I always avoid the lowest gear ratio I want to keep it as an escape plan. Also... Rode more hills... I hate them with passion but it's the only thing that helped me. Good points. Especially about gear changing before standing up it's like with many things.... Impedance matching.
5:43 “unless you’re in one of those funny countries that I’ve only read about in magazines. And wish I could visit…” Okay, I confess, I LOL’ed at that one. 🤣 Love your twisted sense of humor 👍
I find that cadence is key. When we are not climbing we are in normal big ring AND normal cadence mode. If I maintain cadence on various hills using smaller gears then i should be able to cope ok as my body is used to that cadence. Also recovery is quicker than if i grind my way over hills in gears too big.
Most of my bikes run a sub 1.0 granny gear and I use it regularly on any extended section of about 12% plus. But that's a combination of being over 60 and where I live
Once went out for a ride with climbs , got to the first climb went up quite easily better than usual , must be getting stronger , THEN , looked down and noticed left the water bottles LOL, still going after strava KOM's and still holding on to quite a few , even at 65years young going on 66 ,although currently at 80kg should be at 70kg , if the weather would get better i will get there , besides its fun to make the young guys sweat a bit
39X25 on the Time and 36X25 on the Bianchi, that all they gave me, and other than that I do all your suggestion except for my total kitted weight. Thanks fo the info.
Good advice. Ref out of the saddle climbing I find I can utilise the upward pull on the peddles more, that combined with using my weight on the downstroke enables me to kick on when I come to the brow of a hill.
Good advice. I’m riding the Little Lumpy sportive this weekend, which covers 100+ miles over some of the biggest hills along the South Downs, so I’ll be using all my climbing skills. Personally I find it much easier riding out of the saddle, even if it is less efficient, although if the road is wet I have to sit down to avoid the dreaded back wheel spin.
Watching this was worth it just for the scenery! Great info, on kit I shaved 425g of my gravel bike system weight, I bought some new shoes! Could tell instantly!
Interesting and on point video, but for those of us with hip or knee issues, I think we should avail of all the help we can get from gearing. The bike I ride at present has 50/34 and 11 - 32 cassette. It's pretty good, but as I live in a hilly area, I feel I would benefit from making that 11 - 34.
Love hills. Climb Mr. Good often. 15 miles. Steep climbs out of saddle, I tend to try to pull up opposite down stroke. Like trying to hit bar with knee. Gives a nice power boost. Just need to practice this.
Pulling up on cleats while pushing down with opposite leg is a natural feeling motion out of the saddle, like slogging through mud. Also, I have found I have reached my maximum power output out of the saddle while pulling myself down into the pedals by my handlebars. Give it a shot, use your handlebars for leverage.
Just did Cairngorm today from the house...gets easier each time, key to me is let it come to me not attack it, see where the breathing/HR and gearing is at then get into a rhythm...as it gets steeper alternate out the saddle and shunt from 34/34 to 34/27 for say 20 turns of the cranks then sit down and whip it back to 34/34 (try and avoid these changes under load..."ease up and simultaneously change" is the rule)for a wee while... anyway, off to Mallorca in a week, hopefully their climbs are a lot more consistent and a 1:1 should cope with most things out there?!!
Will be on my mtb today , 50/32 = 1.56 💪if only I had a 52 on the back 😅. The 2 up rule good tip i will try that today as I just wing it everytine when dumping gears
I love and despise hills… I’m good up to 7% or so but when I get to the 9% and up I feel like I’m gonna fall off because I’m struggling to not stop in my tracks. I will continue doing hills so I don’t look like a dumbass and fall mid climb😂 I do tend to stand and grind so I will follow your lead and stay seated and keep working.
I went on a cycling tour in the mountains of Colombia when i was riding mostly criteriums and that was a big mistake. The tour guide convinced me to buy a new cog stating “he never saw a rider complain about having too much gears”😂
Dear coach , I was under the impression that you divide the number of the front chainring by the number of the largest cassette sprocket in order to get your gear ratio. Example front 36 /30 rear = 1.2 Please clarify.
The cassette is the driven gear, the chainring is the driving gear, therefore, always cassette/chainring. If you have 30 cassette with a 36 chainring, your ratio is 0.833:1.
@@FuriousFilipino wrong. Front Chainring divided by rear cassette sprocket. I have a 50/34 crankset and a 11-42T cassette. My Biggest Gear (2/11) is 50/11=4.54 ratio, My Smallest Gear (1/1) is 34/42=0.81 ratio which is below 1.
