# the hills are killing me



## cousi.hill (15 Jul 2011)

started road cycling again about 3 weeks now i have just turned the big 50 years old and at 5ft 7in and i weigh in at 98kgs because i also enjoy training thing is the hills are murder lungs can not cope with some hills i have to get off to recover and then continue to the top . the sharp hills are worse just like to know when will it get easier my bike has only got 16 gears was thinking of getting a triple chainset or a compact or may be 10 speed cassette any ideas from you experience guys and gels just want to get fitter and tone up and also take part in some rides cheers


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## coffeejo (15 Jul 2011)

It does get easier: honest.


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## ianrauk (15 Jul 2011)

3 weeks is not a lot of time riding and for you to expect to fly up hills. It takes a long while for your body to get used to the bike and for your muscles to adjust. Keep riding, Take your time, take it easy and spin away. Don't push yourself too hard. If you have to get off and walk then do so. Give it time, keep riding and the hills do get easier.


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## endoman (15 Jul 2011)

Agree, I'm ten weeks in, and it's only now I can start to attack some hills, I can get up most, but it is often just survival, 
Keep at it, don't work too hard, and just keep riding the hills, as the weight drops off that will help as well, plenty left for me to loose yet


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## steve52 (15 Jul 2011)

get the gearing that you can push on a hill then lets talk in three mounths, ps i was the same and now love hills


cousi.hill said:


> started road cycling again about 3 weeks now i have just turned the big 50 years old and at 5ft 7in and i weigh in at 98kgs because i also enjoy training thing is the hills are murder lungs can not cope with some hills i have to get off to recover and then continue to the top . the sharp hills are worse just like to know when will it get easier my bike has only got 16 gears was thinking of getting a triple chainset or a compact or may be 10 speed cassette any ideas from you experience guys and gels just want to get fitter and tone up and also take part in some rides cheers


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## lulubel (15 Jul 2011)

The hills will make you stronger.

Ride up the ones you can ride up. Walk up the ones you can't ride up.

As you get fitter and stronger, you'll find you can ride up more and more. It just takes a bit of time.

In a few months, if you still feel you need smaller gears, then do something about it. But by that time, you might be wondering what you were bothered about.


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## Tintin (15 Jul 2011)

Patience dude. You need to give yourself time and plenty of riding that's all. 

It will naturally come and after a few more weeks you will feel yourself gaining strength on climbs. 

Technique is also key to climbing, and without giving you any boring guidance this will come and a natural rhythm will be developed. 

The type of climb will determine how you choose to ride it, a short sharp climb can normally be attacked with a big gear and a long one needs more in the saddle tempo riding.

By the way it may be best for you to stay in the saddle when climbing if your not already, as riding out the saddle increases the demand on the heart and lungs, whereas in the saddle puts more demand on the legs.


As your fitness levels increase you will find the burden on your chest will become easier and will enable you to climb better.

I promise this will all come as long as you keep working at it.

Your own awareness of your increasing levels of fitness is one of the most amazing feelings ever, as you plateau and then target the next level.

Keep at it because the results are well worth the effort.


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## screenman (15 Jul 2011)

I found losing 25 kilo and riding hills often helps me go up them quicker.


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## phil_hg_uk (15 Jul 2011)

I found the first 3 years the worst


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## Holy Warrior (15 Jul 2011)

I thought exactly the same thing, I remember being able to climb 15%+ hills in first gear on my mountain bike 5/6 years ago so now i've got a road bike and spent the last 5/6 years doing no cycling it was hardly a surprise that I couldn't just jump back on and do it, as much as I would have liked to. 



using free online software to plan routes it has shown me that the hills I thought were just little rises, why do my legs burn when I go up them, are actually 7/8%. I've been back in the game 3 weeks now and the first week I ground up them in about 4/5th gear, nearly crying, now i'm in my big chain ring and out of the sadde they are no problem what so ever. 



Week one I was exhausted doing 10 miles at 10/11 mph. Week three i'm doing double that at 12/13 mph with a little left in the tank. it is really surprising how little time it takes to get fitter. I'm not even going out everyday, two/three rides a week plus some extra football cardio is all i'm doing.


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## albion (15 Jul 2011)

I always think that if you have to walk up a hill you have the wrong size cassette/gear combination.That almost seems a bit of tradition in Britain.


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## lulubel (15 Jul 2011)

Holy Warrior said:


> it is really surprising how little time it takes to get fitter. I'm not even going out everyday, two/three rides a week plus some extra football cardio is all i'm doing.



Which is probably a big part of the key to your fitness gains. You actually gain fitness on your rest/recovery days, when the muscles that were damaged on your cycling days repair stronger so they're better prepared next time.


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## pepecat (15 Jul 2011)

Gees, I started cycling properly just over a year ago, and i still hate hills - they kill me too. I don't rush up them by any means. I'm better than I was, but that's on poxy little hills around Brum. Hit some horrible ones on Dartmoor a couple of weeks back, and was struggling up them at about 3-4 mph...... NOT great...... But I did cycle up all but two. And cycled up the butt crunching one 15k before the end (i was quite chuffed at that).

