Inclines, Hills and shifting

[schnitzle]

Hi! It's been a while since I posted, sorry. I'm blaming it on school, but also on being lazy (oh! and on the almost constant rain until July! Yeah, that's the ticket!)

So, I finally went for my first "big" (for me) trail ride yesterday and it was great! However I don't know how to best get up inclines and hills. I have a Jamis Citizen 1 with 7 gears. Originally I had thought that I was supposed to shift into HIGHER gears to go up a hill. That was pretty funny! Now I know to be in a lower gear so I'm spinning more, but I'm still confused how that helps.
The friend I was riding with has a 1 speed, so she couldn't offer much advice.

My fitness level is pretty bad, and I'm hauling somewhere around 250lbs + bike up these gentle inclines and hills, so it's quite challenging for me. But in a good way!

Should I ideally be standing to pedal up hills?

Sorry for the dumbo questions

[Owlie]

I don't stand. It hurts and the bike feels wobbly.

Spinning in a low gear means you're taxing your cardiovascular system rather than your quads. Most people's muscles fatigue before their lungs do. Also, it's much easier on your knees.

And they're not dumb questions.

[schnitzle]

Thanks Owlie! Yes I'm afraid I might fall off if I stand to ride, at least at this point. That's what my 1 speed friend does though so I thought maybe I should have too? It makes sense about the cardio lasting longer than the quads. I ended up walking up half of the last hill because my muscles just didn't have anything more to give.

[maillotpois]

Yes I'm afraid I might fall off if I stand to ride, at least at this point. That's what my 1 speed friend does though so I thought maybe I should have too?

Your 1 speed friend doesn't have any choice. You do.

[annielynn]

Don't stand up. It raises you heart rate up and that isn't necessary. Start into the incline gently. Keep spinning until it becomes too hard then shift down. Do this until you are in your largest gear and don't have anymore. Then just try and keep an even cadence and keep going.

I had to climb but I am training for a big hilly event in September. So I am learning a lot about shifting and candence. Keep it up and you will be a climber in no time!

[schnitzle]

Your 1 speed friend doesn't have any choice. You do.

True, true haha!

Don't stand up. It raises you heart rate up and that isn't necessary. Start into the incline gently. Keep spinning until it becomes too hard then shift down. Do this until you are in your largest gear and don't have anymore. Then just try and keep an even cadence and keep going.

I had to climb but I am training for a big hilly event in September. So I am learning a lot about shifting and candence. Keep it up and you will be a climber in no time!

So if I'm on say 3 when I see the hill coming, get momentum, keep spinning as far as I can then when it gets too hard to go 2 (faster spinning, less...er is it called "mashing"?) and go to 1 if nessesary, or go up to 4, 5 etc? Sorry, I'm trying to make sure I understand correctly

What hilly event are you doing in September? Sounds like a good challenge!

[Owlie]

I cannot remember for the life of me which way the gears are numbered. (I want to say the smallest is 1 and it works up to bigger ones?)

Say you're in a middle gear approaching the hill. Depending on how steep the hill is and your fitness level you could either a) try to make it partly up the hill and shift into a larger* cog (easier) when you feel yourself running out of steam, or b) shift into the larger cog BEFORE you get to the hill (it puts less strain on your chain, then shift into still-larger cogs as necessary.

Mashing is exactly as it sounds--"mashing" at the pedals is just applying tons of force to them to try to get you up the hill. You're taxing your muscles there.

Regardless of numbering, just make sure it gets easier!

*not necessarily number. I said above that I don't remember HOW they're numbered!

[Road Viexn]

One thing that I remember when I am climbing it to let my gears climb for me. I have not been climbing long at all. I am a heavier ride too. I try to remember when I am in a climb to sit a little farther back on my saddle, keep my breathing under control, get in my lower gears and let them do the work. I may climb slower than most, but I can actually feel my bike and body working together. I don't get as tired and can last up most of the climbs I have been doing. 6-9% grades. Nothing huge but I am working towards bigger climbs each time I do something harder.

