Did you see that idiot riding up the hill...

[FlyingScot]

yeah that was me. I know this subject has been hashed and rehashed. I've read the threads. I'm totally confused. Today I braved riding on a regular road which I found to have hills which much to my surprise I never noticed when I drove up them in my car! At any rate, I was trying to remember how I've heard you are supposed to ride them so I tried to "spin" so as not to blow out my legs. Well, first I found myself bouncing off the seat. "Ridiculous" I thought to myself and up-shifted 'til that nonsense stopped at which point my legs started to complain. Then at some point about midway up the worst of the hill I was cranking really fast but NOT GOING ANYWHERE! The 20mph head wind wasn't helping much either. I must have looked like an idiot because all these people kept grinning at me. I kept thinking of the scene from the Wizard of Oz where the old lady was riding her bike, pedaling madly in the middle of a tornado (da---da-da---da-da--da). I willed myself to the top and was mildly proud that I made it without booting my lunch. So when I got home I asked my brother (avid cyclist know it all) who basically told me I had barely "graduated from idiot to amateur" as far as cycling goes and I had to figure it out myself. So my question is what am I doing wrong? I normally ride on my middle chain ring (2/3-2/7) but when I dropped to a lower gear that's when I started bouncing requiring me to gear up and thereby work more than I think was needed. Incidentally I am riding a Specialized Globe so not a road bike and I average about 15-18mph. Also I was told to never ride the flats on the third chain ring, which was suggested in one of the threads, because it was hard on the bike..any thoughts? Thanks for your tolerance.

[ilima]

Do you have a cadence sensor? An ideal cadence is somewhere in the ballpark of 90rpm, and in an ideal hill situation you'd be able to spin up it without dropping down to a low (<70) rpm. Sounds like a cadence sensor might help you figure out what gears you 'should' be in.

Keep in mind that 90rpm is just and ideal, and a good starting point for figuring out what cadences work for you in what situations. Once you get used to things, you'll be able to go on feel and won't really need the cadence sensor anymore.

For example, When I'm doing a short hill that I'm attempting to power up, I'll use my cadence sensor to tell me when to shift. I tend to like to spin a bit high, so I try to hit the bottom of the hill at about 100-105rpm, then shift down a gear when I hit about 95rpm and keep doing that until I run out of gears. I actually don't have a cadence sensor on my bike now, although I do kind of miss it (but don't miss the ugly hardware on my bike).

You don't want to immediately shift to an easy gear at the bottom of a hill because you'll end up needing to do a really high cadence, potentially causing you to bounce up and down if you don't control your body movement.

And stop going to your brother for advice if he's just going to be a big meany. Bicycling ain't rocket science and tips and tricks are meant to be shared.

[Blueberry]

If you're bouncing, your saddle height may be off. I think it's an indication that your seat is slightly too high- but I'm not positive. Maybe mark it, and try dropping just a little bit (less than a cm at first). The other thing to do is concentrate on your pedaling form - pedal circles, don't "mash" down and then do nothing when the pedal is coming up. Someone who knows bikes could probably look at you and tell what you're doing. Also - maybe try higher cadence on the flats - until you're used to it.

Good luck - and ignore the brother.

CA

[OakLeaf]

+1 on the cadence sensor and just generally working on your cadence if you're bouncing. Chances are it's just a matter of learning to get smoother, and the only way to do that is by working on it - spinning up to higher and higher cadences trying not to bounce, and maintaining it longer. If seat height has anything to do with it, it's probably your seat is too low - then your legs are trying to extend too far and pushing your butt off the seat. (When the saddle's too high, your hips tend to rock side to side, because your feet are pulling your hips down off the saddle at the bottom of the pedal stroke.)

I was told to never ride the flats on the third chain ring, which was suggested in one of the threads, because it was hard on the bike..any thoughts?

Not sure who told you that (maybe your know it all brother ?). You should ride in whatever gear gives you a smooth and comfortable cadence. If you're a fast rider, have a tailwind, or ride in pacelines, you may be in the big ring on the flats quite a bit! What you shouldn't do is cross-chain, i.e., ride in the big chainring and the biggest freewheel cogs, or the small chainring and the smallest cogs. It should be obvious to you when you've accidentally shifted into one of these gears, because your chain and derailleur will make noise. In these positions the chain gets a lot of lateral force, which it isn't really built for; and also the rear derailleur will be at the extremes of its ability to take up chain slack, and the front derailleur may rub. There is plenty of overlap in the gears, so that instead of cross-chaining, you can shift to the middle ring and get a very similar gear ratio.

[kelownagirl]

+1 to what they've said. You can also bounce if you're not pedaling smoothly. Do some online reading about how to pedal 'round' and practice one legged drills etc. That may also help.

