Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Hill Climbing Tips

Is there any trick other than losing weight to help us big guys climb hills? I am 235 pounds with much of it muscle, but I have a heck of a time climbing. Needless to say, I come downhill very fast. I have a carbon Giant bike with a triple.

The secret for me was to make myself go slower and not to look at the top.

Throw it in the granny gear and gut it out. Don't look at the top, and you'll get there (seemingly) sooner.

Don't underestimate what you can do by throwing it into a higher gear when you get there. Best is usually to throw it into low gear and gut it out the best you can. Sometimes, working to increase your leg strength is very useful, as well.

Granny gear is the low ring on the front.

I found what works for me is a lot of what other people are already saying. I'm 235 too on a carbon Specialized with a compact crank. I put it in granny gear +1 to 2 gears depending on the hill, concentrate on steady breathing, and don't look at the top, but keep small way points along the climb to mark your progress. It's not always about making it up as fast as possible but just making it up, what I have found is speed will come with time.

Hill repeats, go up go down go up go down you get the idea. Try it in different gear selections and see what works for you. If you want to go up it easier use the granny gear, I prefer faster to get it over with thou.

It sounds like you have a very high GAF and GDF just like me! GAF is gravitational acceleration factor and GDF is ..... wait for it.... gravitational deceleration factor. Yes, I am gravitationally challenged.


Hill repeats, go up go down go up go down you get the idea. Try it in different gear selections and see what works for you. If you want to go up it easier use the granny gear, I prefer faster to get it over with thou.

This actually works. Find a nice little hill or grade that you can ride to, do the repeats and then take a nice easy ride home. I've done this on a little hill that used to suck all wind out of me and knock everything out of my legs. Now I do it at the end of every ride just out of spite!

The only way to get better at hill climbing is to climb hills. Keep experimenting and getting stronger and soon you will be feeling like Contador! (You know, that special feeling of being a prissy 135 pound Spanish guy who shoots up hills like we shoot down them.)

use that weight to your advantage.
put the bike in a higher gear and stand up out of the saddle.
try to avoid excess bike wobble.
pull a bit with your off leg as you mash with your other.

when i first did this i got a remarkable burn in my upper thighs and was good for about a dozen cranks of the pedals.....now, not nearly so.
this strengthens your core, i think.

you can do this on flats, too.......try not to mash so much as "dance" on the pedals....it makes the hills so much easier

ymmv

cyril

The age old saying is climbing never gets easier, you just get faster.

I drop to what ever gear is necessary to keep my cadence and spin. Eventually that gear gets bigger. I can't mash due to knee issues.

It's all about rhythm and breathing for me, I slip down to my easy gears and pace myself nice and steady.

The only way to climb better is to climb more.

Fast cadence and don't worry about being the first one up the hill. The immediate goal is to simply get up the hill. I'm 247 and you'll get used to it. Confidence is 75% of the battle.

My ride partner described the course for our last long ride as "a war of attrition" because of the long grinding ascents on the last 50 miles.
Aside from just putting the base miles in and building up your climbing strength, a lot of it is mental. We rode some hills in those last 50 miles that I sometimes dread on my commute home, and I haven't already put in a double century. Positive attitude, that was the main difference.

For me, climbing is a mental thing. I have the fitness finally (better anyway than I have been), and at about 240 I am lighter than I have been in a long time, so when I struggle on a hill it is usually because I psyche myself out. Find a rhythm, a nice gear for you (I ride a lower cadence and bigger gear, but that's just me...), and the easiest gear combo isn't always the way to go. Try a cog or two smaller, knowing you have a "bail out" gear if you get into trouble.

The toughest part of my hill rides has always been the first time I climb a tough hill. After that when I hit that hill again I know I can do it, have done it and it is seeming less of a hill. I never focus on the top of the hill, usually just little way in front of me, and that makes the hill seem less daunting especially on the steeper inclines. Break it down into sections... instead of seeing the summit looming wayyy ahead and up, shoot for that mail box not too far off, or tree or road kill, as you approach that spot the pick another target...

Im not a hill climb expert, just a fat guy who likes to make it up hills lol. These things work for me anyway...

I like long sustained climbs as training because of the mental aspect. "Making it up" improves all aspect of climbing IMO. I never work on speed, just making it up!:thumb:


One big mistake I see too many clydes making is wasting energy on the easy sections of a ride. Like we all say, "I'm fast on the descents". I can't figure out why clydes burn their energy on sections where they know they excel. My thing is conserve on the downhills (softpedal) only enough to keep a decent pace. Then used the conserved energy on the climbs where we most need it.

Hills always vary a little in their gradient. I choose a gear that works for most of it, and keep my cadence constant. Steeper stretches give me a workout, and the less steep parts allow for some recovery. I'm concerned about the whole ride, so don't want to wipe myself out on any one part. Gradually I've gotten stronger; hills that seemed long and hard now just seem long.

