hill climbing help

[tubbylee]

hello,im a new rider only two weeks in the saddle,ive been a runner for years though,there is a hill at the end of my twenty mile circuit it is extremely steep and 500m long im having difficulty negotiating this hill,i have tried low gears but seem to be pedalling like mad and barely moving ive also tried high gears while standing but my legs turn to jelly half way up,am i approching it wrong or should i keep going in a high gear until my legs get used to this new exercise,thankyou

 

[accountantpete]

If you pedal like mad on the flat you will quickly tire as the legs are not used to it. Add on an incline and you start to appreciate the problem.

Basically you have to work on increasing your cadence (pedal revs per min) and developing the leg muscles needed to climb - which are subtly different than the ones you need to run.

 

[daddyshambles]

hiya tubby i was like that as well until recently when it all just seemed to click. i found that experimenting with the gears helped and trying to be one gear up from what i should be in on a climb for as long as poss. stick with it am sure you will get the knack soon enough. good luck

hello,im a new rider only two weeks in the saddle,ive been a runner for years though,there is a hill at the end of my twenty mile circuit it is extremely steep and 500m long im having difficulty negotiating this hill,i have tried low gears but seem to be pedalling like mad and barely moving ive also tried high gears while standing but my legs turn to jelly half way up,am i approching it wrong or should i keep going in a high gear until my legs get used to this new exercise,thankyou

 

[raindog]

........or should i keep going in a high gear until my legs get used to this new exercise,thankyou

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Choose rides without really steep hills untill you get used to bike riding. Then as your strength increases you can find more punishing rides. I wouldn't worry too much about technique - that should come naturally as your experience grows.

 

[HLaB]

hello,im a new rider only two weeks in the saddle,ive been a runner for years though,there is a hill at the end of my twenty mile circuit it is extremely steep and 500m long im having difficulty negotiating this hill,i have tried low gears but seem to be pedalling like mad and barely moving ive also tried high gears while standing but my legs turn to jelly half way up,am i approching it wrong or should i keep going in a high gear until my legs get used to this new exercise,thankyou

You've hit the nail on the head there, there is no substitute for practice, technique will follow. My own preference on short hills is to stand up keep in a higher gear and power up them but for longer climbs I like to mix it up (both standing and sitting) increasing a gear or two as I stand up and decreasing one or two as I sit down. I prefer to tackle themin the large chainring but sometimes its not possible if you're to make progress (and wouldn't be good for your knees). Perhaps on your hill (depending on its steepness I'd stay seated at first, spin if it neccessary but preferably stay in a similar gear as to the flat maybe one or two lower and as I approach the crest stand up for that last bit. Don't worry about the technique at the moment however, the suitable one for you will come naturally with practice; just find a gear thats suitable for you (one you can turn) and practice. :-)

 

[ManiaMuse]

For a start try to work out what your cadence is on the flat. There's loads of info about cadences on the web, both spinning are equally viable - some people just don't get along with spinning fast - but mashing tends to put more strain on your muscles/knees whereas spinning works your heart more for the same total effort. Most "normal" cyclists seem to pedal about 60rpm which is probably a bit to slow. 80-90rpm is a good ideal cadence for a recreational cyclist though many of the pros spin much faster than that.

The thing with hills is that if you approach them sitting down and then stand up when you feel yourself slowing it feels like you are suddenly making loads more progress. However when most cyclists stand on the pedals they naturally put more effort through the pedals so it isn't really a fair comparison to what you were doing when you were sitting.

What I tend to do is drop down a gear on the flat just before the hill and spin that up pretty high. I then try and keep that high cadence up as long as possible until it drops to a point where my legs are having to strain and then I'll drop down another gear. Basically I try to keep a consistent cadence regardless of the gradient (unless it's ridiculously steep and I run out of gears). Gears are there to be used so don't feel you have to stick to the same gear for the whole climb.

Standing up can be useful for breaking up climbs. However you have to be careful to avoid standing up because you're in too big a gear to push when sitting down. Of course your legs are going to feel like jelly if you push a high gear all the way - it's like lifting 10 * 40kg compared to 80 * 5kg, same total weight but your musles burn much more after lifting the heavier weights.

IMO I think you should focus on increasing your cadence on the flat before trying to increase your strength. That way you will become more used to spinning at a consistent cadence when you come to hills.

