How to get better on hills....

[mediumbird]

Tigerbiten, I will have a look tomorrow.......That makes me feel slightly happier about the hills I amy encounter. Living n Scotland means I have fairly hilly training ground(though thankfully not as tough as Devon and Cornwall!! )Cycled this route yesterday and the Tak Me Doon bit was v tough!! had to stop near the top to get my breath back and HR down.... https://www.strava.com/activities/1060911615
Onward and upward......!

[horizon]

Horizon, I suppose I am a bit scared of being left behind by the fast lycra brigade on my St Malo trip.. . . The thought of a holiday climbing the steepest hills I can find, does not appeal....

mediumbird: I do sympathise. There is much more to your post IMV than how to get a lower gear (though the suggestions are spot on). As you know, cycling is a broad church and you've chosen to do two quite different things. If you are concerned about the likely speed on your French trip, then why not put some details up (daily mileage etc) and sort out the best approach to it. If you are not carrying luggage but are expected to keep up then your present bike might be fine - and lowering the gearing won't help you.

You could then also focus on a low-geared, luggage-carrying light touring bike for your other trips. And then you'll have two bikes .

[Eyebrox]

Mid range Tiagra crankset is £60/£70. Ultegra is £140/£150. This is why the bike shop is quoting you a far higher price. You could spec all the changes in Tiagra format (but with Deore mtb rear mech for 32/34 cog option) for a purchase price of £100. The bike shop would add on labour at whatever they charge. I don't think you could drop below Tiagra to say Sora or Claris without having shifter issues. Touring bikes are heavy compared with alloy or carbon pared-to-the-bone road bikes. Lower gearing would help you winch your way up the hills and have some confidence on running up and down your gears.

[Eyebrox]

And if you can manage the Tak Me Doon, you can do hills nae bother.

[Cyril Haearn]

Maybe you could try weight training or circuits to develop muscles, or maybe you just need even more practise on hills

Or maybe you must just accept that you are a bit slow on hills. You cannot fly either, I wager, despite your pseudonym

[reohn2]

Following on from Meic and Tigerbitten's excellent advice,
If the 52t large chain ring isn't being used to it's full potential ie; you never or rarely use the highest three gears when in the 52t ring,then a smaller 50t or 48t chain ring would mean the front derailluer would have to be brought down the seat tube slightly to so it's in the same position with regard to the 52t ring(3mm above The teeth).
The upshot of all that is,you may be able to fit a 24t inner ring in place of the 30t presently fitted.
With a 32t largest sprocket on the rear that would give you an ultra low gear for long or steep climbs and should allow you to spin up them without getting out of breath or your HR going of the scale.

[mediumbird]

Whew! Had a chance to sleep on things and panic has eased... . I think I will accept the fact that I am slow on hills, but will try to do more to get better, but with the realisation i am not 20 anymore...I have being going to circuits to try and help. It is a small tour group I am going with and the organisers assure me that the people that go are not usually the fast lycra brigade, and would not let me trail behind The distances are all easily do-able, it was just the hills as we get further south that had me worried. Yes, managed Tak Me Doon, but bit wasn't pretty......lol!
So, a new lightweight tourer........any suggestions??

[mediumbird]

Oh, and Cyril Haearn, you are correct, I cannot fly...

[david7591]

I too am rubbish on hills, but have a low gear of 34/32. Compared to my old set up of 34/28 it sounds a small difference but makes a big difference on the steeper slopes. I find that by getting in to 34/32 gear, I can spin seated uphills with gradients of up to 20%. Once the slope gets to 25% it becomes a bit of a grind. You can get a 10spd tiagra cassette with a 34T sprocket. That would make a huge difference compared with 28T.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-tiagra- ... 1-3211-34/

[reohn2]

Whew! Had a chance to sleep on things and panic has eased... . I think I will accept the fact that I am slow on hills, but will try to do more to get better, but with the realisation i am not 20 anymore...I have being going to circuits to try and help. It is a small tour group I am going with and the organisers assure me that the people that go are not usually the fast lycra brigade, and would not let me trail behind The distances are all easily do-able, it was just the hills as we get further south that had me worried. Yes, managed Tak Me Doon, but bit wasn't pretty......lol!
So, a new lightweight tourer........any suggestions??

