Hill question ???

[steve52]

canal legs

you may be like me and born with canal legs!! they will go down hill fine and are happy on anything flat, but as soon as they see anything remotely uphill they stop working properly , they demand so much oxygen that my lungs cant keep up, somehow my chest size shrinks and saliva turns to sticky string to ad to the breathing difficultys,i have delt with this by looking for hills, to ride up not because it helps but in the seemingly vain hope that i can improve! ( ps pant i pant think pant its pant working cough pant)

 

[GrasB]

You don't mention what sort of pedals or shoes you have. Are they platform pedals without toe clips? If so then then it might be worth investing in toe clips to secure your feet or better clipless pedals and cycling shoes with cleats that secure the feet on the pedals.

With your feet securely attached to the pedals you can start to apply some climbing techniques that will help you. Someone mentioned pushing hard with just one leg x 10 and then the other. I've not heard of that one before and I wouldn't recommend it to be honest although each to their own.

Good climbers get into a rhythmn. Choose a gear you can get on top of' i.e. relatively fast cadence more than 60 rpm. You lose energy fighting the bike in too big a gear; it is more efficient to keep the body relatively still. Count in your head 1-2-3. On the count of 1 push down hard on one leg and then counts 2 & 3 focus on applying a circular force on the pedals so that as one leg is pushing down the other is clawing up as though you are scraping something off the bottom of your shoe.

The next count of 1 will be the alternative leg pushing down hard. Fix your gaze about 15-20 feet ahead and put your bum twoards the back of the saddle and keep your arms on the tops of the bars towards the centre, either side of the stem. Your body is then postioned in a such a way so that your legs have something to push against. Every now and again get out of the saddle. This will use different muscle groups and give some relief to the other muscles.

You've now got into a steady rhythmn and before you know it you're at the top.

+1 to this, the rhythm is key. If you zen into the rhythm you actually don't want to stop as it actually takes effort to stop. I mean I've completely miss-judged the climb gradient & been doing 10ppm up a >20% gradient not wanted to stop or change gear because it'd be more effort than keeping in the rhythm.

I'll try to judge it so the gear is about right for the main climb gradient but I'll need to get out of the saddle to keep things going on the steepest parts. I've found that I tend to climb low on the drops, just before the bar flattens out for the return. This allows me to seamlessly move between in the saddle, out the saddle & out the saddle + 'rolling' the bike.

 

[kimz]

wow its all getting so technical now

ive got normal bog standard pedals no clips also if im riding to the field normally got wellies or trainers on can foot wear realy make a difference ? i can understand the clips making a difference but my trainers ? my feet dont slip

steve52 i think we have the same type legs

i will take this all in and adapt to my liking some really good advice

 

[marinyork]

You don't have to have clips if you don't want them. I did thousands of miles before I got them. This place is a bit biased towards the confusingly called clipless pedals. Climbing hills is all about gearing, rhythm and guesswork though.

 

[Riverman]

I love that feeling when you're half way climbing up a hill and you feel comfortable shifting into a higher gear.

It doesn't happen to me that often but when it does it feels really satisfying.

 

[lukesdad]

Less mass= better climber

Good technique= better climber

Positive mindset = better climber

Everything else is practice.

 

[Bill Gates]

wow its all getting so technical now

ive got normal bog standard pedals no clips also if im riding to the field normally got wellies or trainers on can foot wear realy make a difference ? i can understand the clips making a difference but my trainers ? my feet dont slip

steve52 i think we have the same type legs

i will take this all in and adapt to my liking some really good advice

Basically if you are riding a bike then your legs are transmitting your power on to the pedals which generates forward motion.

The power transmission is not 100% efficient though. Some of your energy will be wasted through the bike and it's components. Generally the stiffer the component ( including the frame) the better as this reduces energy loss. That is why you should change the chain regularly as the links stretch making it elastic.