 

[jimboalee]

For a start try to work out what your cadence is on the flat. There's loads of info about cadences on the web, both spinning are equally viable - some people just don't get along with spinning fast - but mashing tends to put more strain on your muscles/knees whereas spinning works your heart more for the same total effort. Most "normal" cyclists seem to pedal about 60rpm which is probably a bit to slow. 80-90rpm is a good ideal cadence for a recreational cyclist though many of the pros spin much faster than that.

The thing with hills is that if you approach them sitting down and then stand up when you feel yourself slowing it feels like you are suddenly making loads more progress. However when most cyclists stand on the pedals they naturally put more effort through the pedals so it isn't really a fair comparison to what you were doing when you were sitting.

What I tend to do is drop down a gear on the flat just before the hill and spin that up pretty high. I then try and keep that high cadence up as long as possible until it drops to a point where my legs are having to strain and then I'll drop down another gear. Basically I try to keep a consistent cadence regardless of the gradient (unless it's ridiculously steep and I run out of gears). Gears are there to be used so don't feel you have to stick to the same gear for the whole climb.

Standing up can be useful for breaking up climbs. However you have to be careful to avoid standing up because you're in too big a gear to push when sitting down. Of course your legs are going to feel like jelly if you push a high gear all the way - it's like lifting 10 * 40kg compared to 80 * 5kg, same total weight but your musles burn much more after lifting the heavier weights.

IMO I think you should focus on increasing your cadence on the flat before trying to increase your strength. That way you will become more used to spinning at a consistent cadence when you come to hills.

60 rpm is the same as climbing a stairway at two steps per second. Perfectly natural and no need to change.

 

[jimboalee]

I was on the upright bike ergometer at the gym one evening, really giving it some jip at about 350 Watts, standing up pushing and pulling.
A young lady came and sat on the machine next to me. When my interval changed to 200 Watts absorption and I sat down, she said "Standing up is cheating".

I replied "The power has to come from somewhere, there's no one else helping me."

 

[Crankarm]

I was on the upright bike ergometer at the gym one evening, really giving it some jip at about 350 Watts, standing up pushing and pulling.
A young lady came and sat on the machine next to me. When my interval changed to 200 Watts absorption and I sat down, she said "Standing up is cheating".

I replied "The power has to come from somewhere, there's no one else helping me."

You didn't take her jibe lying down then?

 

[Crankarm]

hello,im a new rider only two weeks in the saddle,ive been a runner for years though,there is a hill at the end of my twenty mile circuit it is extremely steep and 500m long im having difficulty negotiating this hill,i have tried low gears but seem to be pedalling like mad and barely moving ive also tried high gears while standing but my legs turn to jelly half way up,am i approching it wrong or should i keep going in a high gear until my legs get used to this new exercise,thankyou

Technique is everything. Try to relax your upper body and keep it and your head steady. Keep your knees in near to the top tube as you pedal each revolution so no power is wasted. Keep the power on the pedals smooth around the whole revolution of the pedal stroke which means pulling up and pushing down. Control your breathing. Whilst you will be exerting more power to get up the hill your cadence should still be comfortable which means selecting the appropriate gear so that 1) you are not in a too high a gear grinding yourself to a stand still that your cadence rapidly falls to one turn of every 2 seconds or 2) so high that you look like you are trying to take off ...............

If you select the right gear and anticipate when you should change, not too early or too late, so that you don't lose forward momentum then you will find climbing hills a lot easier and more enjoyable. There is no substitute for practice. Ride up your favourite beast of a hill, then turn around ride down and ride it again and again and again.

 

[jimboalee]

If you have a regular climb, ride up it 'knees in', 'knees out' and 'knees centre' in turn each time you climb.

Different bundles of muscle will be used and you will widen the quads. When a bad hill comes along, you will start 'knees in', shift to 'knees out' and finish it 'knees centre'.

 

[Chrisc]

If you have a regular climb, ride up it 'knees in', 'knees out' and 'knees centre' in turn each time you climb.

Different bundles of muscle will be used and you will widen the quads. When a bad hill comes along, you will start 'knees in', shift to 'knees out' and finish it 'knees centre'.

Never heard that one before, spread the work out eh?