LarrySellerz

Hey guys, are there any hills around you that you walk up when you are feeling lazy or tired? I live on a crazy hill and usually walk up it when on my single speed even though I can make it up by zig zagging, feel kind of lame walking my bike though

rumrunn6

I've done it, even w/ a geared bike. it happens. I try not to. but there's no shame, if no one sees you ;-)

bironi

With an aging body I find no shame in walking a hill that is too much work.
I have the choice to suffer or not.
In my earlier years riding fixed gear I always challenged myself to see if I could make it up the hill.
Now even if I know I can, I'll often choose to cross-train instead.
I think I'll get more years out of my partial knee replacement as well.

TugaDude

Nothing wrong with walking when necessary. If you do it a lot and it bothers you, then a gear change might be in order I guess.

LarrySellerz

If you have a flip flop hub with two gears, say a 14 and an 18 would you have to mess with the chain to swap back and forth?

xroadcharlie

Nothing wrong with walking a bike up a hill, or on flat land for that matter.

While walking up a short, semi steep gravel trail I suggested to a man walking his multi speed bike up that he probably has a low enough gear to ride it. Turns out he was quite capable of riding up, But had been on the bike for many miles and just wanted to walk it up.

Even on flat land, I sometimes walk my bike. It just feels good after riding a while and I'm not in a hurry anyway. Then when I get back on I feel more energized.

sdimattia

There's no shame in walking. Especially if it keeps you from blowing your knees out.

veganbikes

HTFU Larry. Don't be a wimp if you don't ride a 60/13 up real mountains you are not worthy of riding a bike.

LarrySellerz

Dude I just got home walking my bike up the hill, it maxes out at close to 20% and im on a 42x18 and just can't do it.

Youre right though I need to HTFU, last weigh in was 263 lbs so the steep stuff is hard especially when carrying stuff

qwaalodge

There are ways to make steep climbing easier by changing a few adjustments on your bike.

for example, if you're coming up to a steep climb, stop at the side the of the road and make adjustments to the saddle, move it all the way forward and tilt the nose down. How much tilt depends on the gradient. For example, if you're climbing a 12% gradient, a nose down saddle tilt of 12 degrees more or less would be ideal.

It's going to be worth the adjustment for longer climbs. But at the end of the climb, you'll have to make stop again and restore previous adjustments to the saddle because a tilt down forward saddle can be uncomfortable in the flats or downhills.

TugaDude

Depends on how much adjustment you can get out of your fork ends. Personally I think that’s too big a difference. When were you suggesting you would change gears? Before the ride? During? There’s also the Surly Dingle Cogs with two cogs on one side as a possibility.

SalsaShark

I have never walked a hill that wasn't covered in snow

Bianchi pc

And this.


I see people all the time get off off and walk up Harlem hill in Central Park and that's only about a 4.5 grade - plus they are usually abandoning the attempt on a geared bike...

If your walking up a 20% grade that still sounds like good exercise to me...

Cheers

qwaalodge

I did the same thing but in a moss-covered road in a hill. It was raining nonstop for one week and the road had turned green and incredibly slippery. I even have problem walking.

Not only I walked the bike uphill, I also walked it downhill! Too dangerous to ride it on such very slippery surface!

xroadcharlie

There's a short semi steep hill near me that is good exercise for us seniors when walking up briskly. I've found even on my bike, The steeper parts take more effort to climb with my 21 gear inch sprockets then walking without the bike at a slightly slower pace.

It seems walking up steep grades is more efficient then on a bike. However, When we have the bike, It may be more comfortable to ride it up slowly rather then walk it if we have a low enough gear.

Hey Larry: My 21 gear inch low gear provides me with about 3x the mechanical advantage of a single speed bikes. But since there is only one challenging hill that I might ride, A single speed bike like yours would work well for me here too. I do like the simplicity of the single speed, But also like multiple speeds. I had a 3 speed internal hub as a kid and loved it. I'd like to try one of those today, perhaps one with the coaster brake. This way I still have a low gear for climbing, a tall gear to take advantage of a tailwind, and the clean look of a single speed drivetrain.

burnthesheep

There's a pretty fit looking under 30 year old appearing single speed commuter that takes the greenway by my house a lot and I happen to always be driving home while they are walking the bike up the 10% grade hill that heads out of the creek bed by the greenway up to their final destination. No shame in it at all. In good weather perhaps a good moment to look around and just enjoy the few minutes walk.

Rolla

I assume you ride alone.

79pmooney

That depends on your dropout. The wheel moves roughly 1/4 link or 1/8" per tooth added or removed. (As an example - say you change 4 teeth, 17 to 21. Two of those teeth are on the front of the cog with no chain on them. So the chain just got, in effect, the other two teeth shorter. Well, half of that is the top run of chain, half is the bottom. So the hub has to slide 1 cog or chain link compensate for the two links "removed". 4 teeth changed, hub moves one link or 1/2". Or teeth changed divided by 8.

The bike of my logo has a custom very long dropout. I can slide the wheel almost 2". 16 cogs. Well, almost. I can use between 12 teeth and 24 teeth without messing with the chain (if I have the length dialed in). A trick to getting the chain length right - use 1/2 links if needed. A 1/2 link is simply a 1//2" link with opposite "genders", ie outer plate at one end, bending in to an inner plate with roller at the other.

Without seeing your dropout or track end, I have no idea how many teeth you can change on your bike. I had a bike where I could barely get 2 teeth. Many bikes, 4 is not hard to do. Most track ends allow quite a bit more, I've never used them so I cannot help there,

Colorado Kid

Rode up some super nasty hills in VT once. Four miles long and very steep. Went to Stump Pulling Gears after that! Thank God for low gear!

Rolla

All of my singlespeeds are geared in the low 60 gear inches. I've never had to walk it up anything paved, although I know of several hills around here that I would have to if I tried them. On steep climbs on loose dirt, sometimes the rear will break loose and force me off the pedals. That's part of the fun, and gives me a chance to practice my CX bike-shouldering skills.

veganbikes

Boohoo. 63x13 up Alpé d'Huez all day every day with 50 lbs on the bike with three broken wheels (not on the bike just carrying them for fun). With a trail of females that I smoked going so fast I also probably left a couple pace lines behind me yesterday but I was going so fast I couldn't tell some cager cut me off so I beat him up and smashed his car and then did wheelies all over his eviscerated corpse.

LarrySellerz

bro go eat some tofu and come back when your ftp is above 300

veganbikes

My FTP is 500 for an hour. I crush entire buckets of tofu, bruh!

LarrySellerz

thats impressive, I blow up after several minutes at 500 watts

zandoval 

When you can cover faster distance by walking then pedaling then its time to walk. For me its at the 34:34. At that point if I run out of air I just go to my size 12D gear...