Struggling with hills
- Thread starter Rider Rich
- Start date
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dhague said:
thats about the size of it DH
going from a 53x38 chainset to a compact 50x34 using the same 12-27t cassette gave me an extra gear change worth 4" the cost of the chainset and BB £70.00 used
Frankly financially it wasn't worth it but when my legs are turning to jelly and my lungs are burning and I'm gasping for air one more gear change is sometimes the diference between staying on the bike and climbing off and walking.
The only worthwhile improvement I could make here would be to slap a 32t sprocket on the back which would give me 29.00" and another decrease of 3" (or one gear change. )
You'd need to change your rear mech to a medium or long cage
My advice to you and the OP would be to put an 11-32t Deore cassette on and change the rear mech to a medium cage to get the best bang for your bucks. You'll need to either lengthen your chain with the links you took off (you did keep them didn't you
) or buy a new chain which would probably be best with a new cassettechain £11.00 http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productdetail.asp?productcatalogue=KMCACHAI400
Shop around the cassette costs about £13.00
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productdetail.asp?productcatalogue=SHIMCASM300
and the rear mech around £12.00 http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productdetail.asp?productcatalogue=SHIMGRRR210
£25.00 for an extra 6-7 inches a bargain
My message for the OP is:-
If you have to get off and push, do it. There are some bad hills round where you are and on the bike you have, some are steeper than what the bike is geared for. No need to shag up your knees straight away.
There is no shame in pushing a 'roadrace' bike up a 14%. I've seen it done on a 200 Audax. ( Ipstones ).
There is no shame in stopping at the bottom, doing some stretches, drinking a swig of energy drink and having a piddle in the bushes.
Passers by will think you are SERIOUSLY in training. If they say anything, reply "this will be my sixth ride up here today". It will be a lie but 'who cares'?
Another tip is to start by setting 6% as your initial challenge. When done confidently, go to a 8%.
Your bike has gearing for a 22%, but DON'T try this grade until you have progressed steadily 2% at a time.
It's a bit like weightlifting, only an idiot tries to lift the whole stack on the benchpress at their first session.
Fitness and strength DON'T come instantly. Be patient and tackle each steeper gradient when you have truly conquered the grade you are at.
The 'breathing' tip was good. Breath out on the exertion, inhale on the little bit of relaxation. This means a slow cadence, in the same manner as an 'alternate leg press' on a seated squat machine.
Starting on lesser steep hills eg 6%, you can practice getting the cycling form smooth and correct. Hammering away at a steep hill with high crank revs will risk straining the knees and hips, and is not good form. The last thing you want is a hernia.
Have fun.
If you have to get off and push, do it. There are some bad hills round where you are and on the bike you have, some are steeper than what the bike is geared for. No need to shag up your knees straight away.
There is no shame in pushing a 'roadrace' bike up a 14%. I've seen it done on a 200 Audax. ( Ipstones ).
There is no shame in stopping at the bottom, doing some stretches, drinking a swig of energy drink and having a piddle in the bushes.
Passers by will think you are SERIOUSLY in training. If they say anything, reply "this will be my sixth ride up here today". It will be a lie but 'who cares'?
Another tip is to start by setting 6% as your initial challenge. When done confidently, go to a 8%.
Your bike has gearing for a 22%, but DON'T try this grade until you have progressed steadily 2% at a time.
It's a bit like weightlifting, only an idiot tries to lift the whole stack on the benchpress at their first session.
Fitness and strength DON'T come instantly. Be patient and tackle each steeper gradient when you have truly conquered the grade you are at.
The 'breathing' tip was good. Breath out on the exertion, inhale on the little bit of relaxation. This means a slow cadence, in the same manner as an 'alternate leg press' on a seated squat machine.
Starting on lesser steep hills eg 6%, you can practice getting the cycling form smooth and correct. Hammering away at a steep hill with high crank revs will risk straining the knees and hips, and is not good form. The last thing you want is a hernia.
Have fun.
Rider Rich
Active Member
This is the route I did the other night, when I had to push it half way up that hill.
www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=11647
The bit I struggled with: I went down Beddlestead Lane, which runs onto Hesiers Hill, this is where I got off half way up and had to push.
That was the only point on the ride I had to get off.
It was not a long hill, but seemed pretty steep to me.
Richard
www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=11647
The bit I struggled with: I went down Beddlestead Lane, which runs onto Hesiers Hill, this is where I got off half way up and had to push.
That was the only point on the ride I had to get off.
It was not a long hill, but seemed pretty steep to me.
Richard
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
Maaan, all this talk has go me wanting to go and find some hills to tackle on the way home from work tonight
Sittingduck said:Maaan, all this talk has go me wanting to go and find some hills to tackle on the way home from work tonight
http://www.aukweb.net/aaa/index.htm
At the bottom of this page, there is a spreadsheet to assess the climbing on a route. aaa3
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
I'll be up in your neck of the woods this weekend Jimbo. Might go for a spin up the hill at Elmdon park to relive my childhood days
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
Anyone buying a bike with derailler gears accepts that there will be some redundancy in said gearing, through duplication, being within a range unlikely to get used, or due to poor chainline. So a lot of us pedal around quite happily knowing that we're carrying some gear combinations that won't see use.
Yet, suggest that you engineer it whereby some of the 'redundancy' could be of use in a tight spot, or to a beginner, and you're being a wuss. I don't get it, why not aim to have gearing down to say 22 inches on all your bikes?
Yet, suggest that you engineer it whereby some of the 'redundancy' could be of use in a tight spot, or to a beginner, and you're being a wuss. I don't get it, why not aim to have gearing down to say 22 inches on all your bikes?
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
Lol - jump the brook! Or as recall... kids on BMX's straight down Victor road and jumped off the bikes at the last minute, realising they would not clear it 
Bikes left to fly into the brook...
Anyway this thread is in danger of going OT - sorry Richard
Bikes left to fly into the brook...Anyway this thread is in danger of going OT - sorry Richard
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
Sons o' bicthes if they have messed up Hobs Moat woods! Early MTB days there in the mid-late 80's. Great fun
DustBowlRefugee
Guru
- Location
- Sussex, England
MacBludgeon said:
Don't listen to this maniac! Succumbs Hill is to be avoided at all costs!
I climbed the Ventoux 2 years ago but have never managed Succumbs Hill. I always bottle it when it narrows at bend at the top and I start wobbling in front of traffic....
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
Sittingduck said:
Not all threads have an end
