I am doing a Sprint in a State Park and the bike portion is all up and down hills. I have only done one triathlon and it was much flatter with only gradual rolling hills, no real climbs. The bike I am using is an older, heavier road bike that has been fitted with aerobars for triathlons. It weighs around 20 lbs.
So, lay some basics on me that a novice can use to at least feel a little prepared for hill climbing. I have been doing some hill training indoor on a stationary since my area doesn’t really have a lot of big climbs on safe roads. That is starting to feel better to me but I know it is nothing like the real thing.
My biggest question is about gears. Do I need to be in small gears throughout the climb? Should I be shifting to larger gears periodically? Does it matter if I shift the front gear or the back gear? Am I going to kill myself by standing every now and then?
Any other questions that I should be asking…feel free to answer.
I like to mix mostly sitting with occasional standing to stretch and vary the muscle load a bit. Stand if it’s steeper, sit for steadier efforts. As for shifting, you want to carry some momentum into the foot of the climb so you don’t have to start from scratch, but once you cash that in, it’s beeter to spin too low a gear at first and then shift to bigger gears as you go if you feel good, than to start in too big a gear, blow up, and have to retreat to your granny the rest of the way.
I always error on the side of caution…Big gear at the beginning until your momentum slows, get out of your seat a bit and milk that momentum for all it’s worth, then shift down to a smaller gear. maintain a decent cadence so you don’t start grinding, then small chainring a bit and spin. Don’t tear up your legs trying to stay in your big chainring-if you spin easy in the small chainring, your legs will be thanking you on the run!!
The bike I am using is an older, heavier road bike that has been fitted with aerobars for triathlons. It weighs around 20 lbs.
Hill climbing and gears depends a good bit on fitness and how big the hills are.
If you are relatively new to cycling, you probably want to be on the small ring up front when climbing. It also depends on your goals as far as speed is concerned. If it is a long climb, you may want to get out of the saddle for little spurts to stretch your legs.
I am fairly new and rather inexperienced in cycling as a sport. So all of your help is useful.
The longest climb - and this may not seem like much to you guys - is a 4 mile 350+ ft incline from mile 4 thru 8 of a 15 mile ride. Then the rest is gradual ups and downs until about mile 12 when it is mostly downhill to the transition. I don’t mind getting out of the saddle but have heard that it can waste a lot of energy in doing so.
Typically on my rides I jut put it gear and go and hardly if ever shift. That is why I really need some advice on the hills.
As a novice rider using smaller gears and spinning is a better approach. As you progress and learn more about your capabilities, this may change. Generally how we climb hills is dependant on weight/body type. Larger more powerful riders tend to climb in a larger gear, seated. While smaller more agile riders tend to spin up climbs, utilizing a combination of sitting and standing.
In a time trial, the main thing to avoid is going anaerobic. Find a gear that you can control, and maintain a constant rhythm. Try to avoid changing gears unless the pitch changes. Climbing is all about rhythm. Changing pace will blow your legs out. Climb without ego. Trying to stay with a stronger rider is unwise, especially over a rolling course. Just remember to recover on the downhills, and enjoy the free speed.
Since when is 20 pounds heavy? The lightest bike I’ve ever owned is a brand new Look 596 and it weighs in at 19.8 pounds in a size large. You need to quit reading ST : )
I once did a tri which had a hilly course. I ran up the climb, passing the bike “studs” as I did, because they insisted on climbing it in the big ring.
Do not over gear. Ride what feels comfortable, as you have to get off and run afterwards.
Have a look at the course, there may be a short punchy climb thats better taken out the saddle in the big ring, or Youa long steady climb where it’s better to sit and spin a low gear. You should, where possible, maintain an even cadence. If you feel like you’re labouring, change down.
Second, I just went and rode the course to get a feel for it and to put in to practice some of the advice and man did it work. I am not a great biker by any means so I was not expecting a very good time. I ended up finishing it in 53 minutes (15 miles) and that felt great and I am very pleased. I hit the downhills pretty hard and then shifted to a smaller gear up the hills unless I felt I could do it in the one I was in. I even got to the point where I was riding some in my biggest gear and it felt okay. There are very few flat areas so the whole thing is basically up-down.
Thanks again for all the great advice. I can’t wait until Sunday.
Now that you’ve ridden the course and know what to expect you’re already one step ahead of the game. The trick now will be to hold back and not go all out because of the adrenaline and excitement of the race atmosphere.
Personally I sit most of the time while climbing but I’m a flatlander too.
If I’m in an area that has longer climbs I will stand every once in a while to break up the climb. I normally shift up a few gears to get my cadence to 50-60 rpm while standing.
There is no need to put out more power while standing although you can, I just keep about the same effort.
There is nothing wrong with standing for short periods, just don’t blow out your legs doing it.
I think I stayed in the tuck position about 90-95% of the ride. A few times I mis-shifted and that hurt my momentum and I had to stand up to get going again. And then a few times I just had to stand up. There are precious few flats on this ride so there was a lot of shifting to be done but once I figured out my gears and got a feel for what I needed for a certain size hill…I got rollin’.
Don’t be afraid to stand up on hills for short periods of time…do this quite frequently in fact (as long as your speed is under 15mph I’d say). It actually decreases muscular fatique in the quads because they get a different range of motion and it seems to increase the dissipation of lactic acid (at least it FEELS this way).
