How do you cope with hills?

[Kaatje]

I've had my single speed for a couple of months and until yesterday I'd never dealt with hills on the bike before (I live in a flat city).

But I'd like to join rides which may include them a bit. Yesterday I went on a ride for first time with others with some hills on route. I coped fine with and actually enjoyed it!

Will practice help me to improve with hills? I'm more concerned with dealing with longer, constantly going up hill rides, but maybe fitness helps with this? Longest I've ridden is 20 miles up to now, so not far.

My gearing is 42/16.

 

[Angry Blonde]

What i tend to do is peddle up them no bother, then when i get to the top, and people see me i pertend to sweat, and huff and puff to make them think it was hell !

 

[matiz]

I cope with hills using 27 gears,every one of them if I have to.

 

[Kaatje]

I know there will come a point when I wish I had one than one gear. I just haven't experienced it yet....

 

[JimboJames1972]

Most hills around here are not too bad. Suffolk tends to get long, gentle inclines, or very short, sharp rises.

On the flay my comfortable cadence is between 80 and 95 pedal stroked per min. If I drop much below 70 I find it a struggle and will resort to standing up out of the saddle if I drop below 60. For our local longer inclines I can usually stay in the saddle and just let my cadence drop to the lower region of my comfort zone.

For our short, steep hills I try to get a bit of a run up at them if I know ther are coming, power up them as best I can and get out of the saddle and grind it if needed.

The only time I have ever been beaten by a hill was a week or so back, cycling in an area I did not know and being confronted by a 12% slope when I went round a corner. It was no more than 100m but I had no time to run up at it or gain momentum first and I just ran out of legs.

That was very much the exception though and is the only time I have has to push ;-)

Single speed may not be perfect for hills, but I find that no choice in my gearing means I have only one decision to make - man up and power through it. Suits me just fine.

J

PS, my gearing is either 52:18 or 46:16 depending on which bike I am using (both about 76 inches)

 

[Kaatje]

On the flay my comfortable cadence is between 80 and 95 pedal stroked per min. If I drop much below 70 I find it a struggle and will resort to standing up out of the saddle if I drop below 60. For our local longer inclines I can usually stay in the saddle and just let my cadence drop to the lower region of my comfort zone.

Yes I think this was what I struggled with most yesterday, the pace was steady and a bit slower than I was used to. I just kept wanting to peddle faster to gain some momentum up the hill but felt I should be sticking to staying in line. Despite this feeling, I made it up the hills without going backwards lol.

 

[Sharky]

42:16 is not a bad gear. I ride with 44:17, which is just a shade lower. I cope with most hills on my routes and can keep going from "walking pace" to over 25 mph and keep peddling. Any slower, more than happy to walk and any faster, just free wheel, sometimes close to 40mph!

I also race on a fixed, but you don't want to know what cogs I use for that.

Cheers Keith

 

[totallyfixed]

I hear this a lot, as though getting out of the saddle is a crime, it isn't, it's fun, we [I include my better half who is a top hill climber] prefer to climb out of the saddle and it's not as though you have much choice riding fixed where we live, anyway we prefer to call it dancing on the pedals .
To answer your original question, climbing hills is like anything else, the more you do the better you get providing you employ the right technique, something ss riders usually gain quite quickly, sitting and spinning is not an option.

 

[ScotiaLass]

I cope with hills using 27 gears,every one of them if I have to.

Snap!

 

[RedRider]

I don't find it a disadvantage and generally climb quicker than those on geared bikes over the short sharp local hills. You just have to!
Onvery steep stuff it's a matter of getting your weight over the front of the bike and keeping the pedals turning almost as though you're walking slowly up a flight of stairs.
I think it probably takes more out of me on a longer ride tho and the body feels more battered than it might using multiple gears.
I use a 47:18 gear.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I encountered an unplanned steep long hill when I got a bit lost on a weekend ride on my 1950s single speed roadster (44/18 so quite low geared). The long gentle rise was no problem, just stay in the saddle and keep turning those pedals... the steep 15% section at the end was another story! I quickly ended up out the saddle, tacking sideways up the hill, wrenching on the handlebars, and made it up most of the way like that before getting off and walking (first time in a while that's happened... but then I usually have a 28/32 super-low granny gear to help me out so no excuses ). Don't think there's a technical solution to doing this sort of climb on a SS, except to practice doing it more often!

Short sharp climbs I found easier, and were best tackled by approaching them as quickly as possible and hoping my momentum didn't gradually bleed away before I reached the top.

Definitely found the hills took a lot more out of me than they would on a geared bike! SS is fun but gears are a wonderful invention.

 

[blazed]

People always say they never have to get off their fixed bike on hills. If it's an accomplishment that you never had to get off says a lot about the bike.

Basically you just have to cope. Same as on flats and downhill. Fixed gear is not as productive as geared in any area. You ride fixed you are riding at a disadvantage straight away so coping is what you have to get used to. But on the plus side, you RIDE FIXED, you're uber cool!

 

[totallyfixed]

People always say they never have to get off their fixed bike on hills. If it's an accomplishment that you never had to get off says a lot about the bike.

Basically you just have to cope. Same as on flats and downhill. Fixed gear is not as productive as geared in any area. You ride fixed you are riding at a disadvantage straight away so coping is what you have to get used to. But on the plus side, you RIDE FIXED, you're uber cool!

I will have to politely disagree with a couple of things, never having to walk a hill says very little about the bike, more about the person riding it. Fixed gear is an advantage in many situations, as long as the hill I am climbing is within a certain percentage I climb faster on fixed due to the flywheel effect. This also comes into its own when riding rolling terrain where momentum from the downhill makes any immediate uphill a delight. On the flat into a slight headwind or up a very gentle hill I also find fixed quicker.
Where fixed is at a disadvantage to gears is on really steep stuff [depending of course on the rider], long downhills and any situation where the speed is such that you spin out.

 

[blazed]

I will have to politely disagree with a couple of things, never having to walk a hill says very little about the bike, more about the person riding it. Fixed gear is an advantage in many situations, as long as the hill I am climbing is within a certain percentage I climb faster on fixed due to the flywheel effect. This also comes into its own when riding rolling terrain where momentum from the downhill makes any immediate uphill a delight. On the flat into a slight headwind or up a very gentle hill I also find fixed quicker.
Where fixed is at a disadvantage to gears is on really steep stuff [depending of course on the rider], long downhills and any situation where the speed is such that you spin out.

Over any average ride of 10 mile 25 mile 50 mile and 100 mile, two identical riders one on geared and one on fixed, the geared would win every time.

There is no real practical purpose to someone riding fixed unless you compete in track.

 

[RedRider]

.. the steep 15% section at the end was another story! I quickly ended up out the saddle, tacking sideways up the hill, wrenching on the handlebars,

Ha that sounds familiar!
Single speed really build your arm and upper body strength!

Over any average ride of 10 mile 25 mile 50 mile and 100 mile, two identical riders one on geared and one on fixed, the geared would win every time.

There is no real practical purpose to someone riding fixed unless you compete in track.

I have a free wheel but still find a number of advantages. Cheaper and lighter than an equivalent geared bike, less to go wrong, easier to clean and maintain and for simpletons like me, less brain space taken up by distracting gear changes.
I also ride distances just as fast as geared companions which maybe down to the increased fitness associated with riding ss. Just cos you don't see the point doesn't mean no-one else does or does everyone have to think the same in your world view?