Riding Uphill

Practice.
Really.

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Might wanna try longer cranks if you currently have shorter ones, makes
uphill easier (from what I've heard...and I also may have that
backwards, if so, someone please correct me).

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dudewithasock

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trials_uni said:

Ha Quebec...Is that place still there?

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dudewithasock said:

Might wanna try longer cranks if you currently have shorter ones, makes
uphill easier (from what I've heard...and I also may have that
backwards, if so, someone please correct me).

Absolutely true. Longer cranks equals more (MUCH MORE) leverage, for
climbing and more control on steep descents. Even 15mm increase may
make a huge difference. The down side is that your legs must work in a
bigger circle so on the flats you don't go quite as fast.

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steveyo

steveyo

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some people climb well with short cranks.
Some people climb with big wheels.
A Coker (with 170s) got a faster time on a steep 1/2 mile climb than a
Muni with 170s (same rider) Guys like Aspen Mike can climb with
whatever. One dude crossed the US on a Sun 24" I believe.

The point is that if you practice climbing, you will become a strong
enough climber.

Practice doing rolling hops going up hill, (that will overwork it)
Practice climbing standing up
Practice climbing while staying seated
Practice climbing slow
Practice climbing as fast as possible

All that will make you a good climber on your current equipment.

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Is your new tyre heavier than the old one? That may explain the
difficulty in climbing even though it may help downhill due to the
increased grip.

For getting better at climbing in general, I will repeat what others
said: 'practice'.

Also realise that you should lean into the hill when climbing, as
explained at http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/lean_uni.htm

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
"I'm slowly but surely stealing Wales and bringing it back to my house on the wheel, frame and cranks of my muni. - phil"

climbing uphill has always been a nightmare for me: I usually get washed
out before the top of the hill.
so I started to train and to think about what was going wrong: a lot of
things but the most important one was I was not sufficiently seated: I
almost always stand up on my pedal.
So I started to try not to push heavily on my pedals (which is
confusing since you try to go uphill) and things are getting better.
Last week I even succeeded in keeping up with a mountain bike (with my
20"!).
"I think I can... I think I can ... I ought to reach the top!" Wooo
Woooo!

--
wobbling bear

One Wheel : bear necessity
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ChangingLINKS.com said:

some people climb well with short cranks.
Some people climb with big wheels.
A Coker (with 170s) got a faster time on a steep 1/2 mile climb than a
Muni with 170s (same rider) Guys like Aspen Mike can climb with
whatever. One dude crossed the US on a Sun 24" I believe.

The point is that if you practice climbing, you will become a strong
enough climber.

Of course, the more you practice the stronger and more skilled you
become. However, mashing (pushing hard each pedal stroke) vs. spinning
can make a big difference, and the longer the climb, the more this
matters.

You can climb a hill on a bike in any gear you want, but the lower
gears make it easier and more efficient. You can climb on a uni with
any length cranks you want, but longer cranks are like a lower gear,
and make steep climbing easier and more efficient.

AspenMike and Ben Plotkin-Swing climbed Mt. Washington last summer with
29ers and 165mm cranks. I climbed 'Whiteface in 2005'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/race2005/) with a 29er and 150mm
cranks, then did the 'same race with 165s'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/race2006/) this summer. The
difference between mashing each stroke of the 150s and spinning the
165s was huge and I took over 30 minutes off my time. Admittedly, some
of my time savings was due to being a better rider one year later, but
the longer cranks made it a breeze (relatively). My 2 cents.

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steveyo

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You switched from a narrower, less knobby tire and the same uphill
became harder? Did the tire used slip due to loss of traction? Is the
surface soft and therefore the thicker tire sank in less distributing
frictional forces differently? Maybe the fat, knobby tire is harder to
turn going uphill. What you describe is a condition caused by a change
in tire only. Klaas' tire weight explanation is the only one that
addresses that parameter so far. Have you considered switching back to
see if you regain your previous level of skill? Perhaps the slick tire
tread is advantageous in your particular riding terrain.

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harper

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B L U E S H I F T

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thanks for all of the suggestions. I am not sure what length cranks are
on the DX. I will have to look that up. I feel like what is slowing me
down is simply the extra weight/drag of the heavier more knobby tire.
(more rolling resistance). I am hoping that with more practice, will
come better skill, and more fitness. I guess it is like the difference
in riding a XC mountain bike and a freeride bike. I just hope with more
time I will be able to ride the same hills that I could with the older
tire.

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DJack
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I know the purists will criticize, but I have recently discovered that
the addition of an extra wheel, six speed gearbox and an 800cc motor
really helps with the hills.😎

--
Mikefule

"We begin in the madness of carnal desire and the transport of
voluptuousness; we end in the dissolution of all our parts and the
musty stench of corpses."
Arthur Schopenhauer. Philosopher and pessimist.
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Mikefule said:

I know the purists will criticize, but I have recently discovered that
the addition of an extra wheel, six speed gearbox and an 800cc motor
really helps with the hills.😎

Burn the witch! 😄

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Into the blue

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The trails I ride in are along a ski hill, and there are lots of
uphills. I notice i have trouble with them if I don't ride them for a
few weeks. But when I ride them atleast once a week, then most of the
hills are fairly easy. Mind ya, I think my cranks are 175mm, so I can
really torque it up.

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To make uphills easier on a fat tire, try putting a bit more air in the
tire. Low pressure is great for rocky downhills but will suck up a lot
of energy from your legs on the uphills. This obviously works better if
the trail is a long uphill followed by a long downhill, because then
you can just let some air out at the top, but if you can find a higher
pressure that is still rideable on the downhills it should help.

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domesticated ape
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When I got my muni, I couldn't ride it uphill without putting in
something like 45PSI... Which made uphill awesome (on asphalt at
least) but really screwed up my muni riding... Just get used to it, I
couldn't ride it uphill at first, now I don't even think about it,
except when people tell me I ned more air in my tire 😉

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through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see
its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will
remain.

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I appreciate your advice. Thats what I have come to realize. I just need
to get out and ride more and it will get easier and easier as I get
better, stronger, and more used to the extra "drag" of the bigger tire,
and yes....it is sweet for the downhills! Thanks again!

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