Alan D wrote: On the flat I am a regular billy wizz; to give you an idea of how fast, with some effort and pushing into the pain barrier I can, for a few miles, keep up with the time trial crowd that shoot along the A4 during the summer. But when I am going uphill, others leave me behind as I repidly dump speed. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot make a respectable speed uphill.
You are not alone in this. It is why hills are included in bike races: flat stage in TdeF etc., frequently ends in a big bunch sprint. (If there are no hills, they look for something else like the cobbles in Paris - Roubaix. Apart from anything else, the slipstream benefit of being on somebody's wheel uphill is much less - all you gain is the psychological thing of still being there.
I think it's fair to say for a given strength of leg/back etc., the less you weigh, the faster you will climb. Then a lot of it is in the mind. I think really fast climbers are often able to ignore more pain than us mere mortals.
EdinburghFixed wrote:+1 I don't think just doing one hill on the way to work is enough.
Like you, I have a hill on my commute and I'm not getting any faster at it either!
I think if you can be bothered to do hill repeats, you'd soon see an improvement.
Actually, probably abswering my origininal question here, but I found that to get better at hills, especially if the terrain around you is vertically limitted, then a good option is to chase other faster riders up them.
When I returned to cycing years ago I used to ride with some Expert and the odd Elite class XC racers. I used to chase them up hills, often blowing up before the top and losing loads on them, but it didn't half improve my climbing. Perhaps that's why these people pass me and then blow, although I'd hardly call myself an Expert class rider - would striggle to finish mid-field in the Sport class these days (and wouldn't dare enter the veteran class given the abilities of some of those guys!).
kwackers wrote: Any form of bendy knee leg weighty type exercise will help, alternatively load the bike up for all it's worth and do 'sets' on the steepest hill you can find. I.e. cycle up as fast as you can such that you're close to death at the top and rest on the return - repeat until you either puke or your legs can no longer support their own weight. Do that once a week and in a few months you'll be staggeringly fast - or dead.
Sounds like going over the top of Vikafjellet in Norway on a fully laden touring bike. Don't fancy doing that more than once a year
My partner and I climb at different speeds, when touring, and this will never change. On a normal 6 hour cycling day my trip computer shows I've been cycling for half an hour less than the missus. But she can easily cycle as far as me albeit at her own pace (which includes whizzing past me on the downhills).
patricktaylor wrote:A weird experience is going up a hill and being overtaken by someone on an electric bicycle, sat bolt upright, making hardly any effort at all.
As a pedelec owner I am particularly fond of doing this. The best time being when i've been shopping and have a trailer full of shopping, toddler on the back and me in normal clothes. A cheery 'hello' is compulsary just to emphasize the lack of out of breatheness
Its particularly enjoyable doing it to tired, panting leisure cyclists
Did you know pedelec users worry about the etiquette of how to do this? Its a common forum thread.
essexman wrote:Did you know pedelec users worry about the etiquette of how to do this? Its a common forum thread.
If it was me I'd do it whilst puffing casually on a smoking pipe, or - the more advanced option - offering the push-biker a tidily-presented plate of Fox's biscuits.
essexman wrote:Did you know pedelec users worry about the etiquette of how to do this? Its a common forum thread.
If it was me I'd do it whilst puffing casually on a smoking pipe, or - the more advanced option - offering the push-biker a tidily-presented plate of Fox's biscuits.
That's evil - biscuits are baaad.
On my first half marathon, 10 miles in some 'kind' soul offered me a biscuit which was very nice of them.
I've never known anything remove moisture from one's mouth so quickly and so completely followed by the joyous experience of breathing the crumbs/dust.
kwackers wrote:I've never known anything remove moisture from one's mouth so quickly
Pah!
May I suggest the plain sponge cakes - either the large brick-shaped slabs or the individually-packaged Madeleines - which can be found at most French hotel breakfast buffets...
essexman wrote:Did you know pedelec users worry about the etiquette of how to do this? Its a common forum thread.
If it was me I'd do it whilst puffing casually on a smoking pipe, or - the more advanced option - offering the push-biker a tidily-presented plate of Fox's biscuits.
Haha... sounds a bit like the camp jockeys on Harry Enfield.
I have loads of newbie learner drivers on my estate & I love to buzz/try & pass them whilst they kn@acker up my local roads. How many points for passing them? Do I get any points for holding off an attempted overtake cos I'm going so fast?
As for other cyclists, don't seem to be that many round when I'm out but once got passed by a racer guy 'in training' from the looks of his gear whilst on my way back from a hospital appointment/blood test job).
I was in my snowboarding jacket, 1 pannier/mudguards etc, gave chase but had no chance, saw him sailing off into the distance & I thought bugger it I'm probably 10 years his senior but still made me feel useless.
I don't think you get any points for overtaking cars - that's just not fair on the drivers (unless it's open road, in which case, )
Scooters and motorbikes are top of our food chain. I have only once dropped a motorbike and it made my week. Of course, he could have blipped past me with half a millimetre twist of his wrist - but at the end of the day, he didn't (probably too busy laughing at me sweating and flogging myself along in front of him!)
I don't really follow Cyclechat but on their forum (I think) there is a very detailed, VERY long discussion about this sort of point scoring.
I passed a Robin Reliant once ( but I could n't get the toilet seat down ).
It was slightly down hill in a 30 zone and I zipped past at about 35 or so only to be flagged down by PC Plod and given a talking too to about the perils of riding fast in town and overtaking near junctions. I was duely contrite but secretly elated. Stopped for speeding........on my bike !
I suppose this could just as easily have been on 'Golden Age of British cycling'
Once upon a time - before the Japanese exploited the regulations - a moped was just a gas-pipe bike with a small engine*, a bit of a forerunner to modern electric assisted bikes. They had a very low gear which the rider had to pedal like billy-O to get the contraption moving. In the golden age of British cycling - or at least of my cycling - they were easy prey. Overtaking one was not worth a mention.
* For a while in the 1950's the comic was known as Cycling and Mopeds (although I've no idea why the publishers thought the lightweight cycling market would be interested in gas-pipe bikes with an engine.)
EdinburghFixed wrote:I don't think you get any points for overtaking cars - that's just not fair on the drivers (unless it's open road, in which case, )
I'm not THAt fast I only get past the fairly new or timid learners that are doing about 20mph round the estate on the flat sections, there's also a short downhill bit when I'm coming back from the shops so I can get to about 30mph if I push it & it really annoys the instructors when I come whizzing past them.
patricktaylor wrote:One thing is sure: it's not cool to look back after you've overtaken another cyclist.
Hmm. I usually check over my left shoulder before pulling back into secondary (assuming the road conditions are appropriate to be riding in secondary position), just to make sure there's nothing coming up my inside. Is this uncool, or excusable on safety grounds?
syklist wrote:My partner and I climb at different speeds, when touring, and this will never change. On a normal 6 hour cycling day my trip computer shows I've been cycling for half an hour less than the missus. But she can easily cycle as far as me albeit at her own pace (which includes whizzing past me on the downhills).
Stan
Easy solution my wife and I found to this problem - a tandem! Now we always cycle at the same speed
)
I only get past the fairly new or timid learners that are doing about 20mph round the estate on the flat sections, there's also a short downhill bit when I'm coming back from the shops so I can get to about 30mph if I push it & it really annoys the instructors when I come whizzing past them.
)