Fifty Plus (50+) - Hill Avoidance !!!!

How many of us find the gears on our bikes need to get lower as the years get higher ? I put an MTB freewheel on my old road bike 2 yrs ago so my lowest gear is 42x28 . since I broke my hip in a crash I've found that this gear is'nt quite low enough ,when I stand, up a hill it feels like a spike in my hip joint :( so I realy need to look at going lower still ,a new bike with a triple is out of the question for a while yet (other commitments) so Im thinking of finding a 39 chainring to replace the 42 . I like climbing hills ,I find them a personal challenge but I've noticed I have sub-conciously been avoiding a lot of the hillier loops I used to ride pre-crash! How low can you go?

A local hill here is legendary, 0.8 mile, single lane, 12- 20% grade, always a challenge and one I finally made this year (non-stop). Used my litespeed, 38x25. it was 2 weeks ago and I still hurt. I only do this once/twice a year (non-stop part). I practice on it, but usually stop/walk as it takes its toll on my body. I find that its not only gearing, but highly on climbing technique and also mental attitude.
I really like taking riders 20-35 years younger (I'm 57) and outclimbing them.

Ohh almost forgot - went to cumberland gap state park this past friday/sat. Went to the overlook. Passed a bike rider going up. Now this is a STEEP climb of about 2-3 miles. Well - went to the overlook, and as wife and I got back to parking lot, there was the biker! I spoke with him, he has a redline , cross country bike, a local fellow and does this once a week. He is 49. He says it takes him 30 minutes on average to get to top.
Dang! I would do good to do this once a year at most!!!!

I'm still doing ok with my 53/39 and 11-23 cassette. I haven't run out of gears yet on any of the hills I encounter. On a bad day I'm on the small chainring and on the 21 tooth cog when I hit the top of a hill. :o

If the hill is steep enough, I get off and walk the bike up.
One of the pleasures of being 50 is not giving a damn what onlookers think.

You may not be able to spring for a new bike, but if you could swing a compact double crank like an FSA Energy (~$US 160) you could get a 50/34, which would be substantially lower than your 42 or a 39. Much cheaper than retrofitting a triple or a new bike. You need gears low enough to keep you riding the hills you want to ride.

I geared the Bianchi 50-42 / 13-15-17-19-21-23-26, reserving the 26T cog for steep (>14 percent) hills and that occasional "running on empty" climb near the end of a long ride. I am not too proud to stand on the 42/23 on a moderately steep hill.

The UO-8 commuter, geared 45-42 / 13-15-17-20-23-26, has a significantly lower top and the same bottom gears. I use the 42/23 combination alot more on this bike than on the Bianchi.

One of my most satisfactory gear setups is the 48-45-34 / 13-15-17-19-21-23 on the PKN-10. Again, I reserve the lowest combination for "bail-out" and find the 34/21 adequate for most hills.

If you really need the extra gears without switching chainrings, get a long cage MTB derailleur for the back, and switch to a much taller cassette. You can get a 12-34 cassette and never look back. I'm not a great climber myself, so I switched to a 14-32 on my old 7 speed. I can still get up hills with my triple and a 12-27 cassette, but the older bike is much nicer to spin up grades.

I'm still doing ok with my 53/39 and 11-23 cassette. I haven't run out of gears yet on any of the hills I encounter. On a bad day I'm on the small chainring and on the 21 tooth cog when I hit the top of a hill. :o You are an animal my friend!

It may be heresay, but a few locals have put MTB gearing on their road bikes. Lotsa low gears then.


jim

http://store1.yimg.com/I/nycewheels_1810_37699749
I put mtb gearing on my road bike when I was 55. Now at 74, I am looking at an electric hibrid like the Giant Lafree Light. :)

http://store1.yimg.com/I/nycewheels_1810_37699749
I put mtb gearing on my road bike when I was 55. Now at 74, I am looking at an electric hibrid like the Giant Lafree Light. :)

I saw two of those on the trail yesterday!

The trail is flat, and I couldn't quite understand why the husband and wife were using electric on the flats??

It may be heresay, but a few locals have put MTB gearing on their road bikes. Lotsa low gears then.


jim
I was thinking that the next time I need a new free-wheel I'lle get a 30 as the lowest sprocket but I think that will be the limit with the rear changer that I've got , I need to try before I buy to see if it will work OK .

Ohh almost forgot - went to cumberland gap state park this past friday/sat. Went to the overlook. Passed a bike rider going up. Now this is a STEEP climb of about 2-3 miles. Well - went to the overlook, and as wife and I got back to parking lot, there was the biker! I spoke with him, he has a redline , cross country bike, a local fellow and does this once a week. He is 49. He says it takes him 30 minutes on average to get to top.
Dang! I would do good to do this once a year at most!!!!

Shoot, I've gone up that hill several times on bikes. Let's see, the first time it was on my Honda, the second time on a BMW... :D

Doug

Love those hills, I have 53-39 cranks and an 11 - 21 cogset, love those hills something will not be right if I don't ride a hill on my bike ride

A 39 chainring and a mtb rear derailer with a 11-34 would probably be the easiest way to go.

Hey, Rasco, you have very typical modern Tour de France gearing. You are either a well-oiled machine or Lance Armstrong's biological father.

