Do you hill climb at your lowest possible gear?

[wafter]

The "correct" answer is to select the gear that best suits your favoured cadence at an output pedal force / crank torque you're comfortable with.

Special circumstances notwithstanding (such as negotiating rough terrain out of the saddle when you want a bit more control through the pedals) the purpose of gears is to allow you to match the changing road speed to your consistant, most comfortable crank speed and torque input.

In practice it's perhaps a bit different as you may not have a low enough gear to maintain ideal cadence at an acceptable load on steeper hills, or you might want to go with a lower than "ideal" gear, get out of the saddle, put in some real effort to attack the hill and grind your way to the top. You might also choose a combination of these over the course of the climb.

The only way you'll know is by getting out there and trying it

 

[HLaB]

I like to start in a lower gear which gets me started, then change up. But keep things moving which might mean changing down

 

[Ming the Merciless]

A hill could be anything from a slight 1% up slope but going on for miles or a 30% sufferfest thats goes on for 400m or so.

How hard you are working is a mix of how hard you pushing the pedals and how fast you are turning those cranks. So it's possible to turn a big gear slowly or a small gear faster and be working about the same. I don't really pay attention to exactly what gear I'm in, either I want it easier so select a lower gear if possible, or it's too easy, so I select a higher gear. As above if you find your legs / knees really straining then you want a lower gear.

I have a triple with a wide range of gears, the granny ring doesn't get used that often but when it does it's a leg saver. Usually at the end of a long or tiring ride when you just don't have the fresh legs to get up the hill in a bigger gear.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Try to figure out what cadence feels best for you. We're all different and we all prefer to turn the pedals at different rates
Then, always try to select a gear that allows you to pedal at that cadence be that uphill, downhill or on the flat

Nickyboy has got it absolutely right — cadence is king. He has the luxury of living in glorious Glossop near Snake Pass and other serious hills to sort out his climbing technique. Try and find a long hill with variable gradients not too far from home: North or South Downs, Chilterns, Cotswolds, Mendips etc. should all oblige if you study the map closely. Then spend a day doing a long-hill tour; try different gears, learn to change gear on the slopes, discover how to use the lesser slopes to recover for the steeper ones within the same climb. Three or four days doing this, spread over a month or two, should make you into a competent climber. Then book up next summer's touring holiday in the Dauphiné or the Massif Central, you will never regret it.

 

[boydj]

I try to keep a gear in reserve when I'm on longer hills, but if the legs need it, then bottom gear it is.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I change gear to suit my usual cadence or the power I wish to maintain. Using my lowest which is usually 28, is quite rare

 

[DCBassman]

Need 'em all and use 'em all. But less than I did, so, progress of a sort!

 

[Lovacott]

A bit of a silly question but when you hill climb are you just meant to use the lowest possible gear or do you not have to resort to the lowest possible gear but e.g. 3rd lowest gear? Any other tips on hill climbing would be appreciated.. I'm not that great at hill climbing and find myself out of breath a lot of the time but I'm in good shape and young

When I first started out and just before I started a climb, I'd shift to the smallest ring on the front and also select the smallest ring on the back (which is a no no according to most on here but it works for me).

I'd then push myself up the hill and only drop down further on the back when I physically couldn't make my legs work anymore.

A few months ago, I was doing hills on the lowest gear combination, and now I am doing them five rings up.

I've now dropped the smallest ring on the front and I've shifted to the second ring before I start a climb.

Whatever combo you use, you will expend roughly the same amount of energy getting up the hill so your fitness will be tested (and it will improve as a result).

If you cycle regularly, everything will get a little bit easier with each ride and that includes the big hills.

 

[Aravis]

When I face up to a steep hill, my only objective is getting up it in reasonable comfort. Speed is not a consideration; others will have different objectives.

With my current setup, the smallest ring is a 24, and the three biggest sprockets are 21, 24 and 28. When riding up steep gradients (insofar as anywhere I voluntarily route myself can be described as that) I use the 21 and 24 routinely, but rarely the 28. I may not have used the 28 at all this year in anger, though it's important to engage it from time to time to be confident it'll work when needed.

