How to tackle Hills

[chrisb1357]

Hi all,

As I live in Derbyshire there seems to be a hill at every corner and I seem to always find it hard to get up them and even more when I am cycling with a friend who has a road bike he is up at the top before I am even half way. I have a Giant CSR 4 hybrid.

Chris

 

[ianrauk]

Just keep climbing those hills. There is no magic formula for getting up hills apart from practice, practice, practice.

.

 

[MontyVeda]

I have a friend who sees every hill as a race to the top... I'm more into sit back and take it easy on most hills... I'm in no rush.The really annoying thing is he thinks he's beaten me every time... but fails to realise I've never competed.

you may not be as bad at hills as you think.

 

[Sittingduck]

What's your fitness and weight like? Are you new to cycling or been doing it a while?

 

[chrisb1357]

Well I am a bit overweight and I like to go out for 10 to 15 miles a week or every few weeks

 

[coffeejo]

Break it into chunks so you climb so far, stop for a drink and a breather, then start again. Next time you do that hill, try and go beyond your invisible marker before stopping, then a bit further the next time. But (and this is a case of me needing to take my own advice) don't beat yourself up if you can't get as far as you'd like, even if you've done it before. Some days you've got the legs, some days you don't.

 

[Sittingduck]

Ok, so it's a fitness and experience thing.

Good tip from Jo, as above. Folk will tell you to just get off and walk and there's no shame in walking etc but (IMHO), if you get off and walk when the going gets tough, you will not improve as quickly as you could. Stop and recover, if needed - then start peddaling again

Your performance will improve as you do more cycling and become more practiced in hill climbing. If you end up doing longer rides and riding more regularly, you will very likely see a marked improvement in fitness which will yield a large improvement, again IMHO.

Stick with it and spin a gear at which you can manage - don't try to push anything too high and shag your legs out.

 

[chqshaitan]

Hi Bud,

I have the same bike as you, and also struggle with hills.(although i am much better now than i was when i first started a couple of months ago).

The mega range gear works wonders though, as it gives me the ability to the top of hills much easier than sticking in 2nd. Originally my legs were shagged at the top, and I had to take a breather, now i can keep on cycling.

There is nothing better than just getting on the bike as frequent as you can.

 

[helston90]

Keep on practising is the only real way- build fitness/ strength and stamina.
Who's in better nick at the top? If your riding buddy is dying in a sweaty crumpled heap next to their bike whilst you pootle by 2-3 minutes later ready to carry on who's won really?

 

[chqshaitan]

Keep on practising is the only real way- build fitness/ strength and stamina.
Who's in better nick at the top? If your riding buddy is dying in a sweaty crumpled heap next to their bike whilst you pootle by 2-3 minutes later ready to carry on who's won really?

+1,

its not about who got to the top of the hill first, but who can finish the ride imo. also cycling for me, is about getting my butt out of the chair, and out in the fresh air. If each ride was a competition with a friend, i may be less inclined to go out, which defeats the object

 

[deanE]

I started cycling when I retired a couple of years ago. I used to be total cr*p at hills. Now I am just rubbish.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Move to Suffolk

 

[chrisb1357]

Thanks for the tips people. On my last ride I did stop half way for a few sec for a drink etc then carried on. As I got to the top my mate was having a rest and I just carried on pass him LOL.

When I am out on a ride my avg speed is around 11mph on a 15 mile ride

I did think it was down to my bike having heavy Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres

 

[Sittingduck]

Heavy bikes and especially additional weight on the wheels and tyres will make a big difference but the key is fitness. When you become cycling fit (or fitter) you will see a great benefit from changing to lighter kit but it could be argued that training and learning on heavier equipment is no bad thing.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Break it into chunks so you climb so far, stop for a drink and a breather, then start again. Next time you do that hill, try and go beyond your invisible marker before stopping, then a bit further the next time. But (and this is a case of me needing to take my own advice) don't beat yourself up if you can't get as far as you'd like, even if you've done it before. Some days you've got the legs, some days you don't.

Believe it or not, I like hills.
I would like to get better at them, sort of middle of the pack at the mo, probably heavy bikes and still smoking a few has something to do with this
On practicing, my problems are that if I stop midway a steep hill I can't start again: sometimes I solve this by sort of starting sideways, so not to slide back the hill or fall off the bike.
One of my local hills has traffic light just before the top. I can make it, but if I need to stop at the red remounting the bike becomes hazardous.
Also, what are your tips for practicing when traffic is present?
Sometimes I would like to tackle a hill but not sure if I can make it, wouldn't like the car behind to crash into me because I stopped