Struggle on Hills on Road Bike

[Tin Pot]

Hi all, I am after some advice.

Well a year ago I got my first road bike (2015 Giant Defy 4) and at the time I was a heavy (18st 2lb). A year in and only done 1,500 miles and now (16st 12lb) I still struggle to climb hills in and around Derbyshire all the time. All my rides have many hills in them being in Derbyshire but I just seem to always struggle on them still and there is some that I just have to stop half way as my legs give in and I am just not able to get up them like the others I ride in with my club.

I was wondering would it be possible to change the gearing on my bike so make climbs a bit more easier for me like changing the cassette or even fitting a triple crankset on the front.

The bike currently has Claris double(compact) gear leavers and I am running a FSA Tempo, 34/50 crankset and SRAM PG 850 11-32 rear cassette.

Any advice would be great (I know losing some more weight may help as well)

Many Thanks
Chris

As other have said, ride more. This is all about power to weight.

On the flat, carrying an extra 4 stone won't make much difference, on an incline though...you've had it.

Using bike calculator . com it's easy to see the huge difference weight on an incline makes:

In a scenario of cycling 1km at 20kph on the flat, we can see that the power required for riders of different weights is in single figures:

Rider 70kg
Power 64W
Rider 90kg
Power 69W
Rider 110kg
Power 75W

But as soon as we put in a gradient, in this case riding 1km at 20kph up a 5% gradient, you can see the power output required jumps massively.

Rider 70kg
Power 290W
Rider 90kg
Power 353W
Rider 110kg
Power 418W

To put this into real terms, I'm 85kg, I can hold 300 or so watts for he 3mins this equates to, but 418 is nearer my 30 second maximum output.

 

[Big Dave laaa]

Lots of long endurance rides on as flat a route as you can find. This will drop your weight further and increase you fitness. Hills are never easy but for us big lads it's even harder.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I struggle on hills too. That's what hills are all about. I also get wet if it rains. If the people you ride with have a problem with this, then they might be the problem. And they may be easier to change than your gearing.

Getting the right mental approach can help. This may sound hippyish, but try to concentrate on the moment: the next breath, the next pedal stroke, riding as far as a pebble in the road 5m away. Try to get a steady rhythm as @growingvegetables says. Concentrate on the little picture, your immediate bubble. Don't keep looking longingly up at the top hoping it will suddenly get nearer - it won't.

@Ajax Bay is right about the changes needed to drop your gearing, although I'd expect you to be able to keep your current RD as it's probably a long cage (no guarantees tho, you'd have to do your sums regarding capacity first). A combination of googling and guesswork gives a ballpark pricing (note: these are examples, hastily picked for costing purposes only & they may not be exactly what you need or compatible with each other or with your bike): New Claris triple front mech (£20) New Claris triple left shifter (£50), new cartridge BB (£15), Triple chainset (£75), Chain (£10), Gear Cable (£5), Bar tape(£10). That comes to £185, ballpark for new stuff. You could shop around and get stuff second hand or cheaper or perhaps I've made a stupid mistake and it might be more. It would be a relaxed day's fettling to fit those new bits. You might need to buy some tools too. Whether it would be worth the effort and expense ... who knows. I kind of doubt it, but I don't live in Derbyshire.

 

[nickyboy]

Fellow Derbyshire person here....

At 16 stone odd you're on the heavy side for hill climbing but there are plenty of riders around here with similar weight who manage. As others have said, 30 miles a week (so maybe less than 3 hours cycling) is not really enough for challenging terrain.

To give you an idea I'm 13 stone odd and I can get up any hill in the Peak District (lowest gear is 34-27). But I'm doing about 7 hours hilly riding a week on average (100 miles or so). I'd save my money and just try to cycle a bit more. 34-32 is enough to get up any Derbyshire hill no matter what you weigh providing you're fit

 

[Globalti]

You don't mention your age. Hill climbing just gets slower as you age, no matter what gearing or how light the bike. I'm 60 and my neighbour aged 36 and my son aged 17 can both whup me up hills although I'm just as fast on the flat and faster down hills.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

During my French Alps bike rides in September, one of the group weighed 100kg, and was one of the stronger climbers. He made it look so easy, and is living proof that you can get better at hill-climbing with some practice.