[F8th637]

I bounce when the gear I am in is too low for the speed I'm going. Typically, if I ratchet it up one more gear the bouncing stops. It sounds like to me that you dropped to too low a gear and that's why you were bouncing and also felt like you were pedaling your little heart out to no avail. Try staying in a higher gear or the one you are in until you slow down, then shift to a lower gear and keep spinning. Do this till you reach the top. I've been at this for a year now and it does take some time to learn how to conquer a hill. I've still got a lot to learn but I can already tell a big difference in how I handle them from last year. Your brother was so not helpful.

[BarbaraAlys]

Wow, your brother was a fat lot of help, wasn't he?

I'm still learning hills, and like you have read a lot. Remember that it is a process, there is no quick fix to hill climbing. Even once you are gearing 'correctly' it is hard and you wil have to build up strength and speed.

I have to remind myself that it is about cadence, not speed...and I have to not look at the top of the hill.

That said, here is what I am trying to do. I am going to give you step by step, because it seems like that is what you arelooking for, sorry if I'm giving you info you already have. I have 27 gears,3/9. I am lousy on hills so most often I'm approaching them in 2 in front, hopefully something high in back. As I start to climb, the minute I feel that my effort has increase I go down in back, one at a time. I will do that maybe three times, maybe four. My next change will be down in front, but quickly moving up in back again. So, if at this point I was in 2/3 I go down to 1 and move the back up two or three clicks, that way I have some room to still go down. As it gets harder I go down again till I'm at the bottom, 1/1. Then it's just a matter of hoping i make it...lol.

Anway, that is the detail of how i'm approaching it.

Barbara
which is worse, hills or wind?

[aicabsolut]

I think you're more likely to bounce when the seat is too low, if that's the culprit, like OakLeaf said. It's because you bottom out on the pedal stroke too early. That doesn't really sound like the issue here, but you went in too easy of a gear for you to be able to pedal smoothly. Being able to spin up really fast requires practice. I find it's easier to practice doing that downhill when you start running out of gears, because whether you can pedal smoothly or coast doesn't matter like it does uphill. So, it sounds like you did the right thing in shifting slightly harder. Because it was harder, you felt your muscles burning. That doesn't mean you still weren't "spinning." The way my musculature is naturally, I tend to feel more comfortable at a lower cadence on hills, but like many, I quickly found out that my legs would be too tired at the top, and my joints would eventually complain. So for me, learning to "spin" meant dealing with some serious muscle burn on longer climbs. The way to improve is to deal with that as long as you can, by trying to keep a smooth rhythm and breathing as calmly as possible. Then shift one way or the other if you need to "rest" or change how you enlist your muscles if you haven't made it all the way up. Keep at it and you'll start to get stronger and fitter. Your pedal stroke will improve, and spinning will get easier. You will start to gravitate towards a natural gearing and cadence, but it will require experimentation and practice to figure out what "sustainable effort" means for you. Use whatever ring and whatever rear cogs it takes.

[lovelylibrarian]

Wow, your brother was a fat lot of help, wasn't he?

My husband is the same way with my MTN biking. He says I'm a big girl and I will just figure it out. He gives me tips here and there but I'm the kind of person that likes to know what I'm doing before just "going for it" so I'm thinking of joining some group rides with other newbies to get some suggestions.

[Tabby]

I'm the kind of person that likes to know what I'm doing before just "going for it" so I'm thinking of joining some group rides with other newbies to get some suggestions.

Lovelylibrarian - I'm like you and being a new rider found joining in a ladies group ride was super helpful especially when trying a new trail for the first time. Having someone right in front of me familiar to the trail who would kinda forewarn me what was coming helps me feel more prepared as log piles, lots of roots, bridges, etc. came up. After that I'm pretty good alone or leading a small group myself.

[FlyingScot]

Well I tried the hill again. This time I moved my seat up an entire inch and what a difference. I was much more efficient with my pedaling and was able to get up the hill without having to go down that far in the gears. The lack of a headwind probably had an impact as well. In addition I rode farther and on a much hillier (is this a word?) route so by the time I got to this one I was pretty tired. I also stopped looking at the top of the hill and just watched my cadence and the road just in front of my tire (okay I peeked once or twice) but it did make a difference as I found myself at the top before I knew it. I feel much better about my ability and my fitness level now but boy was I hungry when I got home!

[DDH]

I also stopped looking at the top of the hill and just watched my cadence and the road just in front of my tire (okay I peeked once or twice) but it did make a difference as I found myself at the top before I knew it.

I do this too. Someone had told me once to look at the top of the hill and just concentrate on that, but I find it easier when I just look right in front of my tire. I think it tricks my brain into thinking I'm on a flat or something.

If I look at the top of the hill, I'm wondering when it will ever end.

Now I do look up on occasion as to not run into anything and you have to watch ahead a bit.

Good luck on your hill climbing, and kudo's to you for all your hard work.