Allrounder Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 Hi guys and ladies As all off you know by now, my wife and I started cycling together a couple of years ago. Thing now is, she can keep a steady 23-26 km/h avr, until there is a climb. Then she goes all the way down to 7/8 km/h. What can we do to improve this? Will it help to do the short weekday rides on her mtb and only use her road bike over weekends? Or should she just push bigger gears or the road machine? Or is it simply a case of hill repeats for the next few months? Like I said she has the endurance to do long trips, but struggles extremely on the climbs.
coppi Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 Hill block? Maybe a quack can unlock that...............with average speeds like that she can ride ok so I think it could be a mental block
'Dale Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 3 ideas 1. Help with her gearing so she can spin comfortably.2. Choose hilly routes so she can get used to the gradients.3. Patience is key. So start slowly and steady so not to fizzle out on the climb.
pe3nguin Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 We all struggle on the climbs. Tell her to buy a gumguard. Grit her teeth tight. Turn those cranks.YELLING ALSO HELPS.
Mamil Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 I empathise with your wife - on my mtb I keep up with most on the downhills but on the hills I get left behind. I'm getting better gradually though. For me the biggest factors have been 1. Weight - I lost some and got faster - still got more to lose but I like eating too much.2. Psychologically - whenever I got to a hill I would think - OK it's steep and immediately put it in granny gear and go slowly. These days I try to keep it out of the granny for as long as possible.3. Leg strength - getting a road bike and learning to pedal fast up a hill has made a big difference to my mtb hill climbing. After 5 weeks of almost exclusive roadying went back to the mountain and set PRs on a lot of hills.4. Riding more hills more often. I have a road hill from Main road Woodstock up mountain road to the top of Walmer estate that I use as a barometer of how my hill climbing is coming on. Nice to have a sense of progression. Testing it all out tomorrow at the Breede River MTB challenge - leave granny alone!!! We will see tomorrow however
Slowbee Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 I have to ask, do you want her to go faster or does she want to go faster ? Mrs Slowbee likes to travel a bit faster on the flats and is learning to go faster on the downhills. Uphill, she just wants to go at her pace. Finish and klaar. And no amount of training shouting incentivising or any other stuff will change that. If we do hill repeats, its the same speed, same everything no matter what. No matter how many repeats, no matter for how many months. So basically, maybe make peace with the slow up hill pace and just be happy you out riding with the Mrs. If she wants to go faster uphills, well that is another story.
Mamil Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 This is a great question. I have to ask, do you want her to go faster or does she want to go faster ?
jcza Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 3 ideas 1. Help with her gearing so she can spin comfortably.2. Choose hilly routes so she can get used to the gradients.3. Patience is key. So start slowly and steady so not to fizzle out on the climb. THIS ^^^^ To get better at climbing go climb. Like Dale says don't attack the climb, start easy and try maintain same tempo all the way up.
Help.Me. Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 I will follow this closely because i am in the same boat......
lechatnoir Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 YELLING ALSO HELPS. I'm going out on a limb here, but the OP is asking for advice for his wife as he cares for her, and wishes a long and loving life with her... Yelling... well, that's going to negatively affect the 'long' the 'loving' AND the OP's life... I'm speaking from personal experience, so it's anecdotal.... but, since he asked for help, try this... one legged squats. lots...
Allrounder Posted March 17, 2017 Author Posted March 17, 2017 I have to ask, do you want her to go faster or does she want to go faster ? Mrs Slowbee likes to travel a bit faster on the flats and is learning to go faster on the downhills. Uphill, she just wants to go at her pace. Finish and klaar. And no amount of training shouting incentivising or any other stuff will change that. If we do hill repeats, its the same speed, same everything no matter what. No matter how many repeats, no matter for how many months. So basically, maybe make peace with the slow up hill pace and just be happy you out riding with the Mrs. If she wants to go faster uphills, well that is another story. Up to now she had the same thing. I am coming let me be, but the last couple of weeks she has been self motivating to get faster. And asked for advice on hills. Thats why i came here. I love cycling with the Mrs. Very good quality time.
Pure Savage Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 Hi guys and ladies As all off you know by now, my wife and I started cycling together a couple of years ago. Thing now is, she can keep a steady 23-26 km/h avr, until there is a climb. Then she goes all the way down to 7/8 km/h. What can we do to improve this? Will it help to do the short weekday rides on her mtb and only use her road bike over weekends? Or should she just push bigger gears or the road machine? Or is it simply a case of hill repeats for the next few months? Like I said she has the endurance to do long trips, but struggles extremely on the climbs. E-bike
Allrounder Posted March 17, 2017 Author Posted March 17, 2017 Lots of hills then. Will the heavier bike make a difference, (if used for short fast rides) or just do what is comfortable try to go faster?
Allrounder Posted March 17, 2017 Author Posted March 17, 2017 E-bike haha then she can start in the a bunch for next years argus... sorry CTCT
NordicElf Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 Lots of hills then. Will the heavier bike make a difference, (if used for short fast rides) or just do what is comfortable try to go faster? I think the first step should be to get her to enjoy hills... ok let me rephrase... stop hating them. a heavier bike may make her stronger in the future but it's going to make hills harder for a bit. I think start with gearing, pacing, breathing, rhythm, those mental sort of things. Hill repeats can allow you to experiment with gearing and pacing etc, it also helps with motivation because especially in the beginning, just with focusing on it, chances are she'll be faster the 2nd time round and that helps alot. We all climb hills differently, let her find what works for her. I start really slowly but by the end I've caught everyone. I'm learning now to start faster so I can get further ahead! But I used to come to a stand still just when I saw a hill because I thought I was bad at them because of how much they hurt! Then I realised that they hurt everyone.
Pure Savage Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 What bike does she have? I know with my mom, a 1kg difference in bike weight is massive in comparison to my dads weight. Her bike is now 6.8kg and has bad a big difference on the climbs. Her 12kg MTB she hates.
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