Be sure to look around, too. There might be something interesting happening. I looked up while climbing a hill above Santa Monica and saw a big bright meteor blaze a trail of gold across the sky, turning to green as it went east.

Yes it'll take some time, but you'll get stronger as time goes by. I still struggle with some hills, but I remember as well that I used to struggle with ALL hills. Graduating away from the granny gear (when I had a triple on a MTB) for most of them was an accomplishment, even though it was still a challenge.

Don't push yourself too much when the return is not there, or even after you climb a hill. The major battle is to do it, more than doing it fast. It's always better to do 25 hills successfully than 10 of them fast. I find the best thing for me was that I simply made up my mind that there wasn't anything I couldn't get across. Of course, I find that there's always challenges that present themselves, but remember there's always a solution.

You climb with your lungs, not your legs. Regulate your pace and gear to your breathing to keep O2 flowing to your legs. As long as you stay aerobic you can keep going.

It's always better to do 25 hills successfully than 10 of them fast.

Well what if the ride only has 10 hills?:p

Then maybe if you know that, maybe you can go a little faster?

I'm about your size, and the secret for me was to get a Surly LHT... lol. I had a hill that I wasn't able to summit with either my Cannondale Road bike or Mountain bike. Wouldn't you know it though, I finally use a heavy steel bike with mountain bike gearing and just churned my way to the top with "money to spare"! Wonderful feeling actually....

Find a low gear that you can spin fast. When you start feeling the acid build up burn then gear up a couple and stand for 10-20 strokes, then down gear and spin. Repeat.. Works for me anyway.

I personally like getting it out of the way sooner, at least on the steeper hills. I've found that I prefer keeping a middle gear (not to my smallest chainring, but somewhere in the middle my cassette and middle chainring) and then I stand and try to pull up as much as I push. It's a more intense workout, but shorter.

For someone trying to lose some weight, what is the best way?

Forget what I said. Apparently I'm wrong...

I'm going to preface this with "I SUCK at hills. But not so much now as I used to only a few miles ago."

That said, I've found the following to be helpful:

1) Ride hills. You won't get stronger if you don't push the muscle groups to do the work you want them to do. It will take many many many hills but eventually you will ride up the hills in a different gear than now. At least one day per week, find a long, tough hill and really work at it. If you aren't about to puke, you aren't pushing hard enough. (ONLY IF your doc says you are capable of this sort of thing of course. Otherwise . . .)

2) Skip the granny gear. It's too easy and you won't get much physical strength benefit from it. Eventually it becomes a crutch and you will immediately drop into that gear and grind up the hill when you COULD be pushing and getting stronger/faster. You don't "need" a granny gear for most hills.

3) EAT!!! You need to have some sort of energy snack (gel, bar, home brewed goo, whatever) about 1/2 hour before a tough hill. And that needs to be on top of what you're already chowing on during the ride. Us big guys NEED fuel. Maybe moreso than the smaller riders.

2) Skip the granny gear. It's too easy and you won't get much physical strength benefit from it. Eventually it becomes a crutch and you will immediately drop into that gear and grind up the hill when you COULD be pushing and getting stronger/faster. You don't "need" a granny gear for most hills.


Very good advice. On a ride last summer, I was having shifter problems and my chain would drop off the inside every time I shifted to the granny gear. So, I was stuck with my 53 or my 48. We got to a hill that I usually climbed in my granny gear, and I thought "no way will I make it up". I figured I'd give it a try and go as far as I could. Turns out that I got up it just fine, and even got it up a little faster than normal.

Granny gear is the low ring on the front.

Granny gear, the gear on a bicycle even granny would be embarrassed to be caught riding in, usually the lowest gear in the lowest range (1x1).

So, I was stuck with my 53 or my 48. We got to a hill that I usually climbed in my granny gear,


Hmmm, One of my bikes is a triple and I don't avoid the granny gear. If you have a triple and avoid the granny gear, that just means that you don't understand the gears. Hence the statement quoted above.

I use the granny on my triple and I'd hardly say it slows me down or that I'm spoiled.

A triple has repeat gears in the granny that are found in the midring but allows you to keep a straighter chainline. And if you say you climb hills in the mid ring with a straight chainline, then them there aint really much of hill.:p

There's nothing wrong with the granny gear, if you use it the right way (as any gear). I was always taught that in a triple, the granny gear was for really tough climbing, the middle gear was general use (including moderate climbing), and the top gear was for "going really fast on flats or downhill".

Of course, the concept of cross-chaining applies with a huge number of back gears - you typically don't want to go past about 3rd on the granny gear, or go lower than 5th on the top gear, assuming you have 7 speeds total. But the middle gear lets you access all the back gears.

