How do you tackle a hill?
- Thread starter nashy_88
- Start date
Well being used to a MTB and a granny ring in my roadster it gets tackled in 1st gear basically 95% of the way, i sit unless i know there is no chance im gona get up without uping the power so i get outta the seat and its stompin on the pedals.
Then i stay in 1st for a while once im up the hill basically praying to recover quicker.
Then i stay in 1st for a while once im up the hill basically praying to recover quicker.
Jeffonyourleft said:At 215 pounds, I dangle a cupcake off the front of my helmet and try to catch it!
hahahahahahahahaha
kbs23 said:mix of the the two. I like to attack standing up in a high gear gain &speed into it, switch into a lower gear and ride from the seat. Its an estimation game for me some I win, some I lose and losers walk
That's me. I prefer to attack and get it over with, then drop a gear or two when I reach the summit and spin for a minute to get my wind back. Much like when I used to run, I attack the climbs and spin the descents. The sooner I get up that hill, the sooner it'll be over!
I carry as much momentum as I can going into the hill, then only focus on my front tire and not the top of the hill and keep my butt on the seat. When I feel my pedal speed dropping, I down shift, then eventually get to a point where I've reached my ideal hill climbing gear (2 front, 4 rear), then stand and grind it out till the top (while calling myself all kinds of weakling names). I normally take the same route over and over again, so I have those hills figured out now. Strange hills would probably take the same approach and adjust my gears on the fly. I really try to stay seated for a majority of the hill. Just depends on if I'm trying to break a trip record or not. I usually am though.
Stand up and sprint the whole way up! I go faster up hills then I average on flats
However I am under 2 pounds per each inch of height!
However I am under 2 pounds per each inch of height!
I like to sit and spin it out (no granny here), but as I reach the top I like to stand add a gear (sometimes two if my LA isnt about to make my legs explode) and push myself over the edge with just enough force that I can fly like no other down... oh yeah, and then do it again, and again, and again...
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the only way i can, in as small a gear as possible. i stay with a group for about a mile or even a mile and a half, after that i start slipping back. im not what you might call a small guy, im 6' and 167.5lbs. ive never been a climber, and probably never will be. one thing ican do is sprint, ive only ever done well when the race was relativley flat and fast. i do keep trying to improve my climbing but a lot of the time it feels like im losing the battle.nashy_88 said:
When I'm climbing I'm usually in the sattle. Every once in a while I'll stand. I'm also in my small ring and depending on how steep the climb it depends the gear in the back rings. I'll also power my way up hills alot of the time. It makes it more challenging and from my prospective it makes it easier too.
High cadence with a steady pace. Once you have the crest in site, stand up and explode over the top - destroying your buddies. There's plenty of time for recovery on the downhill. Make sure to keep pedaling and don't get lazy and coast.
Pineapple has the type of technique I agree with.
As for riding up hills on a 17 or 19, you can keep that. I had a 21 until recently and made a reasonable fist of it. Now I have 23 on the back and spend a lot of time in it on the hills.
I was watching the local commentary for the time trial in the TDF this year, and an ex pro said they would generally ride Alpe D'Huez on a 21 or 23. I can't imagine a mere mortal like me getting up there on anything under a 27, without a bit of walking. Then I haven't seen the hill in the flesh. Maybe 29 is more in order?
As for riding up hills on a 17 or 19, you can keep that. I had a 21 until recently and made a reasonable fist of it. Now I have 23 on the back and spend a lot of time in it on the hills.
I was watching the local commentary for the time trial in the TDF this year, and an ex pro said they would generally ride Alpe D'Huez on a 21 or 23. I can't imagine a mere mortal like me getting up there on anything under a 27, without a bit of walking. Then I haven't seen the hill in the flesh. Maybe 29 is more in order?
I'd say the 'average' rider here wouldn't be getting up the Alpe on anything lower than 39/27.Lance went up with a 23 fitted in this years TT and the grinder himself , Ulrich , probably was 21 or 23 too.