[makbike]

Learn to anticipate the hills - set up in a gear that will allow to spin. As the hill's slope increases and/or your legs begin to talk shift to a larger cog (move the chain in toward the bike frame). You don't want to mash your way up a hill it will take a toll on your knees not to mention your spirits. Start with some smaller/easier hills and practice on them until you feel like you have a good read of them then move to a slightly bigger hill and practice your shifting and anticipating. Really half the battle in climbing is learning to anticipate the terrain and utilizing your gears to the max.

Hope this helps.

[KnottedYet]

As you go up hill, keep shifting into larger and larger cogs in the back (less and less pressure needed to turn the pedals) until there just aren't any cogs left.

Then get off the bike and walk.

I've met lots of nice people while walking my bike up hills. It's a nice break. Take a drink or two of water, make a phone call to your beloved, sing a song, admire some gardens.

Life is good.
Ride your bike.

[tctrek]

Then get off the bike and walk.

I've met lots of nice people while walking my bike up hills. It's a nice break. Take a drink or two of water, make a phone call to your beloved, sing a song, admire some gardens.

+1 on that! My problem is I ride 3 mph better than I walk up hills. So, I have mastered sitting up, gripping the bars and mozying up the hill at speeds slower than most people walk!

[RolliePollie]

+1 on that! My problem is I ride 3 mph better than I walk up hills. So, I have mastered sitting up, gripping the bars and mozying up the hill at speeds slower than most people walk!

This made me laugh because today I was trying to catch up with some people walking up a hill a ways up ahead of me, but at about 3.8 mph, I could not for the life of me catch up to them. It made me seriously consider getting off and walking. Although it is hard to walk in cycling shoes.

Back to the shifting thing...I like to spin fast and easy instead of trying to stay in a harder gear. And I can't stand up and pedal...don't know why but I just can't do it. I find that I make it up the hill in about the same time whether I am spinning or mashing. And mashing is too hard and it hurts my knees. All in all though, any way you get to the top is fine. Walking the bike or riding the bike...it's getting to the top that counts.

[Catrin]

Today I rode on "real" hills in southern Indiana - I was in the granny gear more than the entire time that I've been riding! Ok, so that has only been 7 months but work with me here

I only had to walk one of the hills - it was on a detour I wound up making... I could have ridden the remaining couple of hundred feet but I was going 2.9 mph and could no longer hold anything remotely resembling a line. It was a narrow twisty road and I was having to weave back and forth in the lane to keep going. I pictured a pickup truck barreling up the hill...and walked it to the top

My "detour" kept me from climbing the 1.5 mile hill that I was told about, but there certainly were some pretty strong hills on my detour - though probably not the same.

[WolfGirl]

I'm not enjoying the hill thing at all this summer, and I don't think I know what "spinning" actually is. I tend to ride at whatever gear allows me to cruise along pretty easily and quickly; I like speed with reasonable effort. But I was wondering about my approach a couple months ago when I happened alongside a woman going about my pace, but her pedals were going around a lot faster than mine. This was on roughly a flat bit for maybe 10 seconds total where we kept abreast (until the urge came over me and I pulled ahead ). My question is, am I doing it "wrong"? Should I be aiming for more spinning in a lower (easier, whatever) gear than pushing my muscles harder force-wise against the pedals? What IS spinning?

Which gets me back to the hills thing; I'm wondering if I aim for more spinning, if it might help me with hills somehow? I have a commute to work that's less than a mile and a half, but on the way home it's almost entirely uphill, and a fairly steep hill at that. I was slogging my way home in the lowest gear the other day when some guy on a road bike (mine's a flat-bar road bike) CRUISED past me up the hill and away. I'd have thrown my pannier at him if he'd not been in the next county by that time. Am I just so out of shape? I mean, I'm not exactly lean and mean right now, but...really? What am I doing wrong?

[tctrek]

I suck on hills, but I know that the only way to get better at hills is to ride hills. Experiment with gears and cadence that work for you. Figure out how to get up the hill without blowing up your heart rate too much. I used to attack every hill, now I mozy up the hills and live to ride another day.