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When climbing a really steep hill...

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

When climbing a really steep hill...

Old 06-28-10, 10:06 AM
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When climbing a really steep hill...

There is a hard hill near my house. It is about a mile and a quarter long. At its steepest, it approaches 18%-20%. I will be in 39-28. I get freaked out on the really steep section where I hit that tenuous balance between the front wheel lifting up and the back wheel spinning. It is probably only for a few seconds, but I guess you could say I panic. How do you personally deal with this. I'm thinking I should just power through it if I could overcome the fear factor. Advice?
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Old 06-28-10, 10:09 AM
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I suspect you can do it, but as a back-up you could "paperboy" (i.e. zig-zag up the hill, assuming traffic is not an issue).

I go up hills that are briefly 18% in my 39-23 so I think you can do it.
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Old 06-28-10, 10:10 AM
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When doing really steep sections, it's good to ride cross ways, back and forth across the road if you can. Obviously if this is a regularly traveled road that would be a bad idea.

Try leaning forward and putting your weight forward over the front wheel.

Might want to think about getting a cassette with a larger range and compact cranks if you're doing ridiculously steep hill climbing a lot.
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Old 06-28-10, 10:12 AM
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Originally Posted by datlas
I suspect you can do it, but as a back-up you could "paperboy" (i.e. zig-zag up the hill, assuming traffic is not an issue).

I go up hills that are briefly 18% in my 39-23 so I think you can do it.
Woosey. I don't leave my 54x11 to climb little hills like that.
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Old 06-28-10, 10:13 AM
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Ride faster and you won't feel that problem.
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Old 06-28-10, 10:17 AM
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We have some hills out here in the lower 20% grade range. If you are pulling wheelies, and spinning the rear. You probably need to calm down, and try to get a smooth spin going, and not such a mash. Just stay seated and keep as constant of a pace as possible. I climb all these hills around here with 39-25, it's all about being smooth and consistent on the steep stuff, I've found.
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Old 06-28-10, 10:24 AM
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i kinda do what datlas does but some times i stand and shift my weight over the rear wheel then the front as to not do a wheelie!
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Old 06-28-10, 11:20 AM
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I stay seated, with my hands barely gripping the handlebars.
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Old 06-28-10, 11:24 AM
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scrape the dog poop off your shoes.

In other words, pedal circles, smooth pedal stroke.
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Old 06-28-10, 11:53 AM
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Stay seated during the climb and really focus on having a smooth pedal stroke... even if you're pedaling at 60rpm.

If you have to stand, then try to be really smooth about it. No jerky movements, and still try and stay low and keep your weight far over the bars to keep your front wheel from lifting up while giving your rear wheel enough traction.

I've climbed hills that steep in the pouring rain with no traction issues.
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Old 06-28-10, 11:57 AM
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50x34 dude
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Old 06-28-10, 11:59 AM
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Out of the saddle.
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Old 06-28-10, 01:19 PM
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At this grade, I am pretty much at stall. My heart rate is at maximum. Cadence is, "Can I turn this thing over one more time?" Standing is not an option because I can't balance at such a low speed. I do find myself almost "jumping forward" in the saddle to get a little more power. Could it be simply a case of HTFU and muscle the thing over?
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Old 06-28-10, 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Equinox
At this grade, I am pretty much at stall. My heart rate is at maximum. Cadence is, "Can I turn this thing over one more time?" Standing is not an option because I can't balance at such a low speed. I do find myself almost "jumping forward" in the saddle to get a little more power. Could it be simply a case of HTFU and muscle the thing over?
Practice standing. It should be just as easy, maybe easier, to balance the bike at low speeds out of the saddle as in it.
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Old 06-28-10, 01:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Equinox
How do you personally deal with this.
I stand on those. It's faster and easier for me. There's a 22% section on the road to my house and it's often covered with leaves.
Stand and pedal smoothly, keeping weight back far enough that the rear doesn't slip. It's actually easier than seated climbing for me, as long a I can maintain traction.

It takes practice; try it on less steep pitches for a while. One way to make getting over the crux section for the first time easier is to go slower than normal on the parts leading up to it so you're not hurting so much when you get to the hard part. If you're less tired you can concentrate on form.

Lower gearing would probably help.

