Cycling Uphill Question
 

Hi guys, it's me again. I'm trying to improve my cycling uphill. However, i noticed that it's harder for me to "spin" rather than to "mash" on uphill.

When i spin, my heartrate shoots up, then force me to dismount on my bike and walk. However, when i try to "mash" with a slightly higher gear, i stay longer on the bike (but eventually will dismount and walk...)

below is my poor performance on my 1st try on this particular road.

https://www.strava.com/activities/40...nts/9735831615

Question is,

How do you get comfortable on spinning during climbs? My cadence on flats is around 80-85... tried replicating that cadence on climbs as i've read on the internet... but i failed miserably.

You need lower gearing. Your HR was pegged within a couple of minutes on the first climb forcing you to stop. Hopefully you had some warmup before that climb but the bottom line is you're climbing faster than your fitness can support. Climb slower and your effort will be more manageable.

My guess is you don't have a lot of miles in your legs and that's a steep hill to be tackling without some better fitness. How many hrs/wk are your riding?

edit: looked at your Strava. Less than 3 hrs/wk this year. Just ride more, and ride consistently. The hills will get easier.

first things first -- that climb ain't no slouch. What's your gearing?

When you "spin" -- what's your cadence? I've ridden with folks who spin --like a mad hamster on red bull. That's not it. That will exhaust you (as it did those I saw riding like this). Spinning on a climb is more like 70-80 rpm instead of 50-60.

Climbing is part art, part experience. Keep at it (gregf83 is right, more riding leads to more efficiency). Find a gear that you can get into a rhythm. You have an HRM, get into Z3 and a gear that keeps you there. Focus more on staying in that zone rather than racing up the hill. Have a mantra. Love the pain.

I see that you were using your dad's MTB, so I assume that even though the gradient was up to 20%, you had low enough gearing to deal with it. My understanding is that no matter what gear you used, eventually just moving forward became too much and you had to walk and that you were able to climb better in a higher gear than a lower one.

This is all normal for a relatively new and less conditioned rider. You'll get better with time and weight loss. For now, don't worry too much about spinning up hills. There's always a balance between what your legs can do and what your lungs can do. The rule is that if your breathing is sort of OK but your legs are giving out - shift down. If your legs are sort of OK but your breathing can't keep up, shift up. This balance point will shift with increasing fitness, both muscular and aerobic. High aerobic fitness is necessary to spin on climbs. You don't have it yet and it can take years to fully develop.

Try to gradually increase your hours of riding per week, maybe by one hour/week for a while. 6 hours seems to be a minimum for reasonable performance. Over 10 hours, the percentage improvement per added hour drops off quickly. You should notice good results after a couple of months of doing that.

The best way to lose weight is simply to eat a little less at every meal.

That reminds me of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGmX6m78zDM

Hi! I was using a 22-32 gearing that time... (last chainring / cog) and was spinning on about 80rpm. (then i stopped because my lungs or legs (or both) are screaming to stop). My problem with Heart rate zoning is that it's always on 180ish (Zone 4). it can only be on zone 3 if it's on flats and i'm cruising on about 20-25kph. I usually ride my road bike with a 39-25 lowest gear... (i've only used my dad's MTB since i was invited to try trail riding.)

I'll try to ride more (or extend my riding hours). I'm a weekend warrior thus i have few times to ride my bike. Thanks for the advice.

sounds like what my heart rate does if I go for a run (hint: I don't run). Ride more, you need.

That's all normal for a beginning rider. It takes time. Even getting out for 1/2 hour in the evening after work is a help. Some folks get up early and put in an hour. Whatever you can do will help. Remember that it's not a luxury. It's life support.