When the lowest gear isn't low enough

[wackyjacky1]

Keep working at it! When I first started riding last summer, I felt the same way about my gearing on big hills. But I stuck with it and now I rarely even use my third (smallest) chain ring anymore. I've got a long ways to go, but I'm improving, and so will you.

[crazycanuck]

Geez, all of a sudden there's an explosion of Perth cyclists on TE

In terms of not trying hard enough..If you're riding in Kings Park, Kalamunda, Mundaring or Roleystone, you're trying hard already!! Just keep at the hills and you'll get stronger!!!! I love doing hill repeats in Kings Park

I can't tell you how often I swear at the hills in Kalamunda & how slow I go up those hills. Although i'm slow, it's ok as I just want the hill work. I only have a double on my bike but have gotten used to it.

Keep riding & perhaps we might cross paths one of these days

[subengine]

Hello from another 'brand-new' Perth rider! My experience with hills is pretty limited but recently I have become acquainted with King's Park, Reabold hill in Bold Park and also the lovely suburb of Mosman Park which is perfect for practising a range of hills if you want. I must admit though, a combination of a hot day and pushing a bit too hard resulted in me throwing up after doing Reabold hill!

I'm not super fast, but from what I can gather it's the constant repetition of hill climbing that will give you the extra power.

It doesn't help that my boyfriend will fly up a hill at 30km an hour singing 'I love the uphills'! Eeeeek!

have fun!

[Mr. Bloom]

Is it possible that:

• you're trying too hard? I mean like pushing to go faster rather than keeping a steady, comfortable cadence (I gauge by my heart rate and breathing to see if I'm trying to keep an unsustainable pace)
• you're entering the climb in too high a gear and burning all your energy early in the climb? (this was my chronic problem...plus I tended to be unable to shift in the climb because of the added torque on the gearing)

I suspect it's a combination of training and technique...but hey, worse case, there's no hill that can't be walked!

[OakLeaf]

Riders choose their gearing depending on the terrain they'll be riding in, their strength, and the type of riding they plan to do. So if you're noticing that more experienced riders have lower gearing than you, they may be on the right track.

All the other advice you've got here is right on, but you might also want to ask your bike shop about changing to lower gearing. Unless you have higher end drive train components, OR unless your bike has pretty low gearing already (doubtful if most other riders have lower!), you should be able to put on a wider-range cassette for $50 or $60 US.

The tradeoff is that your gears will be "farther apart," and you may find that you have gear ranges where you can't maintain a cadence you like at certain speeds.

[TxDoc]

I suspect it's a combination of training and technique...but hey, worse case, there's no hill that can't be walked!

True, as King Fabian recently showed us after his chain broke...
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=6924

[OakLeaf]

yeah, phew, excuse me...

I knew the OP was Australian which is why I posted a price range in USD (sorry for not checking the exchange rate )... but what I didn't know was that the price of cassettes has doubled since I last replaced mine last summer! We were discussing that on the club ride this morning, it's true across brands and price ranges and none of us knew why.