Keep at it - you will improve. Slow and steady......


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## aberal (15 Jul 2011)

Learn to love them. Hills are like life - a lot of it is in the mind. I'm with the others though - 3 weeks isn't long enough to customise yourself to cycling on the flat, never mind the hills. What gears do you actually have though? How many teeth on your smallest chainring at the front and how many on the largest cog at the back? Count them and get back to us.


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## cousi.hill (15 Jul 2011)

cousi hill here again thanks you all for all the advice and information you gave me you are all right i did jump back into it like a bull should know better not cycled for two years properly and i also weight train and have put on 15kgs which does not help but i do not mind the weight and size i just need the fitness and maybe i will borrow mates bike which has a triple (granny gears ) to you people cheers


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## cousi.hill (15 Jul 2011)

aberal said:


> Learn to love them. Hills are like life - a lot of it is in the mind. I'm with the others though - 3 weeks isn't long enough to customise yourself to cycling on the flat, never mind the hills. What gears do you actually have though? How many teeth on your smallest chainring at the front and how many on the largest cog at the back? Count them and get back to us.


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## cousi.hill (15 Jul 2011)

hi yer aberal front 39 rear 22


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## numbnuts (15 Jul 2011)

aberal said:


> Learn to love them. Hills are like life - a lot of it is in the mind.


A lot of it is in the mind gears, MTB gearing on a road bike a very happy bunny


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## endoman (15 Jul 2011)

cousi.hill said:


> hi yer aberal front 39 rear 22



I know little, but that sounds like bloody hard work. I just got up my local 18% on 34, 27 tonight, 

Rear 22 sounds very strange


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## HLaB (15 Jul 2011)

cousi.hill said:


> hi yer aberal front 39 rear 22



In addition to lack of practice (just 3 weeks) those gears won't be helping, fit a larger cassette on the back. My bianchi has 39 front but a 25 rear and with training it has got me up everything I've tried so far; the steepest I've been up so far is the castle hill at Dollar, its pretty short 1km, an average of 15% and 27% max. If I was struggling on hills though I'd change it for a 27 rear. Good Luck


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## aberal (15 Jul 2011)

cousi.hill said:


> hi yer aberal front 39 rear 22



OK, that's racing gearing which part explains your problem. The guys currently meandering round France will be using that gearing - which is _waaaay _too high for the rest of us mere mortals, especially those of us the wrong side of 50 and a tad rotund round the middle (I mean me by this btw). Replacing the front chainrings with a triple would also involve changing the gear shifters/brakes and also your bottom bracket and even the deraileurs themselves. .. 

So you have a couple of options - but the best, cheapest option would be to simply replace your front chainset for a new "compact" chainset which will give you a big chainring of 50 and a small chainring of 34. This will instantly give you much lower gears and shouldn't affect the rest of your bike's setup. To help even more, replace your rear cogs to give you ideally a big cog of 28 or 25. Your local bike shop should be able to advise on this because not all deraileurs can handle a large cog of 28 (its complicated stuff this). But if you can get a small chainring at the front of 34 and a large cog at the rear of 25-28 you should be able to handle most hills. 

All this costs money of course, but if you want to aim for bigger things and carry on cycling it would be worth it. I'd suggest having a look out for Sportives in your area and picking a big ride of say 50 or 60 miles and training for it. Having something to aim for concentrates the mind wonderfully.


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## cousi.hill (16 Jul 2011)

aberal said:


> OK, that's racing gearing which part explains your problem. The guys currently meandering round France will be using that gearing - which is _waaaay _too high for the rest of us mere mortals, especially those of us the wrong side of 50 and a tad rotund round the middle (I mean me by this btw). Replacing the front chainrings with a triple would also involve changing the gear shifters/brakes and also your bottom bracket and even the deraileurs themselves. ..
> 
> So you have a couple of options - but the best, cheapest option would be to simply replace your front chainset for a new "compact" chainset which will give you a big chainring of 50 and a small chainring of 34. This will instantly give you much lower gears and shouldn't affect the rest of your bike's setup. To help even more, replace your rear cogs to give you ideally a big cog of 28 or 25. Your local bike shop should be able to advise on this because not all deraileurs can handle a large cog of 28 (its complicated stuff this). But if you can get a small chainring at the front of 34 and a large cog at the rear of 25-28 you should be able to handle most hills.
> 
> All this costs money of course, but if you want to aim for bigger things and carry on cycling it would be worth it. I'd suggest having a look out for Sportives in your area and picking a big ride of say 50 or 60 miles and training for it. Having something to aim for concentrates the mind wonderfully.


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## cousi.hill (16 Jul 2011)

thought it was bloody hard going you see the bike i have is a barracuda 16 speed nothing special but is very smooth and quiet it is my first i did a charity ride on it with a about 15 of us we did 93 miles in all to skegness about two weeks ago i change my mind about derby peaks bit too much but i will price up a compact if it fits straight in otherwise i might look for a new bike what's the new boardman like that's 20 speed would that do or could you recommend any else cheers


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## Holy Warrior (16 Jul 2011)

aberal said:


> Learn to love them. Hills are like life - a lot of it is in the mind. I'm with the others though - 3 weeks isn't long enough to customise yourself to cycling on the flat, never mind the hills. What gears do you actually have though? How many teeth on your smallest chainring at the front and how many on the largest cog at the back? Count them and get back to us.