If I've chosen to route myself somewhere where I expect to need the 28, generally I'll move to it a a predetermined time based on analysis of the profile. Sometimes I feel we have too much information available far too easily.

 

[Ridgeway]

The decent climbers i ride with seem to prefer spinning at +100 cadence at the beginning of a climb and then settle down as the climb progresses. For long climbs (here that's 5-25km with ave 7%) then i find it impossible to stay seated constantly and need to stretch my legs out of the saddle every 5-10mins or so, before doing so i always change down a gear being coming out of the saddle, some times even 2 gears, then grind for a few metres before settling back down again. I'm using a compact cassette and soon run out of gears, that click "oh f..k" feeling isn't great when you know what's up ahead

 

[HLaB]

The decent climbers i ride with seem to prefer spinning at +100 cadence at the beginning of a climb and then settle down as the climb progresses. For long climbs (here that's 5-25km with ave 7%) then i find it impossible to stay seated constantly and need to stretch my legs out of the saddle every 5-10mins or so, before doing so i always change down a gear being coming out of the saddle, some times even 2 gears, then grind for a few metres before settling back down again. I'm using a compact cassette and soon run out of gears, that click "oh f..k" feeling isn't great when you know what's up ahead

In my youth I loved that technique. Now it tends to be start at a cadence/ pace I know is sustainable on a long climb.

 

[RichardB]

A long time ago I was given this advice. It's a bit crude, but it may work for you:

If your legs are OK but your lungs are bursting, your gear is too low - change up.
If your legs are hurting but you are not out of breath, your gear is too high - change down.

 

[oreo_muncher]

I've silly ultra low gears, so I only need to use my first gear at +20%.
Even then I'll get to the top of the hill with my breathing almost normal.
But my aim is not to get to the top as fast as possible but to climb using as little extra energy a possible.
If you're running out of breath then you're working at/above your maximum sustainable power output.
But how you can save energy on a climb depends a lot on your style, sitting vs standing.
But it normally involves changing down one more gear so you can climb slightly slower.
As you get more cycling fit then your max sustainable power output will increase and you'll climb hills faster.

Luck ..........

I do it sitting So I'll just magically get better through practice? I'm better than I was at the start but think I am still not that great.

 

[oreo_muncher]

If you are young and only weigh 50Kg ( in my books thats a featherweight if you are male) you sound like you have the basis to be a master hill climber. You say you are in good shape but you can be in good shape as a normal everyday person but dont actually have cycle specific "good shape". How long have you been regularly cycling? under a year?. I am in good shape for a older cyclist but crap shape for lifting heavy things. I recently started in the gym weights room after a 3 yr lay off and I am rubbish compared to the other guys. I know however that I need time and practice to get back to heavier weights probably months if not year or more. You just need the same probably, time and practice. I would suggest going down the gym and squatting and some bent leg dead lifts but opinion can be divided on whether that is a good idea for improving climbing ability. My personal opinion is it may help.

I'm a female. I got my bike on the 22nd of july 2020, I cycle quite regularly- 3-5 times a week. I really don't want to pay for gym membership because the cycling is already expensive enough- with kit, accessories, maintenance etc.

 

[oreo_muncher]

For me it depends on the hill.
If its a shortish but steep climb that I know I will mash up on the big ring(front) if it's a longish drag I'll hit it in 4th or 5th then drop down as I feel my cadence slowing.Anything above 15% and longer than a few yards and I'm in 1st or 2nd spinning away
I find I'm much more comfortable spinning with a relatively high cadence.There's a couple of long climbs nearby that have 20-25% stretches and they have me in 1st gear working very hard.I'm 52 and 85kgs and have gone from a 50/34 compact with 11-30 cassette to a 48/32 sub-compact with 11-30 cassette as 95% of my rides are hilly.
The only way to get better at climbing is to do it more!

A bit of a silly ignorant question but how do I utilise my left gear for climbing?Is it meant to be high and my right gear low-right?