need help navigating hills

[Shakkmaster]

Hi. I'm a relatively novice rider, out of shape, and I need help. I usually ride about 4 miles to
the library along a kind of hilly area and I can't avoid them where I live. It takes about 15
minutes to get there and about 19 minutes to get back. I would like tips on how to make the trip
without having to get off the bike halfway up the hill and how to keep my butt from getting sore
along the ride. Thanks!

 

[Ken]

[email protected] (SHAKKmaster) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> Hi. I'm a relatively novice rider, out of shape, and I need help. I usually ride about 4 miles to
> the library along a kind of hilly area and I can't avoid them where I live. It takes about 15
> minutes to get there and about 19 minutes to get back. I would like tips on how to make the trip
> without having to get off the bike halfway up the hill and how to keep my butt from getting sore
> along the ride. Thanks!

1. get low gears so you can ride more slowly at a lower heart rate
2. ride more hours, which will get you in shape

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 01:26:02 +0000, SHAKKmaster wrote:

> Hi. I'm a relatively novice rider, out of shape, and I need help. I usually ride about 4 miles to
> the library along a kind of hilly area and I can't avoid them where I live. It takes about 15
> minutes to get there and about 19 minutes to get back. I would like tips on how to make the trip
> without having to get off the bike halfway up the hill and how to keep my butt from getting sore
> along the ride. Thanks!

Ride more. It does get easier, both on the legs/lungs, and on the butt.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | "What am I on? I'm on my bike, six hours a day, busting my ass. _`\(,_ | What are you on?"
--Lance Armstrong (_)/ (_) |

 

[One Of The Six]

"SHAKKmaster" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi. I'm a relatively novice rider, out of shape, and I need help. I
usually
> ride about 4 miles to the library along a kind of hilly area and I can't
avoid
> them where I live. It takes about 15 minutes to get there and about 19
minutes
> to get back. I would like tips on how to make the trip without having to
get
> off the bike halfway up the hill and how to keep my butt from getting
sore
> along the ride. Thanks!

Make sure you are in your low gear and also learn how to ride standing.

 

[Garyg]

"SHAKKmaster" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi. I'm a relatively novice rider, out of shape, and I need help. I
usually
> ride about 4 miles to the library along a kind of hilly area and I can't
avoid
> them where I live. It takes about 15 minutes to get there and about 19
minutes
> to get back. I would like tips on how to make the trip without having to
get
> off the bike halfway up the hill and how to keep my butt from getting sore along the ride. Thanks!

Assuming your bike has multiple gears, your "lowest" gear will help you get up the hill. You are in
your lowest gear when your chain is on the smallest chainring (in the front), and on the largest cog
(in the back).

Experiment with your gearing, and switch to a lower gear before you get too tired.

~_-* ...G/ \G http://www.shastasoftware.com Developers of CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

 

[Roberto]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 11:25:24 -0700, GaryG <garyg@shasta_SPAMBEGONE_software.com> wrote:

> "SHAKKmaster" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Hi. I'm a relatively novice rider, out of shape, and I need help. I
> usually
>> ride about 4 miles to the library along a kind of hilly area and I can't
> avoid
>> them where I live. It takes about 15 minutes to get there and about 19
> minutes
>> to get back. I would like tips on how to make the trip without having to
> get
>> off the bike halfway up the hill and how to keep my butt from getting sore along the ride.
>> Thanks!
>
> Assuming your bike has multiple gears, your "lowest" gear will help you get up the hill. You are
> in your lowest gear when your chain is on the smallest chainring (in the front), and on the
> largest cog (in the back).
>
> Experiment with your gearing, and switch to a lower gear before you get too tired.
>
>
> ~_-* ...G/ \G http://www.shastasoftware.com Developers of CycliStats - Software for Cyclists
>
>
>

Unless the lowest gear isn't low enough -- which is my problem. I'll just have to get in
better shape.

--
Bob M in CT

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

...

> Unless the lowest gear isn't low enough -- which is my problem. I'll just have to get in
> better shape.

Gettin in better shape is more fun, cheaper and better for you, but if it's getting to the point
where you don't enjoy riding as much, you can probably replace your rear cluster with one which has
larger big cogs for around $35, maybe less.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Bob M]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 16:28:43 -0400, archer <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> ...
>
>> Unless the lowest gear isn't low enough -- which is my problem. I'll just have to get in
>> better shape.
>
> Gettin in better shape is more fun, cheaper and better for you, but if it's getting to the point
> where you don't enjoy riding as much, you can probably replace your rear cluster with one which
> has larger big cogs for around $35, maybe less.
>
>

Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my freewheel (yes, I did say
"freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog, whereas the old one had a 24 tooth cog.
Honestly, I'd buy a tripple chainring racing bike, but I cannot afford it. The 27 tooth isn't bad
for the hills I'm riding -- at least I can sit when I want to; the 24 tooth cog was too much and I
had to stand.

