Is there a Hill Slope Preference?

On my last ride a few days ago, I went my usual route with my new bike (and compact crank) which was nice because then I could compare the handling of my new bike to my old bike and I didn't have to worry about which way I was turning, etc. and could concentrate on the feel of the bike, my speed, etc.

As I was pedaling up a long, low sloped hill and once the slope increased by a little bit, the pedaling was much easier for me. It seems counter intuitive that an increased incline would make it easier for me to climb....

Does anyone else experience this?

Could this be that certain leg muscles are in better shape to handle a different incline?

I experienced that riding in Texas last fall.

I'm used to short steep hills (10-15% and under 1 mile for the most part). We have a few longer hills that are 6-7% overall. The 3-5% grades in Texas nearly killed me!

As you suggested, my legs just didn't have the "gear" for those hills.

Effective climbing is a function of both your aerobic capacity and leg strength. If you spin up a hill in an easier gear and at a faster cadence, you're taxing your lungs more than your legs. Conversely, if you go the same hill in a bigger gear and at a slower cadence, you're taxing your leg muscles more. I did some hill repeats the other day. It was easier for me to go up the hill in my largest gear than to spin up it in a smaller gear.

My slope preference is downhill.

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Originally Posted by fatbottomedgurl

My slope preference is downhill.

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ROFL! :D:p

I have to say I'm with you there, although I need to get in some hill practice eventually.

yeah, about a 2% downhill grade is my favorite. If the downhill is too steep, it makes it harder to control the bike.
as for uphill grades, I prefer they be under 15% and short at that. I have never noticed that a 10 % grade is easier than a 5% or a 5 % easier than a 2%. For me it's the opposite.

I'm not sure, but there are a couple of short inclines on my weekday ride and one seems way easier than the other to me, although as far as I can tell, they appear to be about the same grade. I'm still trying to figure out if one is easier, or if I just happen to hit one at a better speed or what.

Depends where the hill is located in relation to one's route.

A 10% shortish hill is way easier if it is ahead of you with plenty of lead "run" for ascending momentum and no traffic intersections along the way.

Vs.

Required to turn 90 degrees right and up narrow street on same grade.

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Originally Posted by HappyTexasMom

I'm not sure, but there are a couple of short inclines on my weekday ride and one seems way easier than the other to me, although as far as I can tell, they appear to be about the same grade. I'm still trying to figure out if one is easier, or if I just happen to hit one at a better speed or what.

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And wind. Don't forget wind. Maybe the wind is usually at your back for one over another.
We have a hideous neighborhood for hills here, all steep with steep little knobs at the top (like 25 or 30 feet of REALLY steep after just steep) with no run up to any of them (the dreaded 90 degree turn on to the immediate base).
I also hate the long false flat, followed by moderate hill, followed by steep hill.
On the other hand I like the gradual rise. I use it for my interval training and sprint then spin, sprint then spin. A two or three mile gradual rise is great.

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Originally Posted by Ana

As I was pedaling up a long, low sloped hill and once the slope increased by a little bit, the pedaling was much easier for me. It seems counter intuitive that an increased incline would make it easier for me to climb....

Does anyone else experience this?

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I think I sort of do experience this!

Sometimes I wonder if it's the way my brain and eyes are perceiving the hill. If I can see that it's a big hill, then I expect it to be harder and I gear down and relax and try to spin. I have pretty decent stamina on longer steeper hills, although I'm really slow. But on a false flat or a milder grade, sometimes I feel like I'm going to die. Maybe my brain isn't recognizing the hill because I can't really see it? And as a result I'm trying to ride it like it was flat? I don't know, but sometimes a lesser grade hill kills me more than a steep hill. I agree that it seems counter-intuitive.

Oh, and downhill is definiltey the better kind of hill ;)

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Originally Posted by RolliePollie

Sometimes I wonder if it's the way my brain and eyes are perceiving the hill. If I can see that it's a big hill, then I expect it to be harder and I gear down and relax and try to spin. I have pretty decent stamina on longer steeper hills, although I'm really slow. But on a false flat or a milder grade, sometimes I feel like I'm going to die. Maybe my brain isn't recognizing the hill because I can't really see it? And as a result I'm trying to ride it like it was flat? I don't know, but sometimes a lesser grade hill kills me more than a steep hill. I agree that it seems counter-intuitive.

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This is actually what I suspect for myself. If it's what I call a "hidden hill" (your false flat) or even something I recognize as a slow slope, I push myself too hard, thinking that I should be able to do better. If it's a hill I know will hurt, I'm much more forgiving, and that makes it (almost) easier.

Footnote: I'm still looking for that "downhill both ways" route the locals keep talking about. ;)

IMO it was definitely physical when I experienced it last fall. The hills were too shallow to stand up and push. But when I stayed in the saddle, my bike - and therefore my body - was at a completely different angle than it is on the hills I'm used to. So yes, I was using different muscles. Plus, they were too steep to spin, but too shallow to power up, so I was left with a cadence of 75-80 rpm, which my legs just didn't know how to do.

Actually, they felt more like wind than like hills, in that downshifting to a shorter gear just seemed to make me go slower without making the effort noticeably easier.

The frustration with going 13-14 mph, on something that hardly looked like a hill, was all mental, though. :rolleyes: