Trouble with steep hills

[Biciclista]

Crankin, I just wanted her to know that she might need to walk more than 3 times.

and here's the statistic: take your height = 60 inches. now take your weight (in Mandi's case) 110 pounds. 110/60 = 1.83
if this ratio is smaller than 2, you are going to have an edge on climbing. Pick your favorite guy, say, 70 inches tall and 160 pounds. 160/70 =2.28 You have a big advantage over him. So once you get into shape, you ought to be dynamite!
and make sure your bike fits you!

[mandinorris]

Mimi, I hope it didn't sound like bragging when I said I have walked only 3 times. The thing that helped me the most was not having any choice... walking up a steep hill in road shoes sucks almost as much as barely being able to climb it. Moving to a street on 10-15% grade, probably was the best thing for me, even though I had done a lot of climbing before that. The end of every ride, well, imagine it. The thing is, I am not a particularly fast rider, compared to others here. I just kept at it, like you.
And while it *is* physical, as in strength, it is also mental strength. You have to be able to endure some pain to improve and keep telling yourself you can do it, even in little improvements.
Mandi, it would still help people here to give you advice, if we knew what gearing you had.

Lol I am not even ashamed to admit that because I am so new to cycling, that I have no idea what my gears are. My boyfriend is the bike wiz and got me into cycling/chose my bike. However, I did just buy a 2010 Kona Lisa Roadbike...and I have ultegra and 105 components. I'm sure if you guys look up the bike you can see what kind of gears/crankset it is. I would but I am at work!

[OakLeaf]

http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=lisa_rd

50/39 in front, 12-25 in back

The 2010 Ultegra SS RD will accommodate up to a 28T rear cog. So you can definitely go lower there. Three teeth WILL make a difference.

Unfortunately you won't be able to put a smaller chainring up front without some other modifications.

That bike is geared awfully tall for the Blue Ridge Mountains. Say it with me: it's not you. Most everyone I know in Ohio (which has hills not quite as steep and not *nearly* as tall as yours) has a 34x27 or lower as their lowest gear. Sure, racers run taller gearing in all but the most extreme terrain, but they also had to get strong before they started racing.

I guess if I were you I'd try a cassette with shorter gearing and see if that gets you where you need to be. If not, you'll probably need to change out some more components, which unfortunately can get expensive. You might sniff around the gear threads here, Craigslist, eBay, etc., for used components.

You can definitely get stronger - we all can - and that will definitely help, but starting out with a bike that's geared too tall is just frustrating, and actually makes it harder for you to get stronger. You wouldn't start out bench pressing 100 lbs if you'd never done it before, and tall gearing is the same kind of thing.

[Crankin]

Thank you, Oakleaf. That's just what I thought might be going on here.
Mandi, you bought a bike that's really nice. I bet your boyfriend helped you. Sometimes people (not just men) who are strong riders and have been riding for awhile don't realize that some of us need easier gearing on the bike. Like, some of us have a triple! You live in an area with really difficult climbs... take Oakleaf's advice and see if you can get a rear derailleur with lower cogs. Believe me, those 2 or 3 lower gears will make a world of difference.

[aicabsolut]

I've never seen a 50/39 combo. Isn't a 50T usually 110BCD? Maybe she could put on a smaller inner ring?

I'd say put on a cassette with a 27 or 28 tooth cog if you can't change the cranks. I ride around the Blue Ridge in VA, and I use a compact (34T or 36T small ring with a 25 or 27T cog as the lowest). There are some times where I am pedaling really slowly due to the grade. There is one climb in WV that I just cannot get up without walking. It's over 6 mi, and there are a couple of switchbacks about mid-way or so over 18% with some steep sustained portions in between. I usually have to stop once I get down to about 3mph and 40rmp. The bike I prefer to use for climbing needs a longer cage rear derailleur to accommodate a bigger cassette. Maybe one day I'll do it. I can ride a little farther on this mountain each year.