It's a little different with a double like I run now, but the same basic concepts are there. On my last big ride, I even ran in the big ring for some minor climbs (1st gear on back). But you almost always want the lowest gear on the bike if you're doing a solid climb.

Love the granny gear!!!

I have a touring bike and I figure that, since I'm 80 pounds overweight, it's more or less equivalent to Thin Me carrying a bunch of camping gear. I need that granny gear! I am fully loaded!

I outfitted my brevet bike with a huge range using a 34/48 compact crank and an 11 - 32 9spd cassette and mountain derailleur. I've got some hills on my "hilly commute" route that go up to 14.7 for 0.4 miles. One of my training hills is an 1170' climb in 2.25 miles, with a couple sections above 20%. The last brevet with the club had a 3 mile climb that varied between 10% and 17%, from mile 114 to mile 117 (of 250.)

I love my bail-out gear!

I need to figure out the gradient of the hills by my house. There is no way I can spin. I have to mash in my granny gear. I usually go up a couple of blocks, then turn on a side street for recovery. When I get my heart rate down, I return to the hills.

I'm roughly 205ish, with a bike that is nearly 40lbs...

My mindset is to 'attack' the hill and try to go as fast as possible. I figger the less time I'm on the hill the better off I am.

I'm roughly 205ish, with a bike that is nearly 40lbs...

My mindset is to 'attack' the hill and try to go as fast as possible. I figger the less time I'm on the hill the better off I am.

Good strategy for shorter hills, especially rollers where you can carry momentum from the previous downhill into the next uphill.
Doesn't work so good on 25 mile mountain pass ascents.

Good strategy for shorter hills, especially rollers where you can carry momentum from the previous downhill into the next uphill.
Doesn't work so good on 25 mile mountain pass ascents.

Yea... I should've clarified that.

Going clipless makes a huge difference, at least to me it does.

Granny gear, the gear on a bicycle even granny would be embarrassed to be caught riding in, usually the lowest gear in the lowest range (1x1).

Grandpa gear for me.

Referring to someone's post about "climbing psychology".... I'd previously only be able to do a hill using my Surly LHT with the "Granny Gear" at 26:34 ratio, so last night when I approached the hill again on my Cannondale Synapse with 30:27 all I could think was NFW!! Surprisingly, my cardio and strength has improved enough that I could churn right up at a slow but steady pace. I believe a combination of "can do" from achieving it on another bike and focusing on strength/cardio conditioning helped. Not cycling as many miles this year as last, but time used Olympic weightlifting and on the Concept 2 rower is showing some dividends!

Granny gear, the gear on a bicycle even granny would be embarrassed to be caught riding in, usually the lowest gear in the lowest range (1x1).

I think most of us got past peer pressure in high school. ;)

... use what works on your bike to get yourself where you need to go! :thumb:

Yesterday I was on my normal 18-mile ride and instead of trying to pedal harder in certain places and maintain a certain speed, I focused on maintaining a more consistent spinning cadence. I felt like I got a much better workout, rode consistently faster, and beat my best time by two minutes! That could be in part because I've had a few days off, but I think I want to keep that up!

I'm currently on a fitness bike with a triple chainring. For awhile I was trying to avoid the lower gears (while keeping my chainline as straight as possible) for the purpose of practicing for a double chainring, as I plan on buying a road bike with a double chainring within the next few months. Now, with that being said, is there anything I should be considering between now and then? I don't want to get into a situation where I get a double chainring and find that I can't handle the hills...or am I missing something?

Ride within yourself. Find a comfortable cadance and go. The more you climb, the better you will become but hill climbing is an individual thing. Long climbs are for spinning and endurance. Shorter steeper climbs can be attacked out of the saddle if you have the cardio to go with the muscle. Either way practice practice practice.

Yesterday I was on my normal 18-mile ride and instead of trying to pedal harder in certain places and maintain a certain speed, I focused on maintaining a more consistent spinning cadence. I felt like I got a much better workout, rode consistently faster, and beat my best time by two minutes! That could be in part because I've had a few days off, but I think I want to keep that up!

I'm currently on a fitness bike with a triple chainring. For awhile I was trying to avoid the lower gears (while keeping my chainline as straight as possible) for the purpose of practicing for a double chainring, as I plan on buying a road bike with a double chainring within the next few months. Now, with that being said, is there anything I should be considering between now and then? I don't want to get into a situation where I get a double chainring and find that I can't handle the hills...or am I missing something?

It depends on where you live. If I lived in Vermont, yes I would want a Triple. If you live in relatively flat area, then double is more than enough.

Even in Vermont/Newhampshire, unless you are doing some of the extreme climbing, double would still be okay depending on your fitness. Those 15% grade over long distance is killer, even with granny gears.

