Climbing & shifting...

rides4sanity

Let's start with the obvious... I live in WV, it has a moderately hilly landscape, so I ride hills often, just not as well as I'd like to. I put too much energy into them and then tank... I am not naturally athletic and you'll need to spell this **** out... using small easy to understand words...

How do you choose your gear?

I hate spinning up the climbs, I find it exhausting and tedious. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong... I usually err the other way and try to power up them, sometimes I making (expending way more energy than needed) and sometimes I fatigue and end up shifting too way down and still grinding up the hill in greanny gear with zero power...

I've tried dropping the gear further to start and find that I out pedal the gear (I don't know how else to explain it. It's like it slips). I rarely find my happy spot, but when by some fluke I do I LOVE IT!

When I first learned to ride as a adult, I would ride behind Steve and listen for him to shift. Then I did what he did. Unfortunately, Steve is not a good climber (when your new you think he is, but...).

The most luck I've had is just staying in the big chain and gutting it out, but there are times I know it would be prudent to shift down. How do you do that without losing everything? Do you decide early to go down or wait until you are near the top of the rear cassette?

Nikki

narak_lol

Unsure what is "correct" but this is what I do so just want to share then listen to what everyone else do.

Normally I try to keep 60-80 cadence. For short climb no shifting between the rings while slight increase in speed just before the terrain start to rise. Gear down as late as possible if need be - kind of like STFU up the slope :laugh:

For long climb is small ring and gear down early, plus would choose a gear smaller than I think I can handle so I'm not "on the edge" the whole time as it's gonna be a looong way up. You can always do something later if you feel good.

Keeping an eye out here for advice from all my respected cyclists!

uboom

There are many different ways to attack a climb. Whether it be a short climb or long climb may vary your stradgey the way you go about it. To give you a general answer that will apply equally across all climbs. Here you go.

Pick a gear that allows you to spin at the same cadence and same force on the pedals as if you were on a flat road. On long climbs every few minutes shift up and get out of the saddle to give muscles a break.

Now some people like to bring their cadence down and use more force. I just find that induces fatigue faster. Some say spin at a higher cadence, but if you don't normally ride at the higher cadence you elevate heart rate even higher. When your go to base is your normal cadence and normal force to the pedal... climbing should feel similar and the only difference is the slower speed.

Now there are many different stradegys on how to attack rollers, short steep climbs, and long climbs of different grades. Those stradegys may alter how you choice your gear/cadence/power output, but the above advice is a very good base to fall back on.

verdemujer

This is going to be a great thread Nikki. I need to figure this out too. Living in the foothills of Colorado Front Range (east side of the Rockies), hills happen all the time.

If I can build up speed before I hit the hill, I'm all out in the highest gear I can get and then start shifting down on the rear cassette before I get to far up the hill and then shift down the front one before I start shifting the rear cassette some more. I've watched my husband break many chains because he likes to cross chain as it is called so I don't do that. I shift down as it gets harder and hard to maintain the power. Eventually I am all the way down which does suck but if its a long or steep hill I would rather have legs at the end then not be able to keep riding.

All of that said - I don't have a cadence meter nor a powermeter. All I have is speed to look at. All this talk about cadence I don't really understand. The next poster who does know, please explain how cadence relates to speed. Since I only have speed, I hate it when I drop below 5 mph as I know I can walk up a hill faster than that. But sometimes I have no choice. And maybe that's okay.

CentralCaliCycling

We have a lot of climbing options in my area. If I want I can think of four or five that can last from 10 to 20 miles solid and others with grades over 20% so I will give you my thoughts (as well as advice from experienced climbers) with that in mind.

If it is a short climb (50 yards or less) and under 6-7% power up and and push it over the top. You might not even have to change gears, certainly not rings if you are not already all out. I tend to accelerate in this situation. Be sure to ride past the top of the climb and not start to relax until gravity or a good draft is working for you.

If it is a moderate climb, 0.25 mile to 2 miles of under 5 percent you can just start into the climb changing gears to keep the resistance relatively even throughout the climb. At this point I would say I have heard some great climbers that I ride with say that pushing the big ring is very good for getting stronger to go faster but when you are racing or on a long ride you should drop to the small ring and RPM up to 80+ for as long as you can. Personally, I have a slow cadence and climb around 70-75 - for me 80+ RPM on a climb means that my heart rate will be climbing so I also tend to stand in intervals to both stretch out the legs and keep them from cramping as well as to get my breathing under control.

