[dhrider]

yup, looking into giving road racing a shot next season. im 17 years old and ride alot with a local shop here and am able to hold the wheel of some of the more expert/pro racers down here. im a little slower on climbs tho and am looking for some advice, where to go and what to do, some here please

 

[Heidi]

If hills are your weakness, practice them. Are you having trouble on long sustained hills, or short sprint ones? You should probably incorporate some hill intervals into your rides.

 

[dhrider]

i really dont have any trouble on hills that are long and the same grade all the way up but when a hill changes grade and is long thats where i start to have trouble. i already ride in a really hilly area, should i jut spend a hour or so climbing a big hill over and over?

 

[Arm On Fire]

I live in a fairly "hilly" area, and find it is easier to climb hills with more momentum going into them. I think alot of people shift to an easier gear way too soon. Depends on the size of the hill as well.
You shouldn't shift down in the middle of a climb, only up.
You should never complete a climb, seated 100%, or stand 100%.

There are alot of good books on road racing:
Greg LeMond's Complete book of bicycling
Bicycle Road Racing-Eddy Borsowicz (sp?)

Go to amazon or Barnes and Noble

Maybe ask one of the expert/ pro racers to take you under their wing. Can never hurt to ask.

Have fun!

 

[dhrider]

i deffin alway go into the hill hammering pretty strong, and generally about 1/4 way up (if its long) i shift from the big ring to my smaller one. hammer thru that gear then about 3/4 up i generally stands and finish the hill. but if is a smaller hill i still hammer into it but i generally stay in the same gear, and stay seat, and stand only if i really need to

 

[Ridemonkey]

It's all about strength/weight ratio. Work on shedding some pounds this winter. Ride a lot.

 

[manziman]

you've decided to join the dark side...mwahahaha

 

[Serial Midget]

Hill attacks are fun - in a race situation you should alway have reserve strength and energy . The reason you are being dropped on hills is that the experienced riders are probably not hammering nearly as hard as you are - you are able to keep up because of their draft - out of their draft you probably would not be able to sustain the same speed. When you get to a hill that has an unfriendly grade you don't have any reserve power but the other riders do.

If you plan on racing next season then you would do well to start training now. Do some research, determine your goals and then make a plan. Base miles are very important but not much fun. I'd start with six to eight weeks of base mileage while you work out a game plan.

My technique for hill attack is to anticipate them by powering up until I feel my momentum begin to decline then I drop a two cogs and do a standing climb that maintains as much speed as possible, most of the little hills can be attacked in less than three minutes, often its just thirty seconds. While standing it is important to maintain your spin - imagine that you are throwing each knee into the handlebar. It s hard to describe but you'll get it with practice.

Anyhow - good luck.

 

[dhrider]

eh something about the pain.... just love it :evil:

 

[dhrider]

i dunno im just start to find the biggest hills out here and climb till im dizzy, lol i can always start to petal my dh bike up hills

 

[Serial Midget]

i dunno im just start to find the biggest hills out here and climb till im dizzy, lol i can always start to petal my dh bike up hills

That is really a bad plan - you need to start small and learn your attack technique on smaller hills that you can master in 30 seconds, then you work your way to the big stuff. Starting on the most difficult hills without a base is just wasted effort - I know most DH'r refuse to belive it but there is a bit of technique and skill involved in road biking.

 

[dhrider]

yeah i deffin understand the technigues in cycling, dh is more or less pick a line and hold on to the bike, witch is just as much fun, if not more then cycling. but climbing is deffin. not my strong point, but i am getting better.