 

[Venod]

Are you trying to keep up with others at the start of the hill, if so don't, change into a lower gear early and use a cadence that you feel comfortable with, let the goats battle it out up front, in time with more riding and more hills you will lose more weight until eventually the goats won't be that far in front and on less steep hills may be struggling to stay with you.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Lots of long endurance rides on as flat a route as you can find. This will drop your weight further and increase you fitness. Hills are never easy but for us big lads it's even harder.

That won't help as much as you may think. LSD riding and hill riding are like chalk and cheese. Don't focus on weight loss alone either. You can lose weight, and decrease muscle mass, which is counter productive for hill riding. Concentrate on keeping your ride intensity in the ( power and / or HR zone ) that lends itself to fat burning, but try to maintain muscle mass, by being careful with your nutrition. As has been said ( and is worth re iterating ) the key to doing well in the hills is training to increase your Power to weight ratio, maintainance of C.V. fitness, and getting your body composition right, so as that when you have your power to weight ratio where it needs to be, you can maintain the effort for long enough to get up the hill, and have the muscle endurance to make the effort more comfortable ( a greater proportion of the oxygen in your blood gets to the muscle and isn't robbed by the fat)

 

[Oldfentiger]

I'm better at hills than I used to be. I'm not heavy but I'm 64, and there's plenty of challenges in my locality.
Here's what I do differently now:
I used to charge onto a gradient, thinking my momentum would carry me up. Wrong. Halfway up my legs and lungs would cry enough.
I get into the gear I want earlier and just set a rhythm.
I used to concentrate on breathing (would end up hyper ventilating) - now I try to keep my breathing slow and steady.
I would be constantly monitoring how my legs felt - now if my legs start to burn I just look at the scenery and think about something else.
Also I change up a couple of cogs and stand on the pedals, using muscles differently at a lower cadence.
I climb at my own pace, regardless of those around me.
If a local climb defeats me, I'll go back on a different day and another different day until I beat it.
As others have said, I don't focus on the summit but just on tapping out a rhythm.
Works for me

 

[BrumJim]

I used to struggle on hills until I learned that you can't get to the top by trying to get there quicker. Whilst it may seem a good idea to take plenty of speed into the hill, and keep as much momentum as possible, experience told me to simply accept that the hill will take a long time, and will be difficult, but to ride it without getting out of breath until you can see the summit.

Now I'm more experienced and fitter, I can judge hills a lot better, push a lot harder at the bottom, and get into the red a bit earlier.

 

[Rooster1]

get an 11-30 on the rear, that may help. ahhh, you have an 11-32 already.

OK, a triple up front then!

 

[S-Express]

You don't mention your age. Hill climbing just gets slower as you age, no matter what gearing or how light the bike. I'm 60 and my neighbour aged 36 and my son aged 17 can both whup me up hills although I'm just as fast on the flat and faster down hills.

You're not getting 'whupped' because you are 60 and they are 36 & 17 - you are getting beat because they have a better sustainable effort level than you.

 

[nickyboy]

get an 11-30 on the rear, that may help. ahhh, you have an 11-32 already.

OK, a triple up front then!

I really don't think it is necessary. I'm about 20% lighter than the OP but my lowest gear is about 17% harder than his (34-27 v 34-32. With my weight and gearing I can get up every hill in the Peak District including those with long 20%+ sections.

Sure the OP could use a 30-32 gearing with the associated cost but by attaining a reasonable level of fitness it isn't necessary

Doing a lot of hill climbing isn't just about being fit. Managing your effort is key - understand what level of intensity you can maintain for given periods. Oh, and never forget mental toughness. I see loads of folk quitting on hard hills; not because they can't do it but rather because they don't like the pain so they walk instead

 

[steve50]

Thank you for the good comment johnnyb47. Some people I ride with who fly up the hills struggle to keep up to my pace on the flats but then its the opposite on the hills LOL

Maybe the bit in bold has something to do with you struggling on the hills, if you are going full bore on the flat you might not be keeping anything in reserve for the hills. You have to find a happy medium, perhaps if you ride at the same pace as your fellow cyclists you will have the energy in reserve when you hit the hills.
As above, practice makes (almost) perfect, the more miles you put in the fitter and stronger you will get.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

The only surefire way to get better at something is to do it as often as possible. Ergo, the way to ride hills better is to ride more hills.

I can certainly ride hills much better than I could this time a year ago, but I've not changed a single cog on my bike.