--
Bob M in CT

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

...

> Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my freewheel (yes, I did say
> "freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog, whereas the old one had a 24 tooth cog.
> Honestly, I'd buy a tripple chainring racing bike, but I cannot afford it. The 27 tooth isn't bad
> for the hills I'm riding -- at least I can sit when I want to; the 24 tooth cog was too much and I
> had to stand.

I know the feeling. My current bike has a 52/39 front, and 28/14 5-speed (yes, five!) freewheel,
probably of similar vintage to yours. There is one hill near my house which I have to stand and pull
on the handlebars in the lowest gear to get enough force to go up one pitch. It's a great training
hill, even if it is short <grin>.

I have a 27-speed road bike on layaway, which I will pick up as soon as I get enough saved up
(probably September).

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[One Of The Six]

"Bob M" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...
>
> Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my freewheel (yes, I did say
> "freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog,
whereas
> the old one had a 24 tooth cog. Honestly, I'd buy a tripple chainring racing bike, but I cannot
> afford it. The 27 tooth isn't bad for the
hills
> I'm riding -- at least I can sit when I want to; the 24 tooth cog was too much and I had to stand.
>

I took an old 110 bcd mtb crankset, took off the granny ring (because I couldn't shift to it with
the deraileur I have) and am very comfortable on the steepest of hills and the longest of rides. It
has 34/48 rings in front and I have a 12/25 in back. I had the crankset and bought a new bb for $20
(and used the deraileur I had).

 

[Terry Morse]

Bob M wrote:

> Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my freewheel (yes, I did say
> "freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog, whereas the old one had a 24 tooth cog.

You can go lower for not much more money. Mounting a mountain bike rear derailleur will let you run
as big as a 34 tooth cog. New rear derailleur, new chain, new cassette, you're done.

You can play with gear choices here:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://www.terrymorse.com/bike/

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 20:48:18 +0000, Bob M wrote:

> Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my freewheel (yes, I did say
> "freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog, whereas the old one had a 24 tooth cog.
> Honestly, I'd buy a tripple chainring racing bike, but I cannot afford it.

Why replace the whole bike. The difference between a "triple chainring" bike and a "double
chainring" bike is the cranks. Most derailleurs work with either these days. You may also need a new
rear derailleur, but we are talking about less than $100 in parts unless you want to get fancy. Is
getting up the hill while still having a chance to breathe worth it?

--

David L. Johnson

__o | There is always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, _`\(,_ | plausible, and
wrong. --H.L. Mencken (_)/ (_) |

 

[Bill Davidson]

one of the six billion wrote:
> I took an old 110 bcd mtb crankset, took off the granny ring (because I couldn't shift to it with
> the deraileur I have) and am very comfortable on the steepest of hills and the longest of rides.
> It has 34/48 rings in front and I have a 12/25 in back. I had the crankset and bought a new bb for
> $20 (and used the deraileur I had).

I took an old Shimano Deore DX crank off an MTB I don't ride anymore and put it onto a campy
super-record BB and I shift it with a circa 1987 Shimano 600 front deraileur designed for a double.
It all works fine. My knees are much happier when I take on the big hills with the 28-26 instead of
the 42-26. The only problem is the rear deraileur (an old 7sp DA) doesn't take up the slack so well
but I wouldn't use the big-big or small-small combos anyway so it's not really a big problem. My
chain is too short for big-big and it flaps around on the small-small.

--Bill Davidson

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 20:48:18 +0000, Bob M wrote:
>
> > Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my freewheel (yes, I did say
> > "freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog, whereas the old one had a 24 tooth cog.
> > Honestly, I'd buy a tripple chainring racing bike, but I cannot afford it.

Try my suggestion explained below.*

> Why replace the whole bike. The difference between a "triple chainring" bike and a "double
> chainring" bike is the cranks. Most derailleurs work with either these days. You may also need a
> new rear derailleur, but we are talking about less than $100 in parts unless you want to get
> fancy. Is getting up the hill while still having a chance to breathe worth it?

With a newer, Shimano STI equipped bike, you'd need a new front brifter ($$$), probably a new front
derailer, and maybe a new bottom bracket, in addition to the new crank/chainrings and new rear
derailer. The rear derailer is probably the least important of these, if you don't mind avoiding
big-big and small-small.

With a Campy Ergo bike, all you may need is a new crank, and maybe a new rear derailer. There are
many arguments about whether Shimano or Campy is more upgradeable, but in this, most-likely
scenario, the answer is clear.

