Do hills get easier?!

[RegG]

My rides over the last few weeks since getting back into cycling have been mainly on the level. There is one ride I like that involves some moderate hills though. I have now done this ride a few times but the hills still seem hard. I am using my gears but still seem to struggle but not to the extent I'm walking up! Do they get easier in time? Some encouragement for an oldie would be welcome

 

[PhilDawson8270]

It doesn't get easier, it just gets faster.

 

[ianrauk]

Yes. Though... no..

They don't get easier, you just get quicker going up them

 

[Crandoggler]

It doesn't get easier, it just gets faster.

Absolutely. The better you get, the faster you'll go.

They will absolutely never get easier. Your perceived effort will always remain the same, unless of course you do exert less effort.

 

[Markymark]

Not sure that's strictly true.

Yes, you'll start going up faster but as you become more experienced you do become more used to it and your legs recover quicker. You also get better experience of which gears to be in.

 

[mwktar]

[QUOTE 3850187, member: 259"]Yes, they do get easier, but human nature being what it is, you will probably find yourself working just as hard when you get fitter and more used to them, as you will want to go up them faster.[/QUOTE]

+1 this - in a way they will, but you'll always be giving it that best possibly effort (it's just you'll be getting more bang for your buck when you do )

 

[Dave7]

My rides over the last few weeks since getting back into cycling have been mainly on the level. There is one ride I like that involves some moderate hills though. I have now done this ride a few times but the hills still seem hard. I am using my gears but still seem to struggle but not to the extent I'm walking up! Do they get easier in time? Some encouragement for an oldie would be welcome

You say you are "an oldie"............can I ask you for specifics
Do you know what your gears have i.e. are you on compact ? How many teeth do the smallest & largest cog have at the back ?
Reason I ask is that I am an oldie (68) and just got back into cycling this year. At the back I have 11-28 teeth and this is just not enough for me........so I am changing to 11-32 which will make some 14/15% difference and should (I hope) be sufficient for me.

 

[slowmotion]

I've only been back on a bike for six years and have always found hills hard but they do get a bit easier after a while. What I do is try and ride up the same hills each weekend but drop to a higher gear every month or so. Obviously there's a limit to how far you can take this technique but I can ride up some of them with more than half a cassette to spare. To begin with, I was walking or gasping with no more gears to drop down to. Just practice. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Dayvo]

Yes! The older you get, the less inclined (pun) you are to go up them.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Basically, no.

 

[Deleted member 35268]

I was thinking the same today, as I rode up Pishill ( I have another name for it)

At first I would get almost to the top, 4 years later I can always do it, but it is never easy, never a doddle.

 

[lee1980sim]

They get easier..



On the way back down

 

[Hacienda71]

Relatively as your fitness improves, yes.

 

[snorri]

Do they get easier in time?

Yes they do, but only for a few years, then they get harder again

 

[Dayvo]

Yes they do, but only for a few years, then they get harder again

Yeah, but you're a lot older than most of us!