{"id":4202,"date":"2014-08-10T07:00:03","date_gmt":"2014-08-10T06:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/?p=4202"},"modified":"2015-08-25T08:53:58","modified_gmt":"2015-08-25T07:53:58","slug":"how-to-get-better-at-road-climbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/how-to-get-better-at-road-climbs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get better at road climbs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re not all built to climb hills fast so if you struggle don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re not alone. Apart from the obvious cutting out the cakes and fats and losing weight, there are a few things you can do to help make climbing less daunting.<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4206 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/climbing-768x510.jpg\" alt=\"climbing\" width=\"768\" height=\"510\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/climbing-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/climbing.jpg 1000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 768px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 768\/510;\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Plan for it<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s a good idea to know what hills your route involves. You\u2019ll no doubt know where the climbs are in your local area so can plan your routes accordingly but it\u2019s anywhere different that usually causes surprises.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re riding somewhere new check a map or better still do an internet search for the terrain in the area and if there are any beasts in there. Forewarned is forearmed so you can plan your distance, time, kit and nutrition to cope with the hills.<\/p>\n<p>A good idea is to speak to people who have ridden the climbs you\u2019re planning, especially true for big overseas adventures or some of the big UK events, as they will give you tips on what to expect and how to get over them.<\/p>\n<h2>Gearing<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-4205 size-thumbnail lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/SRAM-long-cage-RM-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"SRAM-long cage RM\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/>Professional riders make climbing look easy and are often in the big ring unless it\u2019s super steep. For us mere mortals the big ring is only for flatland.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t be afraid to fit lower gears. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/shimano-ultegra-6750-compact-chainset-grey-56077.html?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog-42\">A compact on the front<\/a> with a 34 inner ring or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/shimano-105-5700-triple-chainset-bottom-bracket-46227.html?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog-42\">even a triple<\/a> &#8211; they\u2019re very lightweight these days &#8211; will get you over almost anything.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/road-bike-cassettes-sprockets-75288\/?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog-35\">rear cassette<\/a>, fit one with a large lower gear of say 27, 28. If you&#8217;re going to very steep terrain a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/cassettes-81163\/?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog-35\">mountain bike cassette<\/a> with over 30 teeth will see you happily spinning upwards.<\/p>\n<p>If fitting a lower ratio rear cassette make sure your rear mech and chain can handle the extra teeth and you can use all the lower gears.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Don\u2019t be afraid to fit a large cassette.<\/p>\n<h2>Pace it<\/h2>\n<p>Once on a climb, don\u2019t go into the red too early or you\u2019ll pay for it later. Learn to pace yourself and ride at a speed or rate you are comfortable with.<\/p>\n<p>If you know it\u2019s going to be a long one then settle into a rhythm you can sustain and spin away. Keeping a high cadence in a low gear may not get you to the top any quicker but will lessen the strain on your muscles and should hopefully help prevent you from cramping up.<\/p>\n<h2>Comfortable bike position<\/h2>\n<p>Climbing seated in the saddle is the most efficient way to climb so it\u2019s worth spending time working on a position where you can stay seated and get the power down comfortably if you can.<\/p>\n<p>Getting out of the saddle is more effective but uses more energy but if this is more comfortable for you then don\u2019t worry about what anyone else says.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-4204 size-thumbnail lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Nibali-Tour-2014-climbing-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Nibali Tour 2014 climbing\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Anticipate changes in gradient<\/h2>\n<p>Keep a constant look out for changes in gradient or surfaces and adjust speed, cadence or position on the bike accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>This also helps with gear changes as changing before a steep part or loose surface means you are not grinding and potentially breaking components or losing traction on the worst bit.<\/p>\n<h2>Fuel it<\/h2>\n<p>Climbing burns fuel rapidly so make sure you have eaten properly before the climb or are having something light on it if it\u2019s a long one. Hills can really take it out of you very quickly so don\u2019t be afraid to fuel up before hitting them.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/energy-and-nutrition-44336\/?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog-35\">Bring extra food<\/a> as you will need more on climbing days even when the hills stop as you\u2019ll need to replenish glycogen stores to keep you going and get you home.<\/p>\n<h2>Train for it<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t avoid hills on your training route even if you don\u2019t like them. Train your weaknesses as well as your strengths so keep one or two in your routes for training or as small tests.<\/p>\n<p>Riding with better climbers will bring you on much quicker and give you more of a challenge. Don\u2019t be disheartened if you keep getting dropped as you\u2019ll soon start to see improvements and start to challenge others.<\/p>\n<p>If you are riding in a group and not confident of your climbing then start the climb at the front and ride at your own speed rather than try to keep up with others. If you do drift back you will go through the group but stay in contact rather than at the start at the back and fall behind from the start.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4203 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/climbing-group-768x456.jpg\" alt=\"climbing group\" width=\"768\" height=\"456\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/climbing-group-768x456.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/climbing-group-1024x608.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/climbing-group.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 768px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 768\/456;\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Group rides in the hills are excellent training.<\/p>\n<h2>Go for time rather than distance on hilly rides<\/h2>\n<p>If you are spending a day in the hills or planning a hilly ride then don\u2019t get hung up on distance but rather concentrate on time spent on the bike.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s amazing how much longer a hilly ride will take so if you\u2019re planning a big one with hills be prepared for a long day in the saddle.<\/p>\n<p>On a recent training camp in a very mountainous area of Spain my club mates came back way more fatigued than the usual Mallorca week despite doing less mileage but more time. They were all flying once they recovered though, even the non climbers, which shows the hill training works whether you like them or not!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re not all built to climb hills fast so if you struggle don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re not alone. Apart from the obvious cutting out the cakes and fats and losing weight, there are a few things you can do to help make climbing less daunting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,4],"tags":[387,625,590,596,385,418],"ppma_author":[4642],"class_list":["post-4202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycling-how-to-guides","category-news","tag-bike-setup","tag-climbing","tag-how-to","tag-skills","tag-technique","tag-training","author-patrick"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to get better at road climbs - Merlin Cycles Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/how-to-get-better-at-road-climbs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to get better at road climbs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We\u2019re not all built to climb hills fast so if you struggle don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re not alone. 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