What bike do you have presently?
If it's 10years old it most likely is 3x9sp nd if it fits you and you're comfortable riding it why change it?
If it is 3x9sp then it's easily converted to much lower gearing than presently for not a lot of money,approx £80 should do it.
My advice would be to get the gearing right on the present bike get the fitness level and hill climbing comfortable before thinking of splashing out.
FWIW I've cycled all my life and never been what I'd call myself a good hillclimber,I go up them in low gears and ride within myself.

[Cyril Haearn]

Oh, and Cyril Haearn, you are correct, I cannot fly...

My suggestion for fair cycling and fair cycle racing has just re-occurred to me: mixed tandems for all!

I remember reading that females have different muscles, *slow twitch* and should turn the pedals more slowly than males = use a higher gear! Is this still so, or have the scientists proved something else? In cycling as in many other fields (doses of medicine for example) the advice is skewed toward males

[mediumbird]

My bike was made for me by the bicycle repair man at Prudhoe. My sister lives nearby and highly recommended them. I wanted a lightweight road bike but set up for lightweight touring. So, it is a men's Giant SCR 3.0 frame with Ulterga triple 50-30 front a rear 10 speed 12-28. It has womens specific narrower width road bars and hand built wheels. It's currently set up with rear pannier and mudguards but I will get them taken off. It has done me well, but I have been conscious from my last 2 long tours that I am just not as good as going up hills compared to my friend on her dedicated Ridgeback tourer. I had thought my gearing had been set up for touring, but obviously not......Last year it required new hubs, rear cassette and front small and middle rings replaced and also new wheels. I suppose at that stage I should have thought of replacing it but, apart from difficulty with hills, it is a comfortable bike for me and I was worried that if I bought something off the shelf, then the fit would not be right for me. Unfortunately I just don't have the technical knowledge to ensure I get a bike that is right for me, I rely on the experience of the bike shop(perhaps somewhat naively...). I did ask our lbs if I could change the gearing to make it easier, but they said that with my existing set up, it was not possible without changing the whole groupset and then that would be very expensive. They said that there really was very little difference between my current set up and what could be achieved. I can't really afford a new bike at the moment, so am going to go with what I have and see how I get on. I am often told I undersell my abilities, but not sure my thighs agree!!!

[mediumbird]

Sorry, typo there 52-30 at the front!

[Vorpal]

First of all, there have been a couple of discussions on related issues before that might be worth reading through
this one began with a similar question
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=81979
this one is about cadence, and there's a lot to sift through for relevant stuff, but have a look and see if you think it might be worth the time...
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=66742

Secondly, I will offer my perspective on this matter.
Five years ago, I was a Bikeability instructor, working part time and spending a lot of time in the saddle. I was riding to and from teaching sessions, volunteering for cycling sessions with a local cycling club, doing led rides, etc. Most weeks, I was over 150 miles, and If I was teaching any distance from home, I might cycle 300 miles in week.
Then, I moved to Norway. I didn't buy a car when I came here; I just cycled everywhere, including to and from work. The thing is, I moved somewhere that is roughly 1000 feet lower in elevation than my work. So, I had a big hill to climb everyday. I figured I was fit, and it wouldn't be a big deal. The first time I did it, I stopped and rested halfway up, and I really wished I had my hybrid with its lower gearing (I initially only took one bike with me).
I did the ride everyday for a few weeks, wishing I had my hybrid gearing, huffing and panting my way up. Then, when my stuff came from England, I took my hybrid, and found I didn't need those gears, afterall. I had gotten used to it. After a few more weeks, I almost halved my time up that hill versus the first time I did it. And that was doing less mileage (100 - 130 miles per week)

So, the moral of my story is that even though I was fit, I was fit for relatively flat riding. When I did fewer miles, but more hill, I got fit for going up hills, but it took doing it 5 days per week.

[mediumbird]

Vorpal. Kind of what I thought but been sidetracked by gear ratios... Basically, I just need to get out and do more hills instead of avoiding them...lol! Luckily I live in a fairly hilly part of the country, so shouldn't be an issue.....just need to do it!(easier said than done, avoidance is so much easier.....)