Originally Posted by
Rob P.
The second reason isn't so obvious. Take it from me, the BIKE is a major factor in how well you do hills. I currently am riding a Trek 1100 aluminum. 3X crank with 32 in the back. I can grind it up some pretty steep hills but my HR and breathing go sky high if I try to push myself. I've been riding this bike for a few thousand miles and it has not changed from day one. I suck at hills on it.
My friend who just started riding a MONTH AGO can blast past me on any hill in the area on his new Orbea. And his gearing is 39X25. He's older than me, hasn't been riding, and still goes OTF on every hill. Why?? It's the bike. His Orbea is stiffer and is more efficient at transferring energy into motion than my Trek.
You've got to be kiddng!: Just did this century with 9-10,00 ft of climbing. Couple hundred riders finished behind me in the timed event and I'm on an 11 year old bike with a standard crank 53/39-12/25. Being a heavy rider at 230 lbs, if this were true, al the riders behind me on new high end stuff would have been way ahead of me.
I also have a more modern triple Lemond and the bikes are within a couple of second of eachother, all lthings being equal.
Plus I have a bud with a Trek 1100 and an Orbea. He kicks my arse on both of his bikes!
It's all about training!
The heavy rider
The ride: