How long before riding becomes easy again?

[KneesUp]

A bit of my history: I used to cycle a fair amount - when I was 10 or so I used to ride around 'the block' to see how many times I could do it before my tea was ready. As I was doing this on a Raleigh Commando (approx. weight of a Mini) for two hours at a time I suppose I was reasonably fit. I also used to cycle to secondary school (all of a mile) and basically anywhere I needed to get to. I would ocassionally go for longer rides to a park 15 miles away but my parents weren't keen on me going further. I did do a bit of a cycling holiday with my dad in Wales when I was 15 and coped ok with the hills even with a relatively high lowest gear of 46 inches. Then I passed my driving test and stopped riding really, apart from to and from my summer job for six to eight weeks per year (10 mile round trip) I moved to somewhere small, the somewhere too busy, then somewhere hilly and then my bike got stolen, so I haven't really ridden for over 15 years until a few weeks ago.

Although I could ride my bike fast I never really rode long distances, and I lived in Manchester, which is pretty flat so I always struggled with hills.

Now I find myself 15 years older and in Sheffield, which is not flat at all. I've been commuting for a fortnight and can now pottle along at a reasonbale speed on the flat sections, but I find the uphill bits almost as hard as ever, in that I get to a certain point on 'the big hill' on the way home and grind to a halt, and that point doesn't seem to be getting any further up the hill. I thought nothing of this until I saw an elderly chap whirr up the hill I can't do the other day and it looked totally effortless.

So, my question is, how long did you have to ride before you found the uphill bits were getting easier?

(Must also get around to putting toe-clips on the bike - I haven't ridded without them since I was about 13 and as a result my feet keep slipping off, which obviously isn't helping)

 

[4F]

The uphill bits are never easier, you just go up them faster the more you cycle. You sure the elderly chap was not on an electric bike ?

 

[MikeG]

It doesn't get easier: you just go further and faster. OK, maybe it gets easier on your bum........

 

[snorri]

So, my question is, how long did you have to ride before you found the uphill bits were getting easier?

Easier?
.
It's not that it gets easier it's just that you're not in such a hurry as you get older.

 

[lukasran]

for me it got a lot easier after about 2 months of regular cycling up hills. keep going.

 

[ColinJ]

Hardly anybody uses actual toeclips anymore! A much better bet is use SPD pedals and shoes. You can often get a pair of SPD shoes for less than £20 from Aldi or Lidl when they have one of their cycling promotions on. Alternatively, pay a bit more for a pair from one of the cycling specialists - eg these.

You can get the pedals for under £20. These are the ones that I (and many other riders) use.

Forget the fact that they are described as mountain bike shoes/pedals - they work fine on a road bike.

If you can ride along happily on the flat, then you should be able to cope with the hills too as long as you use gears low enough to suit your fitness. It sounds like you should be using more like a 30-35 inch gear at the moment, rather than the 46 inch gear of old. How low is your bottom gear?

Everybody is different, but it takes me about 500 miles of hilly cycling to get a bit of fitness, about 1,000 miles to start to feel good, and about 1,500 miles to feel great. That is over a sensible timescale of a few months - obviously doing 500 miles over 5 years wouldn't help much!

 

[KneesUp]

Hardly anybody uses actual toeclips anymore! A much better bet is use SPD pedals and shoes. You can often get a pair of SPD shoes for less than £20 from Aldi or Lidl when they have one of their cycling promotions on. Alternatively, pay a bit more for a pair from one of the cycling specialists - eg these.

You can get the pedals for under £20. These are the ones that I (and many other riders) use.

I've got shoes on my feet already, though - and a pair of toe clips under the kitchen sink I reckon the gains I'd get by having SPD pedals would be outweighed by the annoyance at not being able to hop on the bike to go to the post office without changing my shoes, and by having to carry spare shoes to work. If I had a dedicated 'ride for the joy of it bike' I'd be tempted though. (Also, although my bike was £800 new (inflation adjusted) it cost me £36, so £40 on pedals and shoes is realtively expensive!)

If you can ride along happily on the flat, then you should be able to cope with the hills too as long as you use gears low enough to suit your fitness. It sounds like you should be using more like a 30-35 inch gear at the moment, rather than the 46 inch gear of old. How low is your bottom gear?

Not sure, but a heck of a lot lower than 46" - the current bike has 26" wheels for a start, and has an off-road triple. I'd guess it's about 25"? I haven't counted the teeth to be honest!

Everybody is different, but it takes me about 500 miles of hilly cycling to get a bit of fitness, about 1,000 miles to start to feel good, and about 1,500 miles to feel great. That is over a sensible timescale of a few months - obviously doing 500 miles over 5 years wouldn't help much!

1,500 miles you say? The answer, then, is to ride another 1,400 miles. It always comes down to putting the miles in I guess :/

 

[ColinJ]

Only 100 miles - no wonder you are finding it hard!

Sounds like you have plenty of gears already and just need to use them ... more regularly!

I never got on with toeclips so I switched to SPDs years ago, but I take your point. Mind you - I know a woman who used toeclips for 40 years but has just switched to SPDs and loves them. You can walk about in SPD shoes, though they look more like trainers than normal footwear for work. Yes, even cheap ones do cost money that you might rather spend on something else.

Anyway, I'm sure that in a month or two you won't be worrying about those hills any more. Just keep riding up them and you will soon be ok.

The Keighley Road is a long hill out of Hebden Bridge. I think it took me 3 attempts to get up it without stopping, way back in 1989. I have never had a problem with it since!

 

[raleighnut]

There are SPD pedals available with a clip on one side and a normal ally pedal on the other (so that you don't need the shoes for a quick "nip to the shops") Mind you I don't wear shoes in the house so have to put a pair on to go out anyway.

 

[Archie_tect]

I got my Dawes bike when I was 21. It had 52/40 chainrings and a five gear 11-25 freewheel.... I could go anywhere on it without thinking very much about hills.

I use it all the time still but changed the freewheel for a 12-32 [sounds wierd but I'm used to the steps!] and swapped the Huret derailleur for a Sun Tour one but I couldn't complete the 63 mile Cyclone without getting off and walking up some of the steeper bits...

 

[JasonHolder]

I cany really say because although im new on the bike ive always had an unusually high level of fitness/punishment i could take and enjoy every second of it. But that is a personality thing. 6 weeks. In 6 weeks you'll have a noticeable increase in performance if you are getting out and riding. Eat right and drink right. Enjoy every bit of sunshine you get too

 

[Julia9054]

I'm always a bit depressed at how quickly I lose fitness. Haven't cycled to work for a week now due to having to lug a mahoosive box of coursework backwards and forwards for marking. Have only been able to get out for short rides at weekends for the last couple of weeks as well. I'm doing a 100km ride with a friend on Saturday and fully expect to end up knackered! Mind you, she has had a baby since we last rode together so I'm hoping she's even more unfit than me!
And on the pedals thing, I use toe clips on my donkey bike due to the popping to the shops without changing shoes thing. Clipless on other bikes tho.

 

[KneesUp]

Only 100 miles - no wonder you are finding it hard!

Yeah. Well, er, I'm quite busy. I did ride to the supermarket last night as well as riding home from work. That's an extra mile over the commute to chalk up. Saw the SPD shoes in Aldi too, and found myself strangely drawn to pannier bags I don't have a rack for - like I need more weight

I never got on with toeclips so I switched to SPDs years ago, but I take your point. Mind you - I know a woman who used toeclips for 40 years but has just switched to SPDs and loves them. You can walk about in SPD shoes, though they look more like trainers than normal footwear for work. Yes, even cheap ones do cost money that you might rather spend on something else.

I'm of the mind that if it ain't broke and all that - I used toe-clips (chrome Christophe ones, naturally) when I used to ride my bike to school wearing steel-capped Dr Marten 8-holes, so they should be ok for cycling to work. Plus the ones I have are proper retro Gary Fisher MTB ones - that's got to be cool, right? As I say though, I'd like to give clipless a go, but I see lots of threads about falling off and clips not clipping properly and shoes being uncomfortable which puts me off. Toeclips are nice and simple, which suits me

I cany really say because although im new on the bike ive always had an unusually high level of fitness/punishment i could take and enjoy every second of it. But that is a personality thing. 6 weeks. In 6 weeks you'll have a noticeable increase in performance if you are getting out and riding. Eat right and drink right. Enjoy every bit of sunshine you get too

I've never really had much stamina, which is what I need to work on. At school again, I could beat anyone over 100 metres, but was utterly useless at anything over 400m. I'll get back to you in six weeks

There are SPD pedals available with a clip on one side and a normal ally pedal on the other (so that you don't need the shoes for a quick "nip to the shops") Mind you I don't wear shoes in the house so have to put a pair on to go out anyway.

I've seen those, thanks. They are an option for the future. I think what I meant was I want to ride my bike on clothes I would wear if I wasn't riding my bike, so that when I'm in Aldi I don't look like I'm a cyclist temporarily walking, but just like a customer, if you see what I mean? It should be as easy as possible to ride so that it just becomes a natural way to get around. Double sided pedals would be a good compromise, although really none of my bikes (24 year old rigid MTB, 33 year old road bike with no cranks and 21 year old hybrid stripped to parts) are good enough to justify it. Actually that's not right - they're all good bikes, but they have more pressing needs than new pedals!

I got my Dawes bike when I was 21. It had 52/40 chainrings and a five gear 11-25 freewheel.... I could go anywhere on it without thinking very much about hills.

I use it all the time still but changed the freewheel for a 12-32 [sounds wierd but I'm used to the steps!] and swapped the Huret derailleur for a Sun Tour one but I couldn't complete the 63 mile Cyclone without getting off and walking up some of the steeper bits...

You're saying I'm just old and past it aren't you I've just checked my bike and it would appear my bottom gear is 26" although I've never used it because I get tremendous chain-suck using the inner ring so the lowest gear I've used is 34" I think I need a new chain.

 

[ColinJ]

I get tremendous chain-suck using the inner ring so the lowest gear I've used is 34" I think I need a new chain.

If it is that bad, you might end up having to change the rings and cassette too! I went through that last time on my road bike. It is much cheaper to change the chains more frequently but I forget to do it ...

 

[KneesUp]

If it is that bad, you might end up having to change the rings and cassette too! I went through that last time on my road bike. It is much cheaper to change the chains more frequently but I forget to do it ...

In my defence I've only been responsible for this bike for a month - I'll blame previous owners for neglect

I've not quite worked it out, but on the smallest ring (you can get it on there if you're very careful and a bit lucky) the chain doens't even look straight - but it looks fine on the the other two. I haven't worked out if it's the smaller diameter of the little ring that shows up a kink in the chain more, or if the small ring itself is bent. When I get chance I'll whip the cranks off, but I think I'll replace the chain anyway. The cassette looks quite new. The rings less so, but not too bad I don't think.