@@FuriousFilipinoand what the ratio means is if you’re in 50 chain and 11 sprocket, and your resulting ratio is 4.54, it means for every rotation of your pedal, your wheels will complete 4.54 turns… that’s your fastest gear. When in the smallest gear ie 0.81 (or 1 for most people with normal gears) 1 pedal turn = 1 wheel turn…that’s your slowest gear.
Hills suck. But at least they eventually end, unlike the wind. lol. Admittedly they would suck a lot less if I ever got around to losing the weight I've been claiming will come off "easily" for the past few years. (To be fair, weight *used* to be easy to drop before my mid-fifties. lol). I've already got a lighter bike. My kit could be a few ounces lighter, but me.... I'm the anchor.
Personally, I never ride in the drops going uphill. I find it easier and more comfortable to grip the top of the bars. Also, there’s no need for the aero advantage of drops when going uphill due to slower speed.
@@stevegeek thanks, I’ve tried my hands on the hoods, bars and drops. I prefer the drops only if spinning in a lower gear uphill. I was just curious what other people do because I never ride in a group. Cheers
I always avoid the lowest gear ratio I want to keep it as an escape plan. Also... Rode more hills... I hate them with passion but it's the only thing that helped me. Good points. Especially about gear changing before standing up it's like with many things.... Impedance matching.
I have a vintage bike, front is 42×52. Only 22 in the back. When I was young didn't think about it, just rode it.
5:43 “unless you’re in one of those funny countries that I’ve only read about in magazines. And wish I could visit…” Okay, I confess, I LOL’ed at that one. 🤣 Love your twisted sense of humor 👍
I find that cadence is key.
When we are not climbing we are in normal big ring AND normal cadence mode. If I maintain cadence on various hills using smaller gears then i should be able to cope ok as my body is used to that cadence. Also recovery is quicker than if i grind my way over hills in gears too big.
That’s pretty much another way to say the same as point 1 - gear ratio.
Hi Coach, i love the emergency gear, the one before last, brillant ! 😎
Right on time!!!! I'm doing hill repeats tomorrow morning!!! Thanks.
I have never had anyone “no take any of my pish” through UA-cam before. Chapeau!
Solid tips, cheers 🍻
Most of my bikes run a sub 1.0 granny gear and I use it regularly on any extended section of about 12% plus. But that's a combination of being over 60 and where I live
Once went out for a ride with climbs , got to the first climb went up quite easily better than usual , must be getting stronger , THEN , looked down and noticed left the water bottles LOL, still going after strava KOM's and still holding on to quite a few , even at 65years young going on 66 ,although currently at 80kg should be at 70kg , if the weather would get better i will get there , besides its fun to make the young guys sweat a bit
39X25 on the Time and 36X25 on the Bianchi, that all they gave me, and other than that I do all your suggestion except for my total kitted weight. Thanks fo the info.
39x25 nice, very 1990s
“But Coach, I like the small gears…I NEED the small gears”! -a “Fanny”. Thanks Coach!
Ahh I was made fun of for never using my biggest chain ning in the back. Thanks for validation!
Good advice. Ref out of the saddle climbing I find I can utilise the upward pull on the peddles more, that combined with using my weight on the downstroke enables me to kick on when I come to the brow of a hill.
Good advice. I’m riding the Little Lumpy sportive this weekend, which covers 100+ miles over some of the biggest hills along the South Downs, so I’ll be using all my climbing skills.
Personally I find it much easier riding out of the saddle, even if it is less efficient, although if the road is wet I have to sit down to avoid the dreaded back wheel spin.
Watching this was worth it just for the scenery! Great info, on kit I shaved 425g of my gravel bike system weight, I bought some new shoes! Could tell instantly!
Thanks Coach great tips for my climbing week
Interesting and on point video, but for those of us with hip or knee issues, I think we should avail of all the help we can get from gearing. The bike I ride at present has 50/34 and 11 - 32 cassette. It's pretty good, but as I live in a hilly area, I feel I would benefit from making that 11 - 34.
Love hills. Climb Mr. Good often. 15 miles. Steep climbs out of saddle, I tend to try to pull up opposite down stroke. Like trying to hit bar with knee. Gives a nice power boost. Just need to practice this.
Pulling up on cleats while pushing down with opposite leg is a natural feeling motion out of the saddle, like slogging through mud. Also, I have found I have reached my maximum power output out of the saddle while pulling myself down into the pedals by my handlebars. Give it a shot, use your handlebars for leverage.
Totally, if you can manage the weight distribution timing, otherwise that back tire starts coming off the ground.
