25
votes
What is most important for making biking uphill easy?
I would say that, along with easier gears making it easier to go up hills, a lot of it is just being comfortable riding at slower speeds. A lot of new riders lack the balance and bike-handling skills ...
- 21.6k
21
votes
Should I climb out of the saddle?
There is no correct answer. Do what works or is most comfortable for you.
Bear in mind that if you train yourself to sit and spin at a higher cadence you’ll get better at that. If you train yourself ...
- 75.5k
19
votes
Accepted
Should I climb out of the saddle?
Answer Stay in the saddle for steady state climbing, if you can. Get out of the saddle for extra short term power, getting over a steep bit, or for punching through a short climb. Or if you need a ...
- 121k
17
votes
Accepted
Low heart rate on climb
I have seen this effect with several different optical based wrist HRM's. Your HR is not 90, but likely closer to 180. Optical HRM's generally have a longer lag to track changes in the heart rate and ...
17
votes
Is it best to attack the flat before a hill?
Is it best to attack the flat before a hill?
NO
On flat ground, power is proportional to speed cubed because drag from air dominates. If you want to go twice as fast on flat ground, you need to ...
- 10.5k
14
votes
Accepted
What makes a bike good or bad for climbing?
This is not an especially aero bike, although it does have some aero-looking feature (which does not mean it was in fact aerodynamically optimized). There's also nothing about it that makes it ...
- 29.1k
13
votes
Accepted
Fastest way to get faster up hill
Unfortunately, there is a fairly straight forward reason why you actually need to ride hills in order to get faster at them: crank inertial load.
We have two main types of skeletal muscles. (Skeletal ...
- 30.4k
12
votes
How are the categories for climbs decided?
I prefer the cycling lore that it was decided by which gear of a Citroen 2CV you needed to be in to drive up the hill/mountain. For HC climbs you had to go up them in reverse.
Scientific? Not so much....
- 698
12
votes
Accepted
Climbing or aero bike for a light rider?
Generally, being light weight you probably have more of a deficit on the flats, which would point to an aero bike. That is your frontal area per watt per kg will be higher than a larger rider who is ...
- 30.4k
12
votes
What is most important for making biking uphill easy?
Biggest factor is the gear combination. If it's a 6-7% climb, you'll probably need a 28T at the back (cassette) and 36T or even smaller at the front (crank set). I think your city bike has not this ...
- 1,432
12
votes
What is most important for making biking uphill easy?
In addition to other answers, I would say the most important thing in making riding up hill easier is your mindset.
If you start at the bottom of the hill telling yourself "that is a big hill, ...
- 49k
11
votes
Accepted
Uphill riding hard for me
I'm also relatively new to riding and would like to share with you my experience here. I also struggle specifically with climbs.
As a beginner you're expected to build base miles endurance. The more ...
- 556
11
votes
Is it best to attack the flat before a hill?
As you’ve noted, drag increases non-linearly with speed. So to e.g. double your speed on a flat (drag dominated) section you’ll have to more than double your power output.
Slow uphill sections ...
- 26k
10
votes
Accepted
What cadence saves power when climbing?
Honestly, as an amateur cyclist I would suggest focusing on learning how to pace a climb first over more finer details such as cadence. Many amateur typically go out too fast on a climb, go anaerobic,...
- 30.4k
10
votes
Should I climb out of the saddle?
If Sheldon Brown is any authority for you (and if you don't have your own opinion/experience, he should be, IMO), he advises to stay in the saddle as a general case.
The idea is that standing up is a ...
- 1,028
7
votes
What cadence saves power when climbing?
Every rider has a different optimal cadence. You need to find yours. This will depend to some extent how you are feeling on the day ('Ohh that hurts' vs 'pain, what pain').
Most novice riders pedal ...
- 49k
7
votes
Uphill riding hard for me
Basically the only real way to get better at going up hills is to get fitter - which you can do by repeatedly riding the hill :-)
Some tips:
Stay sitting down
Use low gears and a fairly high ...
- 75.5k
7
votes
What help can the domestiques provide on mountain climbs?
Pro's are FAST - they ride up mountains at a speed where they can still gain significant benefit from drafting.
As witnessed in the stage you are mentioning it can often be quite windy in the ...
- 18.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Can a lightweight cyclist climb better than the heavier one by producing less power?
Yes. This article goes into detail and shows the formula along with a few scenarios.
In short, power-to-weight ratio becomes more important than raw power as the grade increases. Aerodynamic drag is ...
- 29.1k
6
votes
Is it possible to avoid anaerobic 'burn' on ascents?
Get an app like strava to log your rides, and see your progress on those climbs.
I have a climb near home which took three hours first time I did it. I rested a bunch of times on the way up, and got ...
- 121k
6
votes
Accepted
Climbing techique with panniers and cleats
One thing that may help a lot is shifting some load weight forwards. In other situations I've found that a surprisingly small amount of weight shifted from behind the back axle to the front forks ...
- 57.2k
6
votes
Uphill riding hard for me
First off, it sounds like you start your ride going up a hill. This is always going to be a bit hard because usually you wont' have warmed up at this point. You should use the lowest gear on your bike ...
- 61
6
votes
Is it best to attack the flat before a hill?
I'm going to be contrary, with some caveats.
Yes, it may be worth attacking the flat just before a climb. If you can build momentum on the flat and carry that into the first part of a climb, it will ...
- 121k
6
votes
What is most important for making biking uphill easy?
Uphill speed mostly depends on weight (assuming your power output to the rear wheel is identical).
Since you are only 50kg a 14kg bike would be about 4.5% faster than a 17kg bike (total weight drops ...
- 26k
6
votes
What is most important for making biking uphill easy?
Make sure your seat is the right height (and that the bike fits you in general). In particular, most beginners have their seat too low, which really hurts power output and balance -- killing your ...
- 261
5
votes
Does a spinning class fixed wheel bike affect real world form?
The exercise bike feels different, because it is fixed in place and can not react to your movements like a real bike.
When you jump out of saddle, your body moves forward in relation to bike. On road,...
- 21.8k
5
votes
Is 11- 34 rear cassette necessary?
Yes, if you like to climb like me and live in an area where there are long steep climbs over 10% grade, I highly recommend a compact 50/34 crank and a wide ratio cassette.
I have asthma and have ...
- 51
5
votes
Fastest way to get faster up hill
Cross-training - do gym work to build your core strength and endurance. Avoid bulking up though.
Technique - find hill climbing positions that work for you.
Lightness - drop all your water except a ...
- 121k
5
votes
Fastest way to get faster up hill
The rate of climbing a hill on a bicycle (under same wind conditions) is determined by pretty simple physics and is directly related to your sustainable power to weight ratio. If the climb is very ...
- 2,405
5
votes
Preparing for Alpine riding
I don't have experience riding at moderate altitude (1000-2500m), but do have experience mountaineering in the French Alps (>3000m) and Himalaya (up to about 5000m).
Going to over 2000m altitude is ...
- 75.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible