the hills are killing me



cous i hill

New Member
Jul 5, 2011
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had a lay off road cycling and finding it murder on the hills does not help when your 100kg but i like weight training do not weather to go for a triple or a new 10 speed cassette any ideas or just grit teeth and carry on
 
Just like weight training cycling is a sport that needs you to become conditioned to it's stress. Take some time to get into shape then go from there.

Options available to you are many like a 10 speed compact double or triple crankset. Variations of 8 and 9 speed are also available. Once you are in shape you will have a better idea of what you need.

Welcome to the forums and good luck to you cycling.
 
There's no way around the physics--hills suck if you're heavy. Granny gears make them tolerable, but you have to remember that those pro riders who are doing 15-20 MPH up hills all weigh about a buck-fifty and are riding a 14.9 lb bike. My bike and I weigh about 215 lb with full water bottles, and I haven't walked a hill in over a year, but I'm not going to win any races. That, and my heart is pounding and I'm often sucking wind at the top of the steep or long ones.

Jason
 
I have two on my regular rides, one I have overcome. The other used to be a five rest stop
climb, now it is one. I think I can do it non stop, but there is a two lane bridge at the top
and I don't want to get in the middle of the bridge and find I have to stop. So I take a short
break at the end of the railing where I can get off the road safely.

Most of the lesser ones are just shift down one and keep pedaling. The wind is still my
biggest enemy. Solid fifteen mph easterly this morning knocked three mph off my regular
average speed. 11.9 where I am at 15+ most of the time.

It just takes time.





This one is just under a mile BTW!
 
Originally Posted by cous i hill .

how long will it take until the hills become easy they are still murderrrrrr

You asked the question on the 8th of July and now you're asking the same question 4 days later!

Your climbing isn't going to improve within 4 days unfortunately. An earlier poster says that physics will always win out. 100kgs climbing uphill is the issue pure and simple.

You need to try to be patient and work at improving your climbing through regular uphill spins. Losing weight/muscle is your issue.
If you can lose some of that weight/muscle, it will help you climb better for sure.
But even then you still have to get used to climbing anyhow.

There is no shortcut. Patience and commitment is needed. Get some very low gears on your bike and just pedal using the lightest gear you can.
As your climbing improves, you will graduate to heavier gears and then you will get up the hills more quickly.
But for the moment work on just getting over the hills. Then when you achieve this work on getting over the hills faster by using a heavier gear!
 
It took me nearly a year to get to the point I could take on any hill and know
I could do it. Some times I still stop and take a break, it is not a race, it is
a goal.
 
sorry about that one more question if i change my cassette or went for a compact chainring what other changes on my bike would i need to do . i have a 16 speed barracuda nothing special but it is smooth and quiet
 
I have only hills and mountains here. They are killing me now that the temperature index is 106 F. I am over heating rapidly on climbs but these are the cards I have been dealt . Weight to power ratio is always the key to climbing and mixing up your training routine is a big help. Long rolling miles to eat away at the weight and short intense intervals on short climbs to build power.
 
Originally Posted by cous i hill .

sorry about that one more question if i change my cassette or went for a compact chainring what other changes on my bike would i need to do . i have a 16 speed barracuda nothing special but it is smooth and quiet

The cassette (at the rear wheel) is dependent upon the chainset setup (at the pedals). Best to check with your local bike store before buying a new rear cassette because not all cassette
fit the chainset setup.

You might consider getting a triple chainset = this will give you even more gears to choose from.

I still hold the view that it is the engine on the bike, not the bike, which is important. Try to practice your climbing in as comfortable a gear as you can manage. Let your body become used to
pedalling that gear. This takes time but gradually you will see your system adjust and your climbing will improve.

I hate climbing. I'm tall and big framed. I hate climbing and I know I've to work at it because if I don't I lose whatever climbing ability I have.
It's always a work in progress.
 
I have to agree with others here that patience and consistent peddling are the rule for building strength for climbing. 20 years ago I used my Ross Gran Tour with it's 12-spd double crank and climbed all hills without stopping. All of them, including one 5-mile-long monster. Some are steep, and some seem never to end, such as those that appear to top out, only to continue after a very short semi-leveling. These days, since I'm way out of shape and 50lbs overweight, I can't get up most of those same hills with a triple crank, even on my very-low-geared recumbent.

Last year I used my mountain bike all summer and finally, at the end of the season, I was able to ride all the way up a nearby hill at the end of my ride just before getting back home. Practice and patience is crucial. You're using muscles that you don't always use for this, and using them in ways that you don't normally use them. In the end you'll prevail, and then it will start to get easier. I recommend doing your hill ride about once every three days, so you have time in between to recover fully. Muscles will not, under any circumstances, grow until AFTER they fully recover, so it's imperative that you give them time to do so, especially at first. Otherwise, your progress will be infinitely slower. Also, during off-season times, I'd recommend doing some weight training to strengthen your legs. Leg presses, curls, with variations of each will benefit you greatly, and you'll be stronger at the start of the riding season to boot.

Enjoy the ride above all....Mike
 
If hills are tough and you want to get better at doing them, ride more. Don't try to make them easier, per se, make yourself better at it instead. But yeah, it was nailed pretty early: watts per kilogram is the ultimate limiter.
 
thanks for the advice i am trying to get out on my bike every other day because i also like my weight training that's why i'am 98 kgs at 5ft 8ins but i know i will get there in time i will look in to that gearing and price it up i was thinking of buying a new boardman compact any way not yet thou what's your view on them.
 
If it makes you feel any better, the hills just about did me in today. Of course, that's mostly because 1) I haven't ridden in a month and 2) it was dang hot out today--93ºF with a 106ºF heat index. I've never drank that much Gatorade on the particular loop I rode. I had two 22 oz. bottles with me, and I was over halfway through the second when I got done. The only reason I didn't drink more was that I felt a little full/nauseous and didn't want to be making pavement pizzas. Normally I might not even make it through the first bottle on this route (it's only 17.5 miles, but it's in and out of a creek valley 6 times on short but steep hills--over 12% on a couple of them).

Jason
 
The key to hills is you need to learn to LOVE them. My theory is that every hill you ride makes you better* so every time I see a hill coming up I look at it as a challenge, a chance to see where I am compared to the day before, etc etc all sorts of faux-inspirational bull.

Bottom line is if you make yourself look forward to doing battle with the hills, it's a lot more fun. Even when they do kick your ass.


* - probably not actually true