If you are spinning the back tire while seated you have a very uneven pedal stroke (or you're making a huge amount of power). Practice feeling the traction. MTB riding is good for that.
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Old 06-28-10, 01:42 PM
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I think that lower gearing would help a lot. At 19%+, I certainly glad that I have a 34-28.
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Old 06-28-10, 01:56 PM
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I remember hearing a long time ago that standing wastes like 30% more power. After a mile of climbing, that would be the last thing I'd want to do. Keep seated, keep steady, and keep a smooth pedal stroke.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Equinox
At this grade, I am pretty much at stall. My heart rate is at maximum. Cadence is, "Can I turn this thing over one more time?" Standing is not an option because I can't balance at such a low speed. I do find myself almost "jumping forward" in the saddle to get a little more power. Could it be simply a case of HTFU and muscle the thing over?
I sure relate 100% to what you're saying - I think. I just got into cycling but I'm riding a lot (162 miles last week). At 5 MPH with a cadence under 50 it is not
easy to stand up - shifting up 2 gears would make it easier to stand and crank but you're going too slow to do that. If you're like me, trying to "muscle the thing over" is about all you can do but recovering is hard because you've overextended yourself. And for some reason I usually can't shift into an ultra low gear (my 35 year old bike has a triple) and spin easily - I have a cadence computer and I pay attention to cadence.

I just got a bike with indexed shifting - shifting is vastly easier and more reliable. I plan to experiment on steep hills by trying to mix "shifting up and standing" with "shifting down and sitting" to see if breaking up the climb helps.

HTFU seems harsh, but the more you ride the smaller hills will seem. Unfortunately that doesn't help you today. Good luck. And enjoy.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:37 PM
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Originally Posted by hobkirk
At 5 MPH with a cadence under 50 it is not
easy to stand up - shifting up 2 gears would make it easier to stand and crank but you're going too slow to do that.
That's true, but all it means is that you should have stood up before you were in so much trouble, while you still had momentum. It's true that standing takes more energy (though umd would give me an argument about that, after we had an exchange on the subject the other day) and I wouldn't want to be standing for a mile at 18%. But the OP said the hill only "touches" 18% - 20%. And the fact is, that if you're struggling and have no more gears, you sometimes have only one choice - pedal standing, or walk.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:48 PM
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I go to one or two bigger gears and stand with a lower cadence before I loose momentum, then sit and spin a higher cadence in the lowest gears to recover, alternating as I feel the need to. It gets easier the more you do it, and eventually you will just sit the whole way up. Then one day you will return to standing wit a normal or higher cadence on some sections because you want to do it faster. But I do remember the days I was barely doing 50 rpm's in my lowest gear, gasping for air, and feeling dizzy. So keep at this hill, you will master it shortly.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:48 PM
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Just stand and pedal smoothly on the steep sections. There's no need to downshift when you stand when it's that steep.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:57 PM
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I'm not going to sit on a 18% climb.
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Old 06-28-10, 03:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Equinox
At this grade, I am pretty much at stall. My heart rate is at maximum. Cadence is, "Can I turn this thing over one more time?" Standing is not an option because I can't balance at such a low speed. I do find myself almost "jumping forward" in the saddle to get a little more power. Could it be simply a case of HTFU and muscle the thing over?
I have a short 18% grade (measured, not internet estimates) near here. I can climb it pretty easily, in the 34-25, standing at a really slow cadence. I'm doing one pedal stroke a second, which is 30 rpm, and going between 3 and 4 mph. Then it's all about balancing--I'm not weaving all over. My heart rate isn't maxed at this speed.
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Old 06-28-10, 03:40 PM
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Originally Posted by datlas
I suspect you can do it, but as a back-up you could "paperboy" (i.e. zig-zag up the hill, assuming traffic is not an issue).

I go up hills that are briefly 18% in my 39-23 so I think you can do it.
Ditto on the 39-23. You can do it. I tend to stand when I get to grade like this and just power through it. I saw mention in this thread of 60rpm -- personally, I cannot come close to that when on a grade of about 20%.
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Old 06-29-10, 11:08 AM
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Zig-zagging up the hill is not an option. Despite its location and steepness, there is a suprising amount of traffic. Plus, when I've tried that technique in the past, it seemed like it just prolonged the agony.
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