I have never understood this, what do the numbers mean? For me it is 36/26. Is that good or bad for flat riding or for hills? What would be ideal numbers for equal flat riding and hill riding? Probably depends on the hills and things too.


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## albion (16 Jul 2011)

For me its 28/34 and has been for a few years now.Its an ideal bail out gear, especially so when the lungs refuse to co-operate.


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## cyberknight (16 Jul 2011)

cousi.hill said:


> thought it was bloody hard going you see the bike i have is a barracuda 16 speed nothing special but is very smooth and quiet it is my first i did a charity ride on it with a about 15 of us we did 93 miles in all to skegness about two weeks ago i change my mind about derby peaks bit too much but i will price up a compact if it fits straight in otherwise i might look for a new bike what's the new boardman like that's 20 speed would that do or could you recommend any else cheers



The Boardman road comp 2011 is a dream to ride 

Lightweight, the carbon forks and curved seat stays soak up vibration and the best bit...

Sram Apex groupset !

This gives you a 11-32 cassette on the back with a compact chainset on the front so you can practically pedal up walls and still have a gear to hammer downhill 

Personally i am going to change the rear cassette in the future as i do not need such a low ratio.

As for number of gears it is not how many you have, as long as you have a top and bottom range you can push with a gears in between then you have enough.
My commuter has 16 speeds but i only really use half of them , on the comp it is similar even with another 4 to choose from.


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## gavroche (17 Jul 2011)

Hills are always difficult no matter who you are. Ask TDF riders. We are all different and deal with them in our own way. I still get a good feeling every time I get to the top of one. There are still plenty of them round my way that I will probably never be able to do. So what?
I enjoy my cycling with or without the hills.


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## gavroche (18 Jul 2011)

HLaB said:


> In addition to lack of practice (just 3 weeks) those gears won't be helping, fit a larger cassette on the back. My bianchi has 39 front but a 25 rear and with training it has got me up everything I've tried so far; the steepest I've been up so far is the castle hill at Dollar, its pretty short 1km, *an average of 15% and 27% max*. If I was struggling on hills though I'd change it for a 27 rear. Good Luck



where do you get you radient from? 27% sounds very steep to me as in the TDF the maximum those climbs are is 10% and most struggle to do it, as professionals!!
Is there a sign that actually tells you 27% or are you just guessing?


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## lulubel (18 Jul 2011)

gavroche said:


> where do you get you radient from? 27% sounds very steep to me as in the TDF the maximum those climbs are is 10% and most struggle to do it, as professionals!!
> Is there a sign that actually tells you 27% or are you just guessing?



27% is just a tiny bit steeper than 1 in 4 (which is 25%), and there are certainly plenty of those around the UK. There was no shortage of them where I used to live in Devon.

Mountains are generally longer, less steep climbs, as I found out when I moved to a mountainous part of Spain, but the 10% stated for TdF climbs will still be the average over the climb, not the steepest part. It wouldn't surprise me if the inside of the hairpins on some of those climbs is 25% or steeper. The reason they find those climbs hard is because they're long climbs, and they're also racing up them. I'm sure if they could take their time, use some lower gears and stop to take some photos halfway up, they'd arrive at the top barely out of breath.


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## HLaB (18 Jul 2011)

gavroche said:


> where do you get you radient from? 27% sounds very steep to me as in the TDF the maximum those climbs are is 10% and most struggle to do it, as professionals!!
> Is there a sign that actually tells you 27% or are you just guessing?



I'm taking it from my GPS, mapping sites and other say Gloom Hill maxes @30% but I don't believe that my 39,25 bianchi got up it. Its an average of just 15% and its pretty short (under a km).

The blokes in the TdF will do a lot steeper than 10%, different event but in the Vuelta a few years back the average for the last 1km was 21%, with a max of 24% and that was after x hundred kilometres! 10% may be an average on some routes but they'll max at twice that or more. I think the often used Mt Ventoux route is only (aye only  ) 7.5% average but its 21.5km long and there are a lot of sections far steeper, around 11-12%.


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## Moodyman (18 Jul 2011)

I developed a love for the hills during my first winter commuting.

In cold weather, you'll love hills as they warm you up. Flats and descents will freeze yer tits off.


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## Garz (18 Jul 2011)

haha very true. In winter they have their advatages, however going out and forgetting your overshoes is something you dont forget once it happens!


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## Fab Foodie (18 Jul 2011)

albion said:


> I always think that if you have to walk up a hill you have the wrong size cassette/gear combination.That almost seems a bit of tradition in Britain.


I tend to agree with you, gearing's an oh so macho subject. Slowly but surely botttom end gearing is improving for the mass Cyclist. 

Advice-wise, ianrauk is spot on, give it time, practice your tecnique and learn to RELAX on hills, tension in arms and torso wastes energy and oxygen. Warm up for at least 15 mins, gentky and warm-down the same.


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