*In light of this expensive mess, a good solution for Shimano bikes is a new
110/74 crank w/ 34-48 chainrings, and a wide-range MTB cassette. All you need are these two parts,
and possibly a new BB. Look for parts on eBay (particularly Ritchey cranks), and you can
definately do it for less than $100.

Fortunately, the peloton police are more approving of triples these days. New bikes are available
with them, and don't need to be converted.

Matt O.

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> "David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 20:48:18 +0000, Bob M wrote:
> >
> > > Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my freewheel (yes, I did say
> > > "freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog, whereas the old one had a 24 tooth cog.
> > > Honestly, I'd buy a tripple chainring racing bike, but I cannot afford it.
>
> Try my suggestion explained below.*
>
> > Why replace the whole bike. The difference between a "triple chainring" bike and a "double
> > chainring" bike is the cranks. Most derailleurs work with either these days. You may also need a
> > new rear derailleur, but we are talking about less than $100 in parts unless you want to get
> > fancy. Is getting up the hill while still having a chance to breathe worth it?
>
> With a newer, Shimano STI equipped bike, you'd need a new front brifter ($$$), probably a new
> front derailer, and maybe a new bottom bracket, in addition to the new crank/chainrings and new
> rear derailer. The rear derailer is probably the least important of these, if you don't mind
> avoiding big-big and small-small.

If he has a freewheel (not a freehub), I'm sure he doesn't have STI.

....

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Bob M]

On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 15:53:27 -0400, archer <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>>
>> "David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> > On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 20:48:18 +0000, Bob M wrote:
>> >
>> > > Well, I ride a 53 and 39 front chainrings, and I did replace my
>> freewheel
>> > > (yes, I did say "freewheel"). My new freewheel has a 27 tooth cog,
>> whereas
>> > > the old one had a 24 tooth cog. Honestly, I'd buy a tripple
>> chainring
>> > > racing bike, but I cannot afford it.
>>
>> Try my suggestion explained below.*
>>
>> > Why replace the whole bike. The difference between a "triple
>> chainring"
>> > bike and a "double chainring" bike is the cranks. Most derailleurs
>> work
>> > with either these days. You may also need a new rear derailleur, but
>> we
>> > are talking about less than $100 in parts unless you want to get
>> fancy.
>> > Is getting up the hill while still having a chance to breathe worth
>> it?
>>
>> With a newer, Shimano STI equipped bike, you'd need a new front brifter ($$$), probably a new
>> front derailer, and maybe a new bottom bracket, in addition to the new crank/chainrings and new
>> rear derailer. The rear derailer is probably the least important of these, if you don't mind
>> avoiding big-big and small-small.
>
> If he has a freewheel (not a freehub), I'm sure he doesn't have STI.
>
>
> ....
>

Yep -- I have a seven speed freewheel on a bike with down tube shifters and an ancient bottom
bracket. When I last ordered a replacement bottom bracket, the guy asked me if I felt as if I was
"waddling" when I pedaled. Apparently, the bottom bracket is wide.

I personally wouldn't put any more money in my bike -- I'd buy new. For one thing, everything about
my bike is incompatible with today's bikes. I'd love to buy a new bike, but I'm saving to buy a
house. I think my present gearing is ok, and I should be able to make it to next year, when I
probably will buy a new bike.

--
Bob M in CT Remove 'x.' to reply

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 19:37:27 +0000, Matt O'Toole wrote:

> With a newer, Shimano STI equipped bike, you'd need a new front brifter ($$$), probably a new
> front derailer, and maybe a new bottom bracket, in addition to the new crank/chainrings and new
> rear derailer.

Not necessarily. Most now are double/triple capable.

The rear derailer is probably
> the least important of these, if you don't mind avoiding big-big and small-small.

But you should never set the chain so that big-big is too tight. When you are tired, you can make a
mistake and shift into that combination, and get a lot tireder walking home.

> *In light of this expensive mess, a good solution for Shimano bikes is a new
> 110/74 crank w/ 34-48 chainrings, and a wide-range MTB cassette. All you need are these two parts,
> and possibly a new BB. Look for parts on eBay (particularly Ritchey cranks), and you can
> definately do it for less
than $100.

Well, this would work, but you don't necessarily need the wide range cassette, which would
necessitate a high-capacity derailleur. You can get lower gears and use the double-designed
derailleurs by going to a 94mm MTB crank -- leaving off the granny. You could also use a 104mm 4-arm
Shimano crank, but that would definitely mean a new bottom bracket. The 94 allows down to a 30 inner
ring, though 32 is the smallest commonly supplied. Outer rings are as large as 48, typically.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. _`\(,_ | That is easy. All
you have to do is tell them they are being (_)/ (_) | attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for
lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any <country. --
Hermann Goering