Please Help on hills!!

[steveindenmark]

Look on Youtube. There are plenty of tips.

 

[nickyboy]

A 30:30 gear ratio is enough to get up practically any hill so long as you're fit enough and mentally up for it. It sounds like your reason for stopping is one of these.

To give you my example, I am almost 14 stone. My lowest gearing is 34:25 and I get up every hill the Peak District has to offer. I'm going to change it to a 34:28 because my cadence is too low on >15% climbs but I can still get up them. I'm nothing special, just reasonably fit with an attitude that stopping on hills is a big no-no

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I have a bike with 50/39/28 on the front and 12-28 on the back. I think that's a 26 inch gear. I have another with 50/34 on the front and 13-29 on the cassette. ( about 30 inch lowest). The steepest hills still defeat me , even on the "hamster cadence" triple but it got me up a few hills that seemed impossible once. It was a big psychological boost.

Low gears, I love 'em.

Great expression

@Big_Dave a 50/XX/26 and an 11-32 is 45th capacity, (though I am sure you know this) not sure if many road bike RD's can cope with that. and 50/38/26 and 11-32 is 21.4-120"

 

[Big_Dave]

A 30:30 gear ratio is enough to get up practically any hill so long as you're fit enough and mentally up for it. It sounds like your reason for stopping is one of these.

To give you my example, I am almost 14 stone. My lowest gearing is 34:25 and I get up every hill the Peak District has to offer. I'm going to change it to a 34:28 because my cadence is too low on >15% climbs but I can still get up them. I'm nothing special, just reasonably fit with an attitude that stopping on hills is a big no-no

If I were 14st I would look like a bag of bones, I am probably just under 4.5st heavier than you are, and the right gearing (for me) is the key, I can climb the same hills better and quicker and easier on my mtb even though it weighs more than my road bike

@Nigelnaturist yes you would also need a medium cage road RD, sorry it was late when I replied lol

 

[Trull]

Yep I agree with the above - 30x30 is not a mad gear to have (I'd look to extend the range lower), and to be honest I run a 26x31 so that I don't ever have to put a foot down, even when knackered. To build muscle mass you *have* to overload your legs, so if this really worries you, do interval training sets up a local smallish hill - sprinting over the summit everytime. A few of those sessions and your legs will sprout mate!

 

[Rob3rt]

Yep I agree with the above - 30x30 is not a mad gear to have (I'd look to extend the range lower), and to be honest I run a 26x31 so that I don't ever have to put a foot down, even when knackered. To build muscle mass you *have* to overload your legs, so if this really worries you, do interval training sets up a local smallish hill - sprinting over the summit everytime. A few of those sessions and your legs will sprout mate!

WTF are you on about?

 

[Big_Dave]

WTF are you on about?

Can you elaborate on that Rob, "WTF are you on about?" doesn't really cut it as constructive advice

 

[Rob3rt]

Okay how about this...

Firstly, increased muscle mass is not advantageous to ones climbing ability. More muscle mass = more weight.

I imagine the common retort to this is that more muscle mass = more strength, well news for you (intended in a general sense - not necessarily you @Big_Dave, cycling is not a strength sport and more importantly power is not equal to strength!

Interval training on a hill is highly unlikely to "overload your legs" in such a way as to make your legs "sprout". Sprinting up a hill, even a short one is going to involve at least 60 reps (60 revolutions of the cranks, that is a 1 minute steep climb forcing cadence to drop noticeably), to manage 60 reps, each rep must be hugely sub-maximal, thus not providing the same sort of stimulus that promotes absolute strength or muscle mass increases (low rep, close to maximal effort).