Speaking of breathing - very important. Make sure it is as even as you can make it unless you are trying to go anaerobic. Remember you only get to go there (anaerobic) two to four times in a ride generally without depleting your energy to where the rest of the day will not go well.

If it is a particularly steep hill (.10%+) that is 100 yards or more in length get into the small ring as you are shifting into easier gears to keep your resistance even, this should be when you are in the middle of your rear cassette since that is the best place to be when shifting from big to small. When you run out of gears alternate between sitting and standing and remember to watch your breathing.

rides4sanity

Thanks y'all. There is a lot of great information here... Now to try to implement it...

bsexton3

All of that said - I don't have a cadence meter nor a powermeter. All I have is speed to look at. All this talk about cadence I don't really understand. The next poster who does know, please explain how cadence relates to speed. Since I only have speed, I hate it when I drop below 5 mph as I know I can walk up a hill faster than that. But sometimes I have no choice. And maybe that's okay.

Cadence is how fast your feet go around. 80 means you pedal 80 times in one minute. I usually try to pedal at the same cadence I do the flats. Obviously, the cadence along with the gears decides the speed. I used to have a cateye that did both cadence and speed. A few years ago I got a Garmin as a gift to track my rides better.

I set my Garmin to tell me when my heart rate gets too high. I have always shifted during the climbs. If it is a long hill, I put the front ring in the small gear and move up the back gears. I never get out of the saddle, I need to try that more, especially on the 2 1/2 mile hill near me. It takes until the end of the season to make it to the top without stopping. Maybe learning to get out of the saddle will help.

matsprt1984

Interesting question. The answers have been all wrong and all right. Truth is everyone climbs differently based on genetics, training, fitness, the actual climb and gravity.

If you want to go fast, learn to get on top of the gear, get crazy skinny and practice climbing. If you just want to get up any hill in your area get a compact and gear down.

The ONE aspect not mentioned here and is constant across all climbing is learn to suffer, suffer like a dog, I think that is an expression we all hear. Don't avoid climbing, break it down into pieces and know it is going to hurt, then do it. You will get better.

rides4sanity

I like the pain... I go hill hunting somedays. I can get up any of them, but I want to learn to do it without tipping the HR past the comeback point. I guess I just need to experiment more and find my balance...

Thanks all!

Spatialized

...
The ONE aspect not mentioned here and is constant across all climbing is learn to suffer, suffer like a dog, I think that is an expression we all hear. Don't avoid climbing, break it down into pieces and know it is going to hurt, then do it. You will get better.

^^this. To quote Red Kite Prayer: to suffer is to learn.

When I started commuting by bike 2 years ago I made it up the hill, but only barely. First couple of times I had to stop, try not to puke and recover before finishing - and it's not that big of a hill. But after time and many, many trips up, it's no longer an issue, sure I get a little short of breath, but I can push up the hill in a taller gear if I want to (other days I just sit and spin up). While I'm not a climber by any sense of the word, I try and I know I'll get there.

lpherman01

Probably the best advice is that everyone is different. I try to visualize the hill and pick a gear that will let me climb at a steady pace, not power into it and die halfway up. I do not consider myself a climber, but am surprised at the number of riders that come back to me as we get to the top of a decent hill. Also, you must be comfortable with your cadence. I find that my cadence increases as the climb get harder as I shift more of my effort into the aerobic range. For example I'll cruise at 70~80, ride the flats at 80~85 and climb between 85~100 rpms. That of course is on grades up to 12% or so. Anything above that and I am grinding with the rest of them.

rides4sanity

Nice info here!

verdemujer

All of that said - I don't have a cadence meter nor a powermeter. All I have is speed to look at. All this talk about cadence I don't really understand. The next poster who does know, please explain how cadence relates to speed. Since I only have speed, I hate it when I drop below 5 mph as I know I can walk up a hill faster than that. But sometimes I have no choice. And maybe that's okay.

Cadence is how fast your feet go around. 80 means you pedal 80 times in one minute. I usually try to pedal at the same cadence I do the flats. Obviously, the cadence along with the gears decides the speed. I used to have a cateye that did both cadence and speed. A few years ago I got a Garmin as a gift to track my rides better.

I set my Garmin to tell me when my heart rate gets too high. I have always shifted during the climbs. If it is a long hill, I put the front ring in the small gear and move up the back gears. I never get out of the saddle, I need to try that more, especially on the 2 1/2 mile hill near me. It takes until the end of the season to make it to the top without stopping. Maybe learning to get out of the saddle will help.

