially prevalent in eastern Nebraska. And wind, Lordy we have that in great abundance for sure. So my slowness is not due so much to lack of training environment. Bodyweight (getting better, thanks) and being a relative newbie are the source of my vertical slowness. One does not correct these things overnight... but we do what we can.

Red Baron

https://vimeo.com/groups/velovimeo/videos/4796923

ModeratedUser150120149

I think that was posted earlier. Anyway, I've seen it and learned from it.

KD5NRH

...and don't notice the bungee cord you've lassoed their seatpost with and hooked to your stem.

cyclinfool

L-65,

I came across this material yesterday when searching for something else. I had read this about a year ago and forgot about it. It reiterates a lot of what was said by the hill climbers in this sub-forum. There are a few contratictions but everyone has a slightly different style. It's a good read:
https://www.cptips.com/climb.htm

donheff

+1 I am a lousy climber but I think you have it right. I usually try to gain a ton of speed approaching a hill so I can fly up as far as possible. Then I spin fast up the rest and am maxed out when I crest the top. I assume more of the same would help but so far it still leaves me breathless at the end and hating hills. Yesterday, my wife and I went out with some friends who are not regular riders and I stayed with my buddy to lend encouragement up a hill that usually leaves me huffing. I was riding quite a bit slower that usual and crested the hill below my threshold and ready for more. I am going to practice this still of ascent in the future.

billydonn

Due in part to my extreme uphill slowness, I have had lots of time to study hill behavior and characteristics and would offer the following observations:

1. The unfamiliar hill is a dangerous hill.
These things are just terribly hard to judge by sight. They can fool you. Some of them look difficult from afar but are really fairly tame. Others look like they aren't difficult, but they then provide a wicked surprise. There are hidden nuances to most hills that are not visible until you have ridden up them. Even a drive up in a vehicle usually does not reveal these.

This means that an early charge up an unfamiliar hill is frequently punished with great pain and suffering. Even a Tombay experience is possible. Advice by BikeWNC and others seems appropriate in this regard.

2. "Rollers" can be fun.
These are hill-like protuberances that can be powered up without great loss of momentum, and momentum carried into them does last awhile. Great fun and feelings of competence come from these, but mistaking a true hill for a "roller" only leads to heartbreak.

1a. Experience with a hill improves climbing.
A few goes at a specific hill lets you know when to attack and when to counterpunch or defend.... knowing where the top is is a good thing too.

3. Tight curves on bike trails are awful.
People who design these should be shot without trial.

ModeratedUser150120149

Yep, like I posted above physics is physics. That means that someone like me, all other things being equal, will never be able to climb beside someone whose body type is more suited to the sport. But, all other things are seldom equal so I have a chance to be the best I can be, primary goal, while not delaying others I'm riding with, secondary goal. Note I didn't mention anything about competing with others. At this point in my life I only compete with myself.

The rest of the article is a nice compendium of thought on climbing techniques.

CraigB

Different gears, when mentioned in the context of climbing, never improve speed.

CraigB

I've found that as a general rule, the worst place to look at an upcoming hill (i.e., the vantage point from which they look the worst) is the top of the preceding hill. In my own experience they look much steeper and/or longer when viewed from higher up. Once you're at the bottom and starting to climb they don't look so bad. Doesn't mean they aren't bad - they just look a little less daunting.