A little help with the hills ...

[Saluki]

I would get off and walk. My knees started aching just reading your post. I too have got off and walked down hill with an iffy surface and I would have walked up had I been going in the opposite direction.
I would certainly be thinking of routing up another 100km ride.

 

[nickyboy]

To summarise, I'm 6'2 and 14st 8 so maybe I could lose a little weight. I think my conditioning is pretty reasonable for 70 mile lumpy rides but maybe there's some scope for improvement. I've come to cycling from a rugby culture where I see walking as quitting, so maybe I shouldn't beat myself up so much about getting off and pushing. A triple looks the answer but a dearer option than I was hoping for. Thanks @mjr for the gear calculator. I wont pretend I understand it yet but I will look into it. Thanks Guys for sharing your knowledge and experience.

To offer a slightly different analysis...

I'm a bit shorter and a bit lighter than you but not dissimilar proportions. Also from a rugby background. I also encounter 20+% climbs here in the Peak District and I don't try to avoid them

I get up them seated with a 34 tooth chainring (which is probably what you have now) and a 27 tooth sprocket. Of course you can buy yourself an easier gearing system but these hills are possible with what you have

 

[MichaelW2]

Gravelly 20% is beyond anything encountered by elite road racers. I have come across these on tours and day rides. Low gears help but you can get so low that your rear wheel breaks out and slips. Wider tyres such as 32mm will make better use of your extreme torque in low gears. In low gears you need to moderate and control your pedalling and also watch your balance.
Get orf and walk is probably the most relevant advice for now. Switching from Campy to Shimano is a sad day. I did this because my 8speed system was obsolete and cassettes were special order boutique bits whereas Shimano can be had at every small town bike shop.

 

[al-fresco]

I forgot to point out that, if you did decide to swap, a Shimano/Sram cassette won't fit onto a Campag free hub - so you'd need a new hub (or rear wheel) in addition to a new cassette and derailleur. Then you'd find that your shifters wouldn't index properly because each manufacturer uses a different 'actuation ratio' (the amount of cable pulled or released by each click of the shifter.) So you'd have to bodge the actuation ratio (I think there are in-line adaptors available which can help) or you'd need a new shifter as well - and they can be very expensive.

 

[ColinJ]

To summarise, I'm 6'2 and 14st 8 so maybe I could lose a little weight. I think my conditioning is pretty reasonable for 70 mile lumpy rides but maybe there's some scope for improvement. I've come to cycling from a rugby culture where I see walking as quitting, so maybe I shouldn't beat myself up so much about getting off and pushing. A triple looks the answer but a dearer option than I was hoping for. Thanks @mjr for the gear calculator. I wont pretend I understand it yet but I will look into it. Thanks Guys for sharing your knowledge and experience.

I'm only an inch shorter than you and found that getting down below 14 stone helped A LOT! (Getting below 13 stone helped even more, but those damn Bakewell tarts scuppered that! )

I managed to convert my Campagnolo-equipped Cannondale to a good quality triple chainset for £87 I'm not sure if THAT is dearer than you hoped?

 

[steveindenmark]

I have a question.

How do you get "Some longer metric century cycle rides"?

I was under the impression that all metric century cycle rides were the same length

 

[MikeG]

........No shame in walking.

Hang on just a cotton-pickin' minute.........

 

[bigjim]

To summarise, I'm 6'2 and 14st 8 so maybe I could lose a little weight. I think my conditioning is pretty reasonable for 70 mile lumpy rides but maybe there's some scope for improvement. I've come to cycling from a rugby culture where I see walking as quitting, so maybe I shouldn't beat myself up so much about getting off and pushing. A triple looks the answer but a dearer option than I was hoping for. Thanks @mjr for the gear calculator. I wont pretend I understand it yet but I will look into it. Thanks Guys for sharing your knowledge and experience.