I'm currently on a fitness bike with a triple chainring. For awhile I was trying to avoid the lower gears (while keeping my chainline as straight as possible) for the purpose of practicing for a double chainring, as I plan on buying a road bike with a double chainring within the next few months. Now, with that being said, is there anything I should be considering between now and then? I don't want to get into a situation where I get a double chainring and find that I can't handle the hills...or am I missing something?

Is it a road triple on your current bike (30/39/50) or a lower geared mountain triple (24/34/46-ish)? If it's a road triple, then you should easily be able to transition to a compact double using a 34/48 or 34/50 set of chainrings mated to the same cassette.
An option with a road bike, even with STI levers, is to drop a mountain cassette and rear derailleur on it to handle a larger span of gearing if necessary.

An option with a road bike, even with STI levers, is to drop a mountain cassette and rear derailleur on it to handle a larger span of gearing if necessary.

Interesting.... I'd wondered about the viability of doing something like that. Penny has the double 34/50 on her "go fast" bike, but her 12/27 Cassette just doesn't give her the bottom end that she needs on the steep inclines.

So 9-speed 11-34 with XT rear derailleur might be an option?

As a reward to myself I designed and printed a plaque that named myself as the worst hill climber in the state. That award has been presented to myself for three straight years with no strong contenders.
I finally dipped my weight to 230 pounds and decided to climb better. Two changes have helped me. (1) I have a stationary recumbent in my house. I started really working that machine and have found it strengthens my climbing, especially since I have started really pushing the machine. (2) I read a little blurb by a cycling coach that said a rider cannot expect to improve much on climbing until that rider accepts the fact that climbing is going to hurt. He said if you climb a hill and it does not hurt you should turn around and climb it again because you did not climb it correctly.

These two have helped me greatly. I hope to not win the award again this year.

Interesting.... I'd wondered about the viability of doing something like that. Penny has the double 34/50 on her "go fast" bike, but her 12/27 Cassette just doesn't give her the bottom end that she needs on the steep inclines.

So 9-speed 11-34 with XT rear derailleur might be an option?

If you want to drop the coin for an XT. I've got an 11 - 32 PG970 cassette and Deore derailleur on my Cross Check. This setup works very well for me. (I'm running friction mode barcons, but I've seen a similar setup on other rider's bikes using STI levers.)

Is it a road triple on your current bike (30/39/50) or a lower geared mountain triple (24/34/46-ish)? If it's a road triple, then you should easily be able to transition to a compact double using a 34/48 or 34/50 set of chainrings mated to the same cassette.
An option with a road bike, even with STI levers, is to drop a mountain cassette and rear derailleur on it to handle a larger span of gearing if necessary.

The crank is an FSA Omega (30/39/50) and the cassette is a SRAM PG-950 11-28 9-speed.

The bike I'm considering as of now has a Shimano 105 (50/34) and the cassette is a Shimano 105 12-27 10-speed.

The secret for me was to make myself go slower and not to look at the top.

that's my biggest thing as well.. just look at a spot on the road 2 ft in front of me and keep my head down.. looking at the top of the hill just killssssss mee.. lol

When I am climbing I start breathing more at the beginning of the climb, this way I don't start breathing hard all of a sudden. Concentrate on exhaling, inhaling will come naturally. Also don't take huge breaths, just regular. Also you do not want your pattern to be the same all the time. for example (if you pedal down with your right leg and exhale at the same time, you could be doing this all the time and not be aware of it) You will be more effective if you change your breathing pattern every so often. To do that just exhale for a little longer than normal once in a while. make sure you are sitting as upright as you can. Do most of your pedaling in the saddle, I believe any cyclist is more efficient sitting, however you will need to stand some to spread the work load to different muscles.

Ride within yourself. Find a comfortable cadance and go. The more you climb, the better you will become but hill climbing is an individual thing. Long climbs are for spinning and endurance. Shorter steeper climbs can be attacked out of the saddle if you have the cardio to go with the muscle. Either way practice practice practice.

Best advice yet! The most frequent mistake I see people make is trying to go too hard and fast. They're buzzing along on the flats at 20mph then get to a hill and think they should try to blast up it at 12-15mph. Most guys last for a mile, or maybe two, and then they're done. The guys who make it to the top throttle back to 5-8mph and prepare for the grind...

I do two things when climbing long, steep hills: 1) I try to pick a gear that allows me to spin the pedals easily, and more importantly 2) I watch my heart-rate monitor and keep my effort at a level I know I can sustain for the entire climb. If I notice my heart rate climbing out of the acceptable range, I know it's time to shift to an easier gear or slow my cadence if I'm out of gears. Once I stopped trying to race to the top and started focusing on steady effort, I had much more success climbing hills!