Hills

[automatic_jon]

I started cycling as a form of transport a couple of years ago and since then have started to cycle for fitness and enjoyment more and more. Growing up in the Cambridgeshire fens I'd heard of hills although never seen one in the wild, after moving to Portsmouth and cycling around the sandbank on which the city is built I've been looking at the prehistoric cliffs to the north of the city and wondering how one cycles above sea level.
And today I managed it, I actually cycled all of 400 feet above sea level over about a mile without getting off to die half way up the hill.
What are good techniques for climbing hills, and is it normal to feel like throwing up after half a mile of climbing? I'm assuming not.

 

[Bayerd]

and is it normal to feel like throwing up after half a mile of climbing? I'm assuming not.

You assume wrongly (at least in my experience).

Just keep at it, you'll improve. Make a record of where you're at now, put it somewhere dark and lonely and look at it in 6 months' time. You'll see the difference.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Top tip... Relax.
So, sit back, get comfortable, select the right gear early and then spin or grind away, whatever your style, but make sure that your upper body is completely relaxed. Tension here or wrestling with the handlebars is just wasted effort. Use your lower back to support your torso, let your backside sink into your saddle and find a nice rhythm for legs and breathing. If it's a long hill, then standing on the pedals helps to use alternate different muscles in the effort. But most of all, just relax...

Do a search on the forum, there have been plenty of threads on the subject.

 

[davidg]

the hills that I have problems going up involve selecting the lowest gear I have!

 

[ColinJ]

I'm not being funny, but you are using your gears properly aren't you?

Assuming that you are using a low enough gear, then perhaps you just aren't used to pacing yourself on climbs. If you go too fast at the start of a hill then you could easily get tired before you are half way up.

The same thing would happen if you tried riding along at 35 mph on the flat. You might manage a few hundred yards at that speed but you'd probably feel like throwing up before long!

 

[gaz]

You need to just find your technique.

you do need to relax. make sure your arms are bent and are just holding the bars to steady them.

 

[BentMikey]

Relaxing the upper body is extremely easy on a recumbent, and nearly impossible on my fixed wheel. Either that or I'm just crap at going up hills. Which is certainly true.

 

[Crankarm]

Being a Fen man I too have problems with hills, going up them, but not going down them strangely enough. Wasn't Eddy Merckx from the flatlands of Belgium? Don't have much chance to practice on them as it is so flat in Cambs.

 

[automatic_jon]

My technique so far has been to get a bit of a run up at the hill and steadily change down gears as my legs begin to loose momentum. I usually end up in granny gear about halfway up and just slog the rest of the way.
I do need to relax when I ride I think, on the way down too actually, I was hanging on to the drops for dear life coming home! Fun though.

 

[accountantpete]

Good quality light and stiff frame/wheels with the tyres correctly inflated minimises power wastage.

Otherwise it is practice.

A flexible pedalling technique helps enormously - a basic pull back or lift up of the pedals will give the front leg muscles a breather etc. I find it helps to practice regularly on lesser climbs to perfect these techniques and also build up the basic leg muscles/lung capacity.

 

[kimz]

i would say drop your gears early on and .... learn to breath correctly bringing your breathing and heart rate down this has been my biggest problem the breathing !!!!

 

[PK99]

i would say drop your gears early on and .... learn to breath correctly bringing your breathing and heart rate down this has been my biggest problem the breathing !!!!

helps to relax and stay loose

 

[jimboalee]

Climbing hills on a bicycle is a bit like walking up a downward moving escalator while wearing a 30lb backpack.
You wouldn't try to walk up the escalator at a 160 steps per minute rate, because the steps aren't 4" high. You'd step in time with the movement of each step, about 60 steps per minute because the steps are 10" high, roughly the same as the power stroke on your 170mm cranks.

Now if you think this sounds easy and you could do it for half an hour, why are you worrying about climbing hills on a bicycle?

 

[Crimmey]

Depending on the cadence and gradient I used to find being in too a low gear, therefore spinning fairly quickly, will leave me gasping quicker than being in a bigger gear where my cadence is around 70-75. The more I rode the quicker the cadence I have been able to use up hills without getting too breathless which in the long run has saved on the legs going too quickly. You might not feel the legs hurting at a lower cadence but they are using up glycogen quicker so can't go as far.

Once you have found your gear, as others have said relaxing and rhythm,which usually come together, are important. If riding in a group and you get dropped, don't go chasing, keep to your own rhythm and speed. It will save the legs again and you will probably end up quicker as you wont need to dramatically slow to recover from the hard effort.

 

[Bill Gates]

Most other riders recommend and use a relaxed upper body method for climbing and it obviously works for them. For me I suppose it depends on the context of the climb. When I'm riding my bike unless it's a recovery ride (and then I'm avoiding any climbs) I'm out to use climbs as a means of raising the power output and HR to push my LT and VO2max limits.

Apart from sitting more upright the position, technique and effort is similar to that I would use in a TT. It's not something that I'm that conscious of at the time but thinking about it, when in the seated postion, my upper body is quite tense as it is providing a solid foundation for my legs to push against. If it is a very long climb or it's part of a very long ride then my power output would be reduced and then the upper body might be more relaxed.