Another thing... take the paperboy route if traffic allows. Zig-zagging on a hill will mean you are covering more distance but you are putting your bike on a less steep grade. Stay to the outside on curves if the road is at all banked.

It takes some practice, but it is possible to unclip from a near stop on a steep hill and stay upright.

[OakLeaf]

I've never seen a 50/39 combo. Isn't a 50T usually 110BCD? Maybe she could put on a smaller inner ring?

The specs says it's Shimano 105 (5500). Those are the smallest rings that will go on it. It'll accept a 42 small ring and a 52 or 53 big ring, but nothing smaller than what she has, unless maybe some aftermarket chainrings will fit.

[JennK13]

I concur - your gears arent low enough for that kind of climbing. I have 36/46 up front and my stock cassette is 12-25 which makes for difficult climbs. I switched to an 11-28 and noticed an immediate change for the better!

[marni]

remember, whether you ride or walk up the hill, the top will still be there when you get there. Hang in there and remember the value of practice and repetition.

[f/64]

Short way to say it -
Find a hill that's pretty easy to climb & just keep riding it daily. Once you start getting used to it & can climb up easily, start attacking from bottom to top w/ a larger gear & time yourself every time. Know your limit !

What helps -
hands on top of the bars
relax upper body, too much movement can tire you out
which method helped me (just got used to it after) = keep your heels down while pedaling
& the biggest one, stay seated

Goodluck !

[TxDoc]

the top will still be there when you get there

+ 1

[Eden]

I've never seen a 50/39 combo. Isn't a 50T usually 110BCD?

Somehow I ended up with this weird combo on my rain bike.... I asked for a standard double... I don't honestly get it. So I spin out down steep hills, but don't get any of the advantages of smaller gears???? It hasn't bothered me enough to care to change it, since I'm not exactly mashing out hard core sprints on my commutes or on rainy winter training rides.

[FunSize]

What helps -
hands on top of the bars
relax upper body, too much movement can tire you out
which method helped me (just got used to it after) = keep your heels down while pedaling
& the biggest one, stay seated

+1!

Then...
I remembered another kind of imporrtant mind thing. It never hurts any less, you just get faster. But what's good to know is that your body will keep going if you tell it to. For me its my mind that makes me stop. Kind of along with that is that you shouldn't ride outside of yourself. Its tempting to just rush up the hills but you won't be able to maintain it and it'll make the rest of your ride hard, too.

Today, I went on my usual loop. 3 steep but short hills. Still hurts, my legs were on fire, but I finished them faster than I usually do!

[ny biker]

+1!

Then...
I remembered another kind of imporrtant mind thing. It never hurts any less, you just get faster. But what's good to know is that your body will keep going if you tell it to. For me its my mind that makes me stop. Kind of along with that is that you shouldn't ride outside of yourself. Its tempting to just rush up the hills but you won't be able to maintain it and it'll make the rest of your ride hard, too.

Today, I went on my usual loop. 3 steep but short hills. Still hurts, my legs were on fire, but I finished them faster than I usually do!

Actually for me it does hurt less, but I don't go much faster. Which is fine with me.

[ivorygorgon]

I totally agree with what the other ladies here have said, but I also want to add that it just takes time. You have to build your fitness. Even if you are fit, when you start riding you have to build your BIKE fitness. Just keep riding. It will get easier. Hills are always a bugger. It kinda cracks me up when people say, "just pick a gear where you can spin up." Well, that gear doesn't exist for me. Hills are simply tough and it takes time to build the bike fitness to just spin up them.

I got my MTB about 2 years ago and my road bike one year ago. DH and I do lots of hills and I have ridden a century. We just did one of our usual routes the other day, and for the first time I noticed I could go faster on one of the the hills.

You just need to be patient with yourself, not beat yourself up, and keep working on it.

[Crankin]

I think we scared the OP away.