Just did Cairngorm today from the house...gets easier each time, key to me is let it come to me not attack it, see where the breathing/HR and gearing is at then get into a rhythm...as it gets steeper alternate out the saddle and shunt from 34/34 to 34/27 for say 20 turns of the cranks then sit down and whip it back to 34/34 (try and avoid these changes under load..."ease up and simultaneously change" is the rule)for a wee while... anyway, off to Mallorca in a week, hopefully their climbs are a lot more consistent and a 1:1 should cope with most things out there?!!
Good and interesting as always. Give it a try without background music next time. 😉
i agree, lot of ultrabikers (1000, 2500 or 4500 kms) have bikes between 15 and 20 kg ! and they are finisher !!!
Will be on my mtb today , 50/32 = 1.56 💪if only I had a 52 on the back 😅. The 2 up rule good tip i will try that today as I just wing it everytine when dumping gears
A negative number? Or a number less than 1?
I love and despise hills… I’m good up to 7% or so but when I get to the 9% and up I feel like I’m gonna fall off because I’m struggling to not stop in my tracks. I will continue doing hills so I don’t look like a dumbass and fall mid climb😂 I do tend to stand and grind so I will follow your lead and stay seated and keep working.
I went on a cycling tour in the mountains of Colombia when i was riding mostly criteriums and that was a big mistake. The tour guide convinced me to buy a new cog stating “he never saw a rider complain about having too much gears”😂
We have some nice hills in South Africa Cape Town Suikerbossie and Chapmans peak to name a few
You won't collapse if you're on a 20% gradient. Ran into one with a 34/28. Turning the crank was interesting.
You made that hill look easy
Dear coach , I was under the impression that you divide the number of the front chainring by the number of the largest cassette sprocket in order to get your gear ratio.
Example front 36 /30 rear = 1.2
Please clarify.
The cassette is the driven gear, the chainring is the driving gear, therefore, always cassette/chainring. If you have 30 cassette with a 36 chainring, your ratio is 0.833:1.
@@FuriousFilipino wrong. Front Chainring divided by rear cassette sprocket. I have a 50/34 crankset and a 11-42T cassette. My Biggest Gear (2/11) is 50/11=4.54 ratio, My Smallest Gear (1/1) is 34/42=0.81 ratio which is below 1.
@@FuriousFilipinoand what the ratio means is if you’re in 50 chain and 11 sprocket, and your resulting ratio is 4.54, it means for every rotation of your pedal, your wheels will complete 4.54 turns… that’s your fastest gear. When in the smallest gear ie 0.81 (or 1 for most people with normal gears) 1 pedal turn = 1 wheel turn…that’s your slowest gear.
Try to do the Mortirollo some day and you’ll wish you have something smaller than 34/34 😅
1:15 you wont get a negative number, you'll get a ratio thats
DIET has been the biggest help in climbing hills!
I've got 32 rear and 36 front and I still don't use what I call the granny gear, I found with the 50/34 front I was spinning to much.
No option where I stay .Cannot beat a good run round Talla loop.
Hills suck. But at least they eventually end, unlike the wind. lol. Admittedly they would suck a lot less if I ever got around to losing the weight I've been claiming will come off "easily" for the past few years. (To be fair, weight *used* to be easy to drop before my mid-fifties. lol). I've already got a lighter bike. My kit could be a few ounces lighter, but me.... I'm the anchor.
Always consume Irn-Bru on a climb.
Hills what is that? I live in the low lands. It's so low and flat that we named our country after it.
😊Love your comment. Where I live there are no hills. I live in the flattest country you can get: Holland! the only hills are bridges!
Hah! :-) You stole my thunder… I’m in AZ - flat for miles in (almost) every direction.
Sorry, but the maths nerd in me can't let you get away with saying that a small number divided by a big number gives a negative number.
Even a math idiot like me caught that.
If u really do cycling you’ll understand what he wants to say regardless he said it wrong
@@jomay6851 Of course I knew what he meant. It was a joke, and I really do cycling.
Smaller then 1.............
Carrick Hills?
I need the granny ring on the flat :/
Do you ride in the drops on big hills, both when in the saddle and standing?
Personally, I never ride in the drops going uphill. I find it easier and more comfortable to grip the top of the bars. Also, there’s no need for the aero advantage of drops when going uphill due to slower speed.
@@stevegeek thanks, I’ve tried my hands on the hoods, bars and drops. I prefer the drops only if spinning in a lower gear uphill. I was just curious what other people do because I never ride in a group.
Cheers
@@JamEZmusic86 👍 As with many things, and as you are doing, best to experiment and do whatever works for you.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Anyways, Robbin Williams use to do your accent in his acts, he was also a cyclist. 😂
Not a negative number. A less than 1 number.
Negative number? No, a number less than one!