Different types of hills

[nickyboy]

Tekker depends on how long the effort is

More than about 3 minutes....seated, riding at threshold

Less than 3 minutes...out of the saddle, beyond threshold

and don't underestimate the effect of where in a long ride the hill is. I live on a 16% 300m hill. In itself it's no problem. But at the end of a long, hard ride it's a real struggle

 

[Ajax Bay]

the age old technique of getting a run up.
Chucking a quick sprint on the flat leading in, then holding it for the first third of the short ramp gets you well up it with minimised effort

A quick sprint on the flat, if there is one, just before the bottom of a climb will result in one reaching lactate threshold that much earlier on the hill with net negative performance effect. Kinetic energy of bike and rider (gained by work as opposed to downhill, with a good proportion of the work wasted against (air) frictional drag at those higher 'sprint' speeds) converts rather poorly to any potential energy advantage. So this approach is only worth it for a very small/short ramp, and even then you're better waiting and putting the power on as the gradient starts. YMMV.

 

[Doyleyburger]

Hit all the hills in the 'big dog'..that'll make you stronger



Sort your gearing out so you've got at least a 32 at the back to help your cadence. But as most have said, you will improve with practice anyway

 

[Heisenberg71]

A quick sprint on the flat, if there is one, just before the bottom of a climb will result in one reaching lactate threshold that much earlier on the hill with net negative performance effect. Kinetic energy of bike and rider (gained by work as opposed to downhill, with a good proportion of the work wasted against (air) frictional drag at those higher 'sprint' speeds) converts rather poorly to any potential energy advantage. So this approach is only worth it for a very small/short ramp, and even then you're better waiting and putting the power on as the gradient starts. YMMV.

Agree, but I did refer to a "ramp" [type hill]. For these type of hills I would regularly lift the pace a bit leading to a ramp, gain some extra momentum whilst flat then throw a bigger cog in and spin my way up. Works for me. However clearly a "climb" is a completely different bag of onions. Wasn't the OP referring to his hill as "short sharp climbs" [ramp type]? I think we're saying the same thing really, aren't we?

All hills are there to be enjoyed. It could be worse, we could live in Holland, or even worse, Norfolk.

 

[BEHMOTH66]

Cadence is not the issue - the issue is your relative ability to push the pedals at the appropriate cadence. Which is a fitness issue.

He is a rugby bloke which means we tend to be quite big up top I'm 15 1/2 stone and 6'1" I have all that extra weight vs gravity. Simply if your a bigger bloke the harder it is to climb

 

[cookie2]

Core exercises. Every push of the pedals needs a solid platform to work from.

 

[rugby bloke]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. No excuses then, loose the lard, improve the core and getting climbing. Nothing that can be done about the short, sprinters legs though !

 

[Citius]

I'd put core work a long way down the list - riding your bike will give your core all the workout it needs for cycling.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. No excuses then, loose the lard, improve the core and getting climbing. Nothing that can be done about the short, sprinters legs though !

Short legs are an advantage for cycling up hills, because it means you can use a smaller (and hence lighter) bike. I wish my legs were shorter, but I'm 6'3" with leg length in proportion, which means a larger, heavier bike, and more work needed to get up the hills. I love cycling up hills, though, so just kept practicing it until it became easier.

 

[Citius]

Short legs are an advantage for cycling up hills, because it means you can use a smaller (and hence lighter) bike. I wish my legs were shorter, but I'm 6'3" with leg length in proportion, which means a larger, heavier bike, and more work needed to get up the hills

I'm not sure if you've thought that through properly...

 

[Dec66]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. No excuses then, loose the lard, improve the core and getting climbing. Nothing that can be done about the short, sprinters legs though !

I think you can sum it up even more concisely than that... Ride more, especially up hills.

You'll never be a "grimpeur", and it'll always hurt... But eventually you'll get up them a bit quicker and not be so wiped out at the top.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I'm not sure if you've thought that through properly...

That's a very unhelpful response. Would you care to elaborate?

 

[Ajax Bay]

Would you like to be the same weight but with shorter legs so you can ride a smaller sized and very slightly lighter bike? Consider. How much weight saving (bike + rider - %) is a smaller bike going to offer. Don't you value the longer levers and stronger legs you've got (to move your massive frame around)?

 

[Citius]

That's a very unhelpful response. Would you care to elaborate?

Certainly can. Smaller people are lighter and smaller bikes are lighter. Taller people are heavier and bigger bikes are heavier. None of that takes into account the relative power that either rider is capable of producing. If any of that were true, all of the world's top climbers would be midgets and celebrated 'tall' climbers like Indurain, Gert-Jan Theunisse or Robert Gesink would never have got a look in...

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Certainly can. Smaller people are lighter and smaller bikes are lighter. Taller people are heavier and bigger bikes are heavier. None of that takes into account the relative power that either rider is capable of producing. If any of that were true, all of the world's top climbers would be midgets and celebrated climbers like Indurain, Gert-Jan Theunisse or Robert Gesink would never have got a look in...

Thank you, that makes more sense. Any idea what proportion of the best climbers are tall? I'm not arguing, just curious, because I always thought my height was a disadvantage for climbing.