Cycling shoes are stiff soled and fasten tight over the top of the foot, and if fastened to the pedal will be much more effiicent than wellies or trainers which are soft and pliable. In other words a lot more efficient and therefore easier to ride.

 

[kimz]

ok i decided after doing lunches for my clients i would take the long route home and i maped it when i got home now it was 5.9 miles i did this in 30 mins is this slow ???

also i new this route had a hill and was very pleased i got up it i can remember long time ago i had to walk up it ( not been this way in a long time ) its not as long as the other one im trying to conquer but im still pleased just wondered if my time was slow ? mind you im not trying to race or anything but want to know what kinda speed im looking at ,

on a bad note ive been bad today as ive not eaten so my energy is probably low i did buy a drink earlier then for got to take it

so now ive caught my breath back and had a drink im gonna have some lunch

 

[kimz]

anyone any good at working out hills ive just managed to get the elevation on the hill that im having trouble with !
cant seem to upload it so will just put it on here and someone might know if this is a little hill or not

its a total of .8 miles long this road

total ascent - 114ft
total decent - 1ft
start elevation - 15ft
end elevation - 128ft
min elev - 15ft
max elev - 129ft


any ideas ?????? is this a little hill to most off you

 

[marinyork]

ok i decided after doing lunches for my clients i would take the long route home and i maped it when i got home now it was 5.9 miles i did this in 30 mins is this slow ???

Nope, sounds perfectly all right on a MTB. It's the sort of averages I get on my hybrid. That's fine honestly don't read too many of these threads of people doing 15, 16, 19mph in beginners.

As for the hill, doesn't really matter, it's you that has to deal with it.

 

[kimz]

Nope, sounds perfectly all right on a MTB. It's the sort of averages I get on my hybrid. That's fine honestly don't read too many of these threads of people doing 15, 16, 19mph in beginners.

As for the hill, doesn't really matter, it's you that has to deal with it.

no im not a speed demon so wont be doing things like 19mph anyway

im just trying to get an idea of what i need to do to be able to do this 118 what kind of speed would be average etc im not looking at trying to be first second or whatever but just to finnish ok

oh and i must admit i nearly messed the hill i did today by misjudging what gear i should of been in and had to change 3/4 of the way up lost rythem and nearly did not make it

 

[GrasB]

anyone any good at working out hills ive just managed to get the elevation on the hill that im having trouble with !
cant seem to upload it so will just put it on here and someone might know if this is a little hill or not

its a total of .8 miles long this road

total ascent - 114ft
total decent - 1ft
start elevation - 15ft
end elevation - 128ft
min elev - 15ft
max elev - 129ft


any ideas ?????? is this a little hill to most off you

While there are certainly more challenging climbs out there I'd not call that climb inconsequential by any stretch of the imagination.

Also forget about your average speed, but around 12mph isn't bad, the will come with time if you put effort into it. For now just enjoy you riding.

 

[kimz]

thanks grasb thats kinda what i wanted to know , dont want people laughing at me saying call that a hill !!!! if you know what i mean


and 12mph is not too bad considering ive very little brakes at the moment and dont likke going to fast just in case some idgit cuts me actually they often do ! normally getting in front of me then doing a sharp left turn in front of me why oh why do they do this so far ive managed to avoid hitting cars only cos im carefull approaching juntions as i know what idiots there are around

 

[marinyork]

no im not a speed demon so wont be doing things like 19mph anyway

im just trying to get an idea of what i need to do to be able to do this 118 what kind of speed would be average etc im not looking at trying to be first second or whatever but just to finnish ok

You'd do it at about 12mph my guess is. The problem is scaling it so you can get 11-12mph on the full 118 miles. You don't want to be doing that for the first 60 miles and then trundling along at 8mph for the last half. Hence as I was saying try and do some longer rides, but you have the right attitude and seem to be enjoying it.

 

[kimz]

YES YES YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



guess what i done ???