To get up in a reasonable time without rupturing your knees you probably want a 30t but Shimano dont do those for standard road cassettes.
Break out the granny or get compact cranks if you plan to do some of the European monsters.Imagine realising you dont have a low enough gear on something like the Madeleine , 30km HC climb!
To answer the question , before i bought my new roadbike i used an MTB with slicks to ride the roads of the Pyrenees.I pretty much stayed in the saddle all the time up climbs and spun it fast in a very low gear - kinda depressing watching the suspension forks flexing over small bumps then realise how much energy you were wasting.
Now with my roadbike that seems to be twice as light and has fixed forks i can push a higher gear - but not as high as i thought.I'll be adding compact cranks and an 12-27 cassette (bloody shop sold it to me with a useless 13-25 block) and even then if i was to be in the saddle all day in that type of terrain i'd consider trying to get hold of a cassette with 30t sprocket on the back.
As for climing position on the roadbike , i still try to stay in the saddle but find honking it to be so easy due to the lightness of the bike.
Honking on an MTB with bouncy forks was a really bad idea but now i feel like i can honk half way up some of the tough climbs : seems less strenuous than sitting down.Kinda weird.
To get up in a reasonable time without rupturing your knees you probably want a 30t but Shimano dont do those for standard road cassettes.
Break out the granny or get compact cranks if you plan to do some of the European monsters.Imagine realising you dont have a low enough gear on something like the Madeleine , 30km HC climb!
To answer the question , before i bought my new roadbike i used an MTB with slicks to ride the roads of the Pyrenees.I pretty much stayed in the saddle all the time up climbs and spun it fast in a very low gear - kinda depressing watching the suspension forks flexing over small bumps then realise how much energy you were wasting.
Now with my roadbike that seems to be twice as light and has fixed forks i can push a higher gear - but not as high as i thought.I'll be adding compact cranks and an 12-27 cassette (bloody shop sold it to me with a useless 13-25 block) and even then if i was to be in the saddle all day in that type of terrain i'd consider trying to get hold of a cassette with 30t sprocket on the back.
As for climing position on the roadbike , i still try to stay in the saddle but find honking it to be so easy due to the lightness of the bike.
Honking on an MTB with bouncy forks was a really bad idea but now i feel like i can honk half way up some of the tough climbs : seems less strenuous than sitting down.Kinda weird.
since im on a mountain bike with semi road tires i spend most of the time on the saddle spinning a mid to low gear in the back and the small ring int he front. my front fork is way too soft so i loose alot if i try to stand and psuh harder up anythign so spinning works for me, slow and steady..
On small hills, I get my speed up before hitting it, and once on the hill, I tend to stand on it and take it aggressively. I only shift down when I start to lose my cadence. On really long hills I take my time sitting on the saddle and spin in a low gear. I'm not affraid to get off if it becomes too much. I'm not a pro rider. The longest I've ever done is Smugglers Notch on, Rout 108 the Mountain Road, here in VT. Only walked once and for a short distance. Managed to tackle most of it on the saddle. Some intermediate hills I do a little of both. (saddle and standing). I do try to stand up on steep hills but usually just end up on the saddle.
I am forcing myself on the short steep hills to stand. I have one hill that is realitively short and steep. It seems that if I stand and keep a higher gear or try to sit and spin up it that at the top I have the same heart rate. Since I go up much faster standing I do that now.
Long hills are a different story. I usually sit all the way unless there is a lot of change in gradient, then I will stand to keep my momentum up.
Long hills are a different story. I usually sit all the way unless there is a lot of change in gradient, then I will stand to keep my momentum up.
Maybe if you had a triple front ring. Then it is hard to balance because you are going so slow.spacefuzz said:
If you are interested in keeping a good pace up a climb, I think you have to stand when the gradient changes. If you are just interested in making the climb then you can spin.
With my little psuedo scientific experiments with my heart rate monitor it seems I can go up a climb with about the same effort if I stand to keep my pace up periodically and maintain a much faster pace.
However if I bonk and go anaerobic then I am in survival mode and I only stand if I have to.
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