Climbing Hills on the Bike - It has to get easier right?
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Anton posted 1 year ago.
No...Never. ;)
Actually it does...it just takes time in the hills riding up and down...You really have to learn both. Riding up is hard....going down is easy, but a mistake can be...well, pretty bad.
Since it appears you're new to hills, just ride and let fitness develop on it's own...I have met many a FORMER bikie who trashed their knees hammering on hills when their mind was ready but the body wasn't...
Try it without the spin class one day!
Good Luck!
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://anton.trifuel.net
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Triguy98 posted 1 year ago.
You'll get stronger. It just takes some time. But going uphill after spinning is always gonna hurt.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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bluebirdbiker posted 1 year ago.
Definitely, the more hills you do the easier it gets. Sitting and pedalling is probably the best to improve the leg strength for going up hills.
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Pete L. posted 1 year ago.
gear down if you can. seems obvious, but I gear down as much as I have to to keep my cadence up, until I bottom out, and then comes the shame.
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bhanrah posted 1 year ago.
Heres a question - do you guys do all of your hilly rides on a tri or road bike? or do you even own both? I am thinking about getting a new bike this summer and can't decide what to go with. (I already have a slightly above entry level tri bike and I want to do more group rides and mountainous rides - but then again I am a triathlete) any advice?
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ston_ar posted 1 year ago.
The hills do get easier, since i started riding consitently a couple months ago the few hills i do get to do have become much easier, 400 ft in a mile isn't too bad (thats about the steepest we got around here). @bhanrah I would just find an older road bike thats still in good shape, probably could pick one up for a couple hundred bucks. It'll give you something to ride in a group, do hills, use as your rain bike, things like that, and save the rest for a nicer tribike
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bokchoy posted 1 year ago.
Thanks for all the feedback! I'll definitely try again on fresh legs. I was on my MTB too, not my road bike. That will probably help too I'm guessing.
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Jstyle posted 1 year ago.
It doesn't really get easier I think you just get faster...
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
I agree with J -- it doesn't really seem to get easier. I pedal just as hard now as I did the first time. Just now I make it up a lot faster! I've been doing a weekly hill workout for a month or so and I can already feel the difference! We did a 45 min climb yesterday with 5 minutes of easy spinning, 5 minutes in a harder gear, and in the middle I noticed my easy spinning was what I used to ride that whole climb at when I was trying to go fast :)
Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV
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nayo posted 1 year ago.
Here's a tip I learned fro my days of mountainbiking. Ignore speed, focus on cadence and NEVER take your eye off your Wattage (if you have a power-meter avialable, if not stick with your HR) because what you always want to keep a constant power output, regardless of speed/incline/etc.. Feel free to down-shift and go slower. Watch the people that go all crazy into a hill be passed by you when you're in a steady power output.
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craigery posted 1 year ago.
bhanrah;67413 wrote:
Heres a question - do you guys do all of your hilly rides on a tri or road bike? or do you even own both? I am thinking about getting a new bike this summer and can't decide what to go with. (I already have a slightly above entry level tri bike and I want to do more group rides and mountainous rides - but then again I am a triathlete) any advice?
Since you already have a tri bike and you want to do some group rides, get a decent road bike. I dont know if this is usual but a lot of roadies frown upon using tri bikes in group rides. That is from what I've observed and what I've read on other forums.
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CGroth posted 1 year ago.
craigery;67528 wrote:
Since you already have a tri bike and you want to do some group rides, get a decent road bike. I dont know if this is usual but a lot of roadies frown upon using tri bikes in group rides. That is from what I've observed and what I've read on other forums.
i agree that most roadies don't like the tri guys getting in on their group rides.
as for the question: i would say you should look at what you really want. if you are happy with the tri bike that you have and want to do group rides - go with a road bike. if you think that your entry level tri bike will not be adequate in the near future you may want to invest in a better tri bike.
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Blake posted 1 year ago.
"It dosen't get easier, You just get faster." - Greg Lemond
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deepbluex posted 1 year ago.
Yup, you just get faster. It always feels like hell but by going faster means you're spending less time climbing.
I use both road and tri bike - and I find the tri bike to be a fine climber. It depends on your gearing. I used to have a 52/42 dual crankset (11-23 9spd cassette) on my tri bike and I didn't feel it gave me enough range when I needed climbing gears so I switched out the smaller crank ring to a 39. It helps a bit.
I try to stay in my seat as much as possible. Between having to stand up and shifting to an easier gear, always shift to the easier gear. Standing up is the last measure to just get it done when you really need to torque your way up there.
I had the brilliant idea to ride my bike to spin class today...all downhill it was fabulous. The ride home was a different story! My legs are pretty shot today from hiking and spinning, but trying to get up the hill to my house was brutal and I ended up getting off the bike and walking.
Has this happened to anyone else? This was one of my first rides here in NH...My last tri was in FL, no hills.
It will get easier right?