I'm exactly the same size as you. I doubt I could lose any more weight. Probably a bit off the belly but I doubt that is possible. I'm pretty strong, but my weight will always be against me on hills. When I was a kid in the 60s on group rides people always got off and walked. This was time for a chat, take a picture, light a fag. No pressure. These days it becomes a contest and IMO becomes ridiculous. These lightweights on lightweight bikes are always going to kill the bigger guys on the hills. I would not bother beating yourself up about it. Get off and walk for crying out loud! Your knees will thank you and so will your bike, as you are not beating the crap out of your transmission. Big strong blokes can do some serious damage to bikes. I know. I've done it.

 

[ozboz]

I am having to get an 11-34 on my road bike , I went up a very steep hill last week , i didnt bail , but it was hard on the 25 cog , so It makes me try to get round the hills , but sometimes its put up and shut up for me to be honest , but I think the mod will suit me , and make them thar hills a bit dsrn easier !
I am 6' and 13.5 stone , with a bad left leg , at the mo ,

 

[mjr]

I am having to get an 11-34 on my road bike , I went up a very steep hill last week , i didnt bail , but it was hard on the 25 cog , so It makes me try to get round the hills , but sometimes its put up and shut up for me to be honest , but I think the mod will suit me , and make them thar hills a bit dsrn easier !

I'm surprised you're going straight for the 34 plate without trying 28 or 32 on the way... I fear you may now be disappointed by the bigger gaps between gears on 11-34.

 

[ozboz]

I'm surprised you're going straight for the 34 plate without trying 28 or 32 on the way... I fear you may now be disappointed by the bigger gaps between gears on 11-34.

11-25
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25)

11-34
11-13-15-17-19-21-23-26-30-34)

Going off this comparison , I do not think I'll have to much trouble

 

[mjr]

11-25
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25)

11-34
11-13-15-17-19-21-23-26-30-34)

Going off this comparison , I do not think I'll have to much trouble

Your 9-10% steps at the ends of the range will be replaced by 15-18% at the top and 13-15% at the low end: http://gear-calculator.com/?GR=DERS...52&RZ2=11,13,15,17,19,21,23,26,30,34&UF2=2240

Anyway, I guess you've ordered it now, so suck it and see!

 

[nickyboy]

Exactly this! The language some cyclists use almost unconsciously is so instructive: conquer, contest, attack, beating [the hills], beating [the crap out of yourself/your bike], kill, damage ... All that is fine if it's a race but let's face it, usually it's not, it's just a bike ride and a hill is just a rise in the road to be pottered up, on bike or on foot.

I think the OP is in the "thou shalt not walk" camp (as am I). Different folk have different ideas about their cycling I guess

I still contend that the OP doesn't have to do an expensive gearing refit and a tad of weight loss and a bit more fitness will see him up the steep hills with his current setup

 

[jay clock]

I'm exactly the same size as you. I doubt I could lose any more weight. Probably a bit off the belly but I doubt that is possible. I'm pretty strong, but my weight will always be against me on hills. When I was a kid in the 60s on group rides people always got off and walked. This was time for a chat, take a picture, light a fag. No pressure. These days it becomes a contest and IMO becomes ridiculous. These lightweights on lightweight bikes are always going to kill the bigger guys on the hills. I would not bother beating yourself up about it. Get off and walk for crying out loud! Your knees will thank you and so will your bike, as you are not beating the crap out of your transmission. Big strong blokes can do some serious damage to bikes. I know. I've done it.

but back then a 42 small ring was about as easy as it got.....

 

[bigjim]

but back then a 42 small ring was about as easy as it got.....

Very true. But I was also younger and thinner, but I still got off now and again. You didn't lose face then as you seem to now. Even now with lower gears I can struggle up some really steep sections and will get off and walk. I don't know about others, but I find it a bit of a fine line about spinning up in a very low gear or pushing hard in a higher gear. Spinning for a longer period of time takes a fair bit of energy, pushing hard can you get to the top quicker, but you can end up being just as knackered, whichever one you choose. Like anything in life you only get better doing something, if you do it a lot. Spending a lot of time hillclimbing will make you a better climber. But Mr gravity will always be there having a laugh at you.