Dave 123
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire alps
Uphill performance lacking?
- Thread starter GoatBeard
- Start date
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roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
You need to lose weight *if* you want to speed up. Sorry.
Your BMI is about the same as mine, though I'm much taller. I've been nearly two stone lighter in the past. It makes a huge difference.
Next, cycle more hills, ideally short hard ones on intervals.
Finally, if really steep hills are your thing, then lower gears might help a little bit.
Your BMI is about the same as mine, though I'm much taller. I've been nearly two stone lighter in the past. It makes a huge difference.
Next, cycle more hills, ideally short hard ones on intervals.
Finally, if really steep hills are your thing, then lower gears might help a little bit.
You can't compare yourself to another rider. Everybody goes at different speeds. He may have been a "pro" or at least a good club rider, who is probably doing 200+ miles per week and racing.
Or he may have been riding an ebike.
If it was me, I would avoid a 1 in 4 climb or accept I would be walking up the steepest bit of the climb.
Or he may have been riding an ebike.
If it was me, I would avoid a 1 in 4 climb or accept I would be walking up the steepest bit of the climb.
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
Glad you took it that way. I though long and hard before risking taking on that hill.
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
If you want to improve your hill climbing the most efficient use of your time is hill repeats
Find a hill with a reasonable incline and length. Go absolute max effort for three minutes up the hill and then coast back down. DO this until you can't ride up the hill any more
Recover and then do it again a few days later.
Repeat
It's very painful but it's the most efficient way to improve hill climbing
Find a hill with a reasonable incline and length. Go absolute max effort for three minutes up the hill and then coast back down. DO this until you can't ride up the hill any more
Recover and then do it again a few days later.
Repeat
It's very painful but it's the most efficient way to improve hill climbing
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
OP - you don't. And riding more, including some decent hills, is much more fun than losing weight.
One can, and many riders do. Just keep those comparisons grounded and use them to aspire to riding more, and with more enjoyment.
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
overweight or obese using a discredited measure, as I said up thread "we're all different". At 5ft 6 and 11 stone I'd be classed as overweight using BMI, but I'm thin enough for my ribs to stick out.
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
5’9” and 15 stone with a much heavier bike!
So, good advice so far, practice hills, find tbe gear combo that works for you and kerp working in it. There will always be someone better than you....accept it.
Here’s my top hill climbing tip....Relax. Lots of people especially newbies ‘attack climbs’ like they’re teying to wrestle their machine to the top. Good climbers look smooth, focused but relaxed in their upper bodies. Every working muscle needs energy and O2 and climbing O2 becomes the limiting factor. If you’re tense in the upper body and arms, fighting the bike, then you’re denying precious O2 to the legs. So relax everything sit planted on the saddleand focus only on turning the legs.
Finally, remember that peoples physiology makes them different types of riders, sprinters don’t climb well. Practice and RELAX.
*I’m not much of a spinner, so push a bigger gear at lower rpm than most uphill. I find sitting at the back of the saddles allows me to use the glutes more to generate extra power at lowet cadence.
RELAX....
So, good advice so far, practice hills, find tbe gear combo that works for you and kerp working in it. There will always be someone better than you....accept it.
Here’s my top hill climbing tip....Relax. Lots of people especially newbies ‘attack climbs’ like they’re teying to wrestle their machine to the top. Good climbers look smooth, focused but relaxed in their upper bodies. Every working muscle needs energy and O2 and climbing O2 becomes the limiting factor. If you’re tense in the upper body and arms, fighting the bike, then you’re denying precious O2 to the legs. So relax everything sit planted on the saddleand focus only on turning the legs.
Finally, remember that peoples physiology makes them different types of riders, sprinters don’t climb well. Practice and RELAX.
*I’m not much of a spinner, so push a bigger gear at lower rpm than most uphill. I find sitting at the back of the saddles allows me to use the glutes more to generate extra power at lowet cadence.
RELAX....
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Aye. Going by BMI ranges I "should" be between 13 stones and 15st 8lbs. At 15st 8 I'd look ill, and 13 I'd look like I'd just escaped Belsen and probably wouldn't feel too clever either.
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
I'm the same, I think BMI has me down around 10 stone, but at ten stone I'd look ill and feel terrible.
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
On the BMI thing, sure, there may be some people with really odd physiques. There may on the other hand be far more people who justify their weight with such arguments.
The reality is that *if* you want to go significantly faster up hill, for virtually everyone except people already really thin, or the very unfit, losing weight is necessary.
The OP according to their own figures, has a BMI slightly north of 23. Froome's is 19.
That's not at all to say there aren't other ways to improve - I suggested a couple. But if already at some reasonable level of fitness, as being able to ride the described hill suggests, it's a near certainty it will make more difference than anything else up hill.
Of course, you can, like me, just accept your limitations and enjoy lugging your carcass up hills, swearing to refuse all cake in future whilst simultaneously looking forward to pudding tonight.
The reality is that *if* you want to go significantly faster up hill, for virtually everyone except people already really thin, or the very unfit, losing weight is necessary.
The OP according to their own figures, has a BMI slightly north of 23. Froome's is 19.
That's not at all to say there aren't other ways to improve - I suggested a couple. But if already at some reasonable level of fitness, as being able to ride the described hill suggests, it's a near certainty it will make more difference than anything else up hill.
Of course, you can, like me, just accept your limitations and enjoy lugging your carcass up hills, swearing to refuse all cake in future whilst simultaneously looking forward to pudding tonight.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
My chest is 20 inches bigger than my waist, so I think i'm on farily safe ground when I say that BMI is talking out of its arriss.
The data BMI was gathered in the late 1940's when food rationing was still in effect. While the system itself has been updated since then, there has been no further large scale gathering of data with a normally fed population to determine what the correct ratio and limits should really be.
You are quite right to suggest that if a rider is carrying excess fat mass that losing it may assist with such performance, but citing BMI as a measure for that is of little genuine utility.
The data BMI was gathered in the late 1940's when food rationing was still in effect. While the system itself has been updated since then, there has been no further large scale gathering of data with a normally fed population to determine what the correct ratio and limits should really be.
You are quite right to suggest that if a rider is carrying excess fat mass that losing it may assist with such performance, but citing BMI as a measure for that is of little genuine utility.
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Banjo
Fuelled with Jelly Babies
- Location
- South Wales
According to BMI nearly all proffessional rugby players are overweight with some obese .
PS there are some very discrete electric assisted bikes out there now.
PS there are some very discrete electric assisted bikes out there now.
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- Location
- Inside my skull
The other guy was fitter. As someone once said, it’s not about the bike. You need to improve your leg strength and you need to improve your cardio vascular fitness to go quicker up the hill.
It can get dispiriting comparing yourself to others. There’s always someone fitter. Just try and compare to yourself. So try and improve your times each time you tackle the hill
It can get dispiriting comparing yourself to others. There’s always someone fitter. Just try and compare to yourself. So try and improve your times each time you tackle the hill