Thanks! I will have to say - I learned to stand up after being in spin classes. Building my legs up (and my confidence) in spin classes over the winter, really helped me learn to stand up. I only stand on short sections though and for little hills when I think I should just be able to power up this a bit and not drop to the lowest gear combo possible to get up this little bitty hill. I had a few classess with a professional pro-bicyclist this last winter. His training process was amazing and I really hope he's around still next winter. He would take off ALL the pressure on the fly wheel and have us doing 100 rpm for steady and then sprinting with small amounts of pressure increases from there. It was absolutely the opposite of what the other instructors did and it was incredible. I think a steady diet of his class would have my speed doubled in no time.

sufferlandrian

Whether you power up the hill and crunch the power and the pedals or whether you sit in the saddle and spin to the top should be dependent on what you need to do after the hill. Is this the last of the ride? Hammer it. Do you have 100 km to go? You can only burn so many matches before you can't keep up with the energy demands. Everyone is different and the best way to learn to climb hills is to watch your HRM or your Power Meter. Know your thresholds and don't exceed them unless you know you can afford to burn those matches. Even the pros will struggle with the hills if they don't train for them. Look at what happens to the sprinters when it comes to the mountain stages. Learn how you need to ride in order to not exceed your thresholds by more than you can recover from. Practice blowing all your energy on a hill and see how long it takes to recovery. That will tell you if you can afford to blow your energy on a hill or if you should sit in the saddle on this one. Above all!!!! Do what you train for. If you train spinning up the hill, do it. If you train powering up the slopes, do it. When you race different than you trained, you can expect that you will get different results than you wanted.

rides4sanity

Whether you power up the hill and crunch the power and the pedals or whether you sit in the saddle and spin to the top should be dependent on what you need to do after the hill. Is this the last of the ride? Hammer it. Do you have 100 km to go? You can only burn so many matches before you can't keep up with the energy demands. Everyone is different and the best way to learn to climb hills is to watch your HRM or your Power Meter. Know your thresholds and don't exceed them unless you know you can afford to burn those matches. Even the pros will struggle with the hills if they don't train for them. Look at what happens to the sprinters when it comes to the mountain stages. Learn how you need to ride in order to not exceed your thresholds by more than you can recover from. Practice blowing all your energy on a hill and see how long it takes to recovery. That will tell you if you can afford to blow your energy on a hill or if you should sit in the saddle on this one. Above all!!!! Do what you train for. If you train spinning up the hill, do it. If you train powering up the slopes, do it. When you race different than you trained, you can expect that you will get different results than you wanted.

Excellent info! I have over taxed early on MANY a ride... I FINALLY started watching my HR and my rides are exponentially better... Just because I can power a hill doesn't mean I should...

ToughMudderAddict

Great thread with great advice. Thank you for posing the question, OP.

veloman21

I think it all depends on one's definition of hills and where you are in your climbing journey.

I live in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains so virtually every ride is a hilly one. When I first started riding 4 years ago, I remember the first hill I climbed, about a quarter mile @ 4% or so. I thought my heart and lungs were going to explode, my form was all over the place and my legs were screaming. 4 years later and after literally millions of ft climbing I managed to learn a few things

1. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!! The only way to improve climbing ability is to climb (losing weight helps too )
2. Make sure you have the appropriate gearing on your bike. For most people in hilly areas that means a compact crank or triple up front and at least an 11-28 in the back. Staying in the big ring to look macho is a recipe for disaster. FYI, even Alberto Contador uses an 11-32 on the back of his bike during Le Tour!!
3. Concentrate on your form and breathing. Try to make smooth circles when pedaling, concentrate on 'scraping your toe' at the bottom of the circle and pulling up on the upstroke. This will increase your climbing efficiency. Sit up in the saddle with your hands lightly on the top of the bars. This allows easier breathing. Keep you're upper body still and relaxed, rocking your shoulders and pulling on the bars just wastes energy.
4. Find a cadence that works for you. If you are a spinner, you may be able to get up a steep grade at 80 rpm, if you are a masher, you might be more comfortable at 65-70 or less.
5. On long climbs, every once in a while change down a couple of gears and stand for a bit. This will recruit other muscles and give your butt and overtaxed muscles a rest. When you sit, shift up again and you may find it a bit easier.
6. Learn to suffer That means keep pedaling even when your brain says stop!

rides4sanity

An article I read on the subject. Y'all already covered much of this if not all.

http://www.active.com/cycling/articles/11-climbing-tips-for-cyclists