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15/10/2008 10:15:20 PM
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Admin
Posts 22
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Ok, so has anyone got any ideas on what's best to go faster up hills? Is it better to focus on weight loss or increasing power output?
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24/10/2008 10:45:58 AM
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Jeff Marsland
Posts 20
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Lose weight, it's gotta be............you'll save lots of money by NOT buying a new bike just to shave off a few extra kgms.
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24/10/2008 10:52:17 AM
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robert b spackman
Posts 1
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It is best to look at increasing power to weight ratio. The less mass you and the bike are the less friction. The more power you can sustain the better. Armstrong looked at the climbing Mt Ventoux and looked at various ratios and cadence. His findings was a light gear riding at high cadence which suited his style of riding. However, he did the work on the hills with power workouts and dropped his weight from 72 kg in spring training down to 64 kg at the the foot of the Alps. His power rating was also increased by the Tour. So do not go out and buy a lighter bike. Try climbing hills in one gear more than you are comfortable and increase your strength and loose some weight. As a young man I was down to 73 kg. I am now over 100 kg and cannot climb like I used to. My bike is lighter, but I have to loose the spare tire if I am going to win any club graded races.
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24/10/2008 11:41:26 AM
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adrian wood
Posts 1
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I guess it depends on how fat or heavy you and your bike are. If you have weight to loose then loose it, if you dont then its a no brainer. A training regime that initially covered both would be optimal where you are pushing harder gears, keeping off the bench press and strengthening your torso (core strength) then once you and your bike get down to a certain weight you will only have one option - torture! big hills in big gears and in the off season get onto the leg press.
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24/10/2008 12:41:31 PM
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Graham McArthur
Posts 15
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There is a little more to it than power to weight and total mass. Like all areas of our sport there are many things you need to develop for climbing hills fast. If you are seeking an instant improvement than I would suggest you look at bike set up, improving technique and pedaling efficiency plus nutrition. From there you can look at power and specific energy systems.
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24/10/2008 6:08:48 PM
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Aaron Babb
Posts 14
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You could really use either i think. Seeing as power(P) = work(W)/time(t) and work = force(F) x Distance(d). Distance is a constant (doesnt change). So if we assume you maintain your power but reduce your body weight e.g. increase your power to weight ratio then Force required is reduced (Dont have to pull that bucket ass up the hill) and therefore work is reduced. So keeping with the assumption that we have maintained power if work is reduced then time must also... Therefore time up the climb is reduced!
Power output is really the ideal measure but both will give you improvements in conjunction with each other. And if you are lucky enough to have one of those polar watches that can estimate power output, your the luckiest bastard around and im jeleous 
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25/10/2008 1:20:05 AM
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adam cobain
Posts 2
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It is really simple, really. Just climb, and then climb more and more and more. Whatever you ride, whatever you weigh, I guarantee you will go faster. There is no substitute for hard work and sweating out hours on the climbs. Fact. 
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26/10/2008 3:33:09 AM
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Robert Rau
Posts 150
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Make sure your tyres arent flat otherwise you wont be going anywhere fast! If youre not keen on losing the weight or buying a new bike (meaning you have to break the news to the spouse that she needs to part with 6-8 grand), have a look at how well the wheels roll. In other words, reduce the friction with decent after market bearings and good quality tires. Remember that merely making the bike light doesnt mean you go faster but instead get lazier! Look at building up some of the important muscle groups. If none of the above work, try "wheel sucking" behind another rider as this can reduce your effort by up to about 40 percent! From an experiment I did a few weeks ago, I starved myself down to 84.7 (from 88 kg) in one week and then went up a few favorite hills. Being dehydrated and hungry didnt help much. Did well initially with the first part of the climb but suffered alot as the climb continued and got stressed at the end. I thought it did more harm than good. Proper hydration and nutrition are vital for good hill climbing.
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26/10/2008 6:41:56 PM
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Aaron Babb
Posts 14
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Adam hit that in a nutshell... We always over complicate things
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26/10/2008 8:31:06 PM
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The Oracle
Posts 2
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All these coments are good but here is something else to consider. Riding a smaller gear will make your cadence higher and therefore the time spent during the dead spot of your pedal cycle 12 and 6 o'clock is reduced. The steeper the hill. the more important this becomes. Time spent in the dead spot is where gravity pulls you backwards. Ride big gears to develop strength yes but when doing your normal mileage just ride as many hills as possible and keep cadence 90-100 rpm. At times this will mean massively under gearing yourself, your average speed for your ride will suffer but the fitness gains are huge.
Invest in a 27 cog........
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27/10/2008 1:18:54 AM
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Jonathan Panoff
Posts 3
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Lots of ways to improve hill climbing. Besides the obvious comments by Robert Millar in the 80s who said "ride hills lots" I would suggest you find a some varied hills. Shock your muscles. Vary the gears. Do hill sprints to build up lactate tolerance. Do a big hill entirely in the saddle and on the top chain ring to increase leg strength once you get to Brett Aitken level ;-) Do the hill next time entirely out of the saddle to burn the quads. Breath in for 3 revs and out for 3 revs to increase lung capacity. Keep shocking those muscles. Remember what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And also rest rest rest. Add another hour of sleep after a killer session. Riding fast uphill always comes down to physics. Increasing the watts/kg is the only way you can go faster uphill. If you're over 7 go over to Europe and ride the TDF :-)
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27/10/2008 12:20:59 PM
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adam cobain
Posts 2
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There are lots of techniques at the cyclists disposal to improve climbing, and I find varied courses offer the most gains. I think steep climbs, over 12% offer the greatest pure force gains. Do intervals sitting, and really pull through on the 6-11 o'clock and start the next stoke from 11. Cadence should be real slow and make sure you go straight, not wobbling or turning the bars, hands near the stem and really feel it through upper body. One of the greatest assets to my power to weight ratio is a strong, but lean upper body. Build this core strength on the saddle, and then when you need to climb out of the saddle, your arms/shoulders don't let you down and you can find a powerful smooth rhythm. In races, I climb a lot out of the saddle, or 'Dancing' as it is called.
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29/10/2008 9:32:56 PM
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Robert Rau
Posts 150
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A reporter once asked Marco Pantani (the pirate) how come he climbed the mountains so fast? Pantani's reply was to make the agony end sooner! The moral here in this reply is simple, If you dont like pain dont climb mountains. I have utmost respect for these professionals that ride for a living, and the agony they endure for the sport. It is both a physical and psychological battle - you must beat both to be good at climbing mountains.
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9/12/2008 10:59:26 PM
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Jason Daniels
Posts 73
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Robert Rau wrote:
A reporter once asked Marco Pantani (the pirate) how come he climbed the mountains so fast? Pantani's reply was to make the agony end sooner! The moral here in this reply is simple, If you dont like pain dont climb mountains. I have utmost respect for these professionals that ride for a living, and the agony they endure for the sport. It is both a physical and psychological battle - you must beat both to be good at climbing mountains.
was Pantani a Pirate?
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16/12/2008 10:24:29 AM
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Robert Rau
Posts 150
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Marco Pantani was known as the Pirate by his fans, but Lance Armstrong called him an elephant (translated) because of his prominent ears. No matter he was regarded as one of the best ever climbers, but his career was tainted by drug accusations (too high haemocrit level). He definitely was one of the great personalities of the cycling world and exciting to watch him attack up mountains.
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