Cycling UK Forum

Cyril Haearn wrote:Fixie of course

Very probably the ideal weapon for a competitive Hill Climb!


But the OP asked for a "hill climbing rb(roadbike?)", so he might after something more general purpose? We need clarity! (-:

I would focus more on the bike's handling when descending.

When riding uphill at relatively low speed, it's the rider's body that is the limiting factor, and even for an extremely fit racer the difference between most high end bikes will probably be marginal.

Going downhill at high speed, your physical fitness is no longer the limiting factor. Depending upon your descending skills/love of speed/foolhardiness, you might ride downhill as fast as anyone else (including a professional racer).

Differences between outwardly similar bikes in how the bike handles and feels will be much more noticeable when descending. The better handling bike will be more stable and reassuring at speed in a straight line and when taking a bend in the road, and also when braking.

If you are out of the saddle sprinting then stiffness trumps almost everything, including weight a lot of the time.

However if you are sitting in the saddle and twiddling then light weight and efficiency are important. To this end I'd suggest that you try and keep your favoured climbing gears set so that they are not running very small chainrings/sprockets and that the chainline is kept good.

For many years the bikes that climbed best were build with short chainstays made of relatively stiff tubing. In this day and age they can do anything with carbon (good or bad) so you need to test ride to see if you like it or not.

FWIW many modern wheelsets are horrible floppy things without enough spokes in. If you are really laying down the power then you might be better off with something different.

cheers

electric

Brucey wrote:If you are out of the saddle sprinting then stiffness trumps almost everything, including weight a lot of the time.

However if you are sitting in the saddle and twiddling then light weight and efficiency are important. To this end I'd suggest that you try and keep your favoured climbing gears set so that they are not running very small chainrings/sprockets and that the chainline is kept good.

For many years the bikes that climbed best were build with short chainstays made of relatively stiff tubing. In this day and age they can do anything with carbon (good or bad) so you need to test ride to see if you like it or not.

FWIW many modern wheelsets are horrible floppy things without enough spokes in. If you are really laying down the power then you might be better off with something different.

cheers

Many Thanks Brucey, the wheel thing I understand.

As 'Goldie Lookin Chain' once said: "Bikes don't climb - riders do". Or something like that.

i climb best when i'm lighter rather than neccesarily on the lightest bike.

Of course thats a moving goalpost thats equally true if i'm 85kg or 75kg! My carbon 'race' bike is my favoured tool for climbing and it sports a pair of amply stiff 'Brucey hates' no spoke wheels - works equally fine on short sharp or long alpine - providing that i'm fit enough to get the best out of it

gearing choice is important, i've been running 11sp 52/34 x 11-27 and very rarely get into the 27 or even the 25. On other bikes that are not such good climbers i'll be searching for the 28x30 option on the same climbs!

foxyrider wrote:i climb best when i'm lighter rather than neccesarily on the lightest bike.

Of course thats a moving goalpost thats equally true if i'm 85kg or 75kg! My carbon 'race' bike is my favoured tool for climbing and it sports a pair of amply stiff 'Brucey hates' no spoke wheels - works equally fine on short sharp or long alpine - providing that i'm fit enough to get the best out of it

gearing choice is important, i've been running 11sp 52/34 x 11-27 and very rarely get into the 27 or even the 25. On other bikes that are not such good climbers i'll be searching for the 28x30 option on the same climbs!

Thanks, being lighter would be lovely (90kg), power to weight ratio probably needs improving. You didn't mention what you're riding

markbas wrote:

foxyrider wrote:i climb best when i'm lighter rather than neccesarily on the lightest bike.

Of course thats a moving goalpost thats equally true if i'm 85kg or 75kg! My carbon 'race' bike is my favoured tool for climbing and it sports a pair of amply stiff 'Brucey hates' no spoke wheels - works equally fine on short sharp or long alpine - providing that i'm fit enough to get the best out of it

gearing choice is important, i've been running 11sp 52/34 x 11-27 and very rarely get into the 27 or even the 25. On other bikes that are not such good climbers i'll be searching for the 28x30 option on the same climbs!

Thanks, being lighter would be lovely (90kg), power to weight ratio probably needs improving. You didn't mention what you're riding

Its this lovely - A Peugeot CRS running Campag Super Record mechanical, weighs 7.4kg including pump and tool bag. The spotty jersey is because i'd just come back from the Otztaler Radmarathon - 5500m climbing over 250km in a day - bit of overkill for the flat Etape London i was riding!

foxyrider wrote:

markbas wrote:

foxyrider wrote:i climb best when i'm lighter rather than neccesarily on the lightest bike.

Of course thats a moving goalpost thats equally true if i'm 85kg or 75kg! My carbon 'race' bike is my favoured tool for climbing and it sports a pair of amply stiff 'Brucey hates' no spoke wheels - works equally fine on short sharp or long alpine - providing that i'm fit enough to get the best out of it

gearing choice is important, i've been running 11sp 52/34 x 11-27 and very rarely get into the 27 or even the 25. On other bikes that are not such good climbers i'll be searching for the 28x30 option on the same climbs!

Thanks, being lighter would be lovely (90kg), power to weight ratio probably needs improving. You didn't mention what you're riding

DSCN7207.JPGetape london 1.png

Its this lovely - A Peugeot CRS running Campag Super Record mechanical, weighs 7.4kg including pump and tool bag. The spotty jersey is because i'd just come back from the Otztaler Radmarathon - 5500m climbing over 250km in a day - bit of overkill for the flat Etape London i was riding!

Impressive, nice looking bike. I did 1st stage of the Tour last June in Belgium for Prostate Cancer UK, not quite as far but a great challenge and experience in a day.

This link should give you a few ideas!

The Best Lightweight & Custom Bikes From The British National Hill Climb Championships 2019:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWprz8z83Ak

Des49 wrote:This link should give you a few ideas!

The Best Lightweight & Custom Bikes From The British National Hill Climb Championships 2019:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWprz8z83Ak

That can't be right, there's not a fixie in sight?

alexnharvey wrote:

Des49 wrote:This link should give you a few ideas!

The Best Lightweight & Custom Bikes From The British National Hill Climb Championships 2019:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWprz8z83Ak

That can't be right, there's not a fixie in sight?

There probably will be on this year's National course which is much shorter (approx 1/2 mile) and less variable gradients than Haytor in 2019.

Though having just looked at the profile of Streatley Hill for this year it does seem to vary a fair bit in gradient, some parts look 1 in 4, the last 100m or so are flattish.
Wonder if the top riders do ride fixed on this course?

Yes, I think Streatley is much more single-gear friendly than the longer courses which I think are more likely to vary in gradient.

Even on gears I'd be happy to use just one of them. I've only raced one other climb - over in the Berkshire downs. It was a bit longer with some less steep sections; I probably used 3 gears, maybe 4 in all! But the experts may have a different approach (and I can't claim any experience of fixed climbing). Quite a few of them rode Streatley in Sep/Oct on the club events as a recce; dunno if there are adequate photos around?

When was the last time the national was won on a fixed gear?

Are any of the contenders likely to turn up with one?

mattheus wrote:Post by mattheus » 23 Jan 2020, 11:25am

Cyril Haearn wrote:
Fixie of course


Very probably the ideal weapon for a competitive Hill Climb!

Was this a bit of a joke or were you serious?