Hey, Rasco, you have very typical modern Tour de France gearing. You are either a well-oiled machine or Lance Armstrong's biological father.
John E,
thanks, I don't have a choice, thats the only cogs I have on my bike, so I might as well ride it, as for Lance Armstrong Biological father, that cannot be my origin is southEast asian, as for the name "Racso" that was spelled backward "Oscar"
again thanks , John E for making my day.

Oscar =Racso

I'm thinking along the lines of dropping to a 39 c/ring & uping the anti on the back from 28 to 30 but I dont know if the rear changer will take another 2 teeth ? ,its an old exage & the cluster is screw on .

I geared the Bianchi 50-42 / 13-15-17-19-21-23-26, reserving the 26T cog for steep (>14 percent) hills and that occasional "running on empty" climb near the end of a long ride. I am not too proud to stand on the 42/23 on a moderately steep hill.

Allright, A mountain bike with lower gearing than the roadies, but mentally I always want a lower gear whenever I look at a hill. The solo has a low gear of 22/32, but that lowest gear is the survival gear. By the time I am in that one, I am completely shatterd and need it. The Tandem is higher with 24/32 but that low gear is needed on most of the steep ones and is definitely not survival gear, as there is no lower. That is the steep hill gear.
Surprising thing is, for winter training, we put a 26 on the front, to raise the gearing and make us work harder, and we never notice it.

Doug

Stop fooling around and do what I did. Set your steed up with a 24/26. I can climb a 21% grade ( as long as it's not over 1/4 mile in distance ). I also do shrub removal

If the hill is steep enough, I get off and walk the bike up.
One of the pleasures of being 50 is not giving a damn what onlookers think.

This I can relate to. That and my knee implants demand it.

I,too,am lookin for a bit lower gear myself in the mean time.

I was thinking that the next time I need a new free-wheel I'lle get a 30 as the lowest sprocket but I think that will be the limit with the rear changer that I've got , I need to try before I buy to see if it will work OK .


What rear derailleur do you have? You need a rear der. for a triple before going to a 30 in the back. The long cage on the triple will only take a 30 max, at least with Shimano. I have an MTB rear now on mine for my 32. I'm lucky though, because that bike is set up for touring, with a 48/38/28 chainring up front.

If the hill is steep enough, I get off and walk the bike up.
One of the pleasures of being 50 is not giving a damn what onlookers think.

Same here.
I just returned to cycling three months ago and discovered I couldn't do hills, much less any of the bridges that link Manhattan with the rest of the world. Sometimes when I'mwalking my bike across a bridge, younger guys will get off to walk their bikes and act like they're wth me. :o

Maybe there's a reason why hybrid bikes have become so popular?

Stacy

If the hill is steep enough, I get off and walk the bike up.
One of the pleasures of being 50 is not giving a damn what onlookers think.

I refuse to give up on a hill and walk. Not pride, it is the realisation that it is more awkward to push the bike up the hill, than to pedal it. The mere fact that others that have given in and are walking past me faster than I am pedalling does not matter. Incidentally, the hills do not get any easier the fitter you are, they just take less time to climb them

I live in the Hudson Valley across from West Point in New York. At this location 60% of the roads are dirt and the main north and south roads have a lot of traffic. Regardless of whether you are riding a road bike or an MTB you can't go anywhere without going up many steep hills. Almost any loop you ride around here will take you up very steep inclines for a minimum of .03 miles to 2.5 miles. I am 54 and still climbing them. I have an MTB but rarely do I have to go to my lowests gears. I have set up the frame, seat and bars so that my center of gravity is in the front part of the bike. Long rides on flat surfaces are uncomfortable because the bike is configured for hills only.

What rear derailleur do you have? You need a rear der. for a triple before going to a 30 in the back. The long cage on the triple will only take a 30 max, at least with Shimano. I have an MTB rear now on mine for my 32. I'm lucky though, because that bike is set up for touring, with a 48/38/28 chainring up front.

My rear changer is an old Exage & my shifters are downtube (indexd) I think you are right & I have just put a new 7 sp screw on free wheel on & I stuck to the old 28-14 configueration, Im pinning my hopes on picking up a suitable 39 chainwheel :rolleyes: Though my damaged leg is slowly immproving with wear :p

With my 53/39 and 11-25 I am still able to climb the steep hills and I'm 57 years old. Frequently I leave the younger guys behind but I will wait for them at the top ;^)

I found as I get older, that I can still climb if I do it regularly and stay in shape for it. When I slack off I quickly loose my fitness and have to do hill intervals to get back into shape. I am fortunate that I have not had degenerative joint disease to the point of affecting my cycling.

I ride a touring bike with a triple. If I am in the lowest gear, and I whiles am, I "twiddle" gently up the hills, and if I am moving at 6mph I am faster than if I am walking and I am not stressing myself nor am I burning off muscle, I am instead watching the view, my heart monitor, and thinking about all the calories I am leaving behind me. A mile or three at 12% for me, a non animal, needs the low gear. It's what it's for after all...

All three of my bikes have triples. Many of the road bikes now come with a triple as an option. Unless you are a Lance Armstrong wannabe when you hit 50 get the triple. At 62 the triple has gotten me up the Puyallup hill on the STP and across the George Washington bridge at Longview Wa. And oh that hill on the Chilly Hilly. By the way that is just a shade over 2 months and I try it again. When you ride club rides you takes what they gives you. Most rides have some hills worth talking about. Bring them on. If necessary I can and have walked (resting moving forward).
Phil Lux

If I win lotto I'le buy or build a new bike & it will s#itsure have a triple :p