[Closed] Road bike that climbs

Bez - Member

"52/36 and a race block might sound great when you're trying to impress people on internet forums"

A 36 is going to impress no-one, fella

I dont have a 52/36 its a 52/39 with a race block 😛

Being 85kg/ 5'6" and riding a 2008 Boardman comp I believe both could be improved upon.

Very much the former. You could easily lose 10kg, your bike will be 2kg at most. You'll also find it easier to hold a more aerodynamic position on the bike.

I've significantly improved my climbing ability this year (over 10% faster up my local hill climb), and I lost just 3kg since Christmas. I haven't changed my bike.

CX then you can ride Ramsden rd, Trans Pennine Bridleway, TPT and other nice non road bits on those loops

[i]A 36 is going to impress no-one, fella[/i]

too late to fix the typo now. 😉

did I also mention that hiding behind the 39 is a 30 😀

Just for perspective, I'm 6ft, 67kg and ride a 2010 Boardman Pro Carbon.

I like riding up hills (I go to the Algarve once a year and take in the climb to Foia, my PB of which is a few seconds over an hour) , and have never had any speed wobble when coming down the other side. Cheddar Gorge, Burrington Combe, Brockley Combe, Shipham Hill, and others leading up onto the Mendips are all hills that I've tackled on my bike without any issue (other than my legs not being powerful enough).

Drop 15+ kg and you'll be flying. Also sack off all the advice from the STW internet bike fitters and go and get yourself a real bike fit, mine did my riding wonders.

+1 for losing weight, the frame is not the issue here!

spend the money on a cx bike for your winter training and commuting. Shed a few pounds, train all winter on aheavyier bike and you'll eb flying next summer on the current road bike

Ahh - the good old 'get a bike fit' - make sure you don't get a cheap one...! I had a bike fit done and ended up with my saddle waaay too low, so swings and roundabouts.

I'm assuming that you're factoring in losing weight so regarding a bike, do you really one something that's just good for climbing? In that case, have a look at what they use for hill climbs - fixed gear, tt bars, light wheels....

Road bikes are much of a muchness now, for me personally I'd focus on a decent set of wheels, the position being comfortable (ignore all this 'slam that stem' nonsense) and if you plan on doing a lot of climbing, make sure you have the gearing to do so. Ignore the masses - a compact will help, especially if you're not a racing whippet. No point having a 53/11 if you never use it or if it means you're over geared going up hills. Ignore fashion, 'the rule' or whatever. And personally I'd avoid a cross bike as your only road bike but thats just me..

Sadly guys I don't have an ounce of fat on me!!!

I'm not massively intent on spending too much money, I am a mountain biker, the road bike is just a bcak up.

I was wondering if there was a quick fix to the wobble problem, I think I'll try lower my saddle, I was wondering if lowering the bars/ shorter stem might help.

FWIW, I was having lunch at the fleece just out of Holmfirth the other week, saw a chap coming off the moor, having quite obviously just ridden over it, in full club kit and riding

(I kid you not)

A chopper. Yep, a Raleigh Chopper! If anyone knows him, please buy him a drink from me, for both being so ridiculous, and manning the FU!

Goes to show, it's the engine, not the chassis and body that gets you up hills 🙂

Ahh - the good old 'get a bike fit' - make sure you don't get a cheap one...!

😆

Sadly guys I don't have an ounce of fat on me!!!

Well a) you do
b) Who said anything about fat. Losing weight will make you go up hills faster, no point carrying excess muscle bulk

You seem to want to cure speed wobble, which is totally at odds with wanting to go up hills fast!

the wobble problem is very very unlikely to be anything to do with the height of the saddle or the length of the stem, it's more probably a loose headset or wheel bearing, so check those first, unless of course you're merely trying to justify a new bike

or it could just be 'one of those things', i had a bike that speed wobbled at 48 miles an hour, pedal through it at 50 and it was fine, not a speed that was obtained often though so not really a problem, but a speed wobble at 30, hmmm.

how do you know he's carrying excess muscle? maybe op has a hunch.

edit - or a hump even.

edit edit - or is just really well endowed!

It's all irrelevant, gravity doesn't give a shit why he's heavy, he's still heavy!

Sadly guys I don't have an ounce of fat on me!!!

At 5'6" and 85kg, is this you?

[img] [/img]

Lol.

Something with a compact crankset and an ability to spin not honk. Oh the 52/39ers will scoff on the first hill or two, but a hundred miles in 39x25 is not so funny.

I ride 50/36 and a close ratio block. Spin at up to 120rpm without any issues and can drop plenty of my clubmates on the Surrey Hills. It helps that I am 5'11" and 69 kg too, I guess 😉

That's personal though innit. I'm perfectly happy on 53/39 around the Surrey Hills, probably go compact on my next road bike, or the Dura Ace 52/36, as I think that's a nice middle ground.

But frankly it's only really the steepest hills where you're in bottom gear, and that's the only place it becomes relevant.

speed wobble? - a dodgy tyre/tube/rim?

just a guess...

Stiff frame, stiff wheels, long stem, low bars, short chainstays. And the ligher the better.

Stiff frame, stiff wheels, long stem, low bars, short chainstays. And the ligher the better.

There's a fella who knows what's what.

The best climbers in the world are racing in that France at the moment, why not have a look at the bikes they are riding for a few tips?

52/36 is a nice mix. Indeed 52/39 isn't bad with 12/25 on the back for Surrey (Bar Hatch excepted). But dropping to 50/36 allows a closer spaced rear (12/23) for mortals like myself and the 36 is used a bit more. With the stock 12/28, i was not using the 36 at all. Bit like not using the drops 😉 .

I race on the 50 without any issues (or comments), but i am a spinner - average cadence last night was 102 for 58 minutes.

The best climbers in the world are racing in that France at the moment, why not have a look at the bikes they are riding for a few tips?

except for one minor detail i would agree, thing is, is the OP a pro with a decent level of fitness, flexibility, and no beer gut?

Something with a compact crankset and an ability to spin not honk. Oh the 52/39ers will scoff on the first hill or two, but a hundred miles in 39x25 is not so funny.

did 135miles the other week including the Forest of Dean, Malverns and Gospel pass with a 53/39, 13-23. I survived. and i am only average fitness

Gearing isn't that important in the grand scheme of things, the difference between a compact and standard chainset isn't that great. The only place it matters is if your doing steep long climbs or horrifically steep short climbs, the climbs that are few and far between in the UK.

Most climbing is in the riders head, accept it hurts occasionally and you'll ride most things.

Indeed 52/39 isn't bad with 12/25 on the back for Surrey (Bar Hatch excepted)

Meh, even Barhatch is doable, in fact I don't find it any harder on the Madone with a standard double vs the Allez with a compact, I think on climbs like that you just dig a little deeper and MTFU! Bit like 1x10 on the MTB!

I did do a century on a new Madone 6-series demo bike with a compact and 11-28 a couple of months ago, and did the whole thing in the big ring comfortably, which I quite liked, I'm up and down a bit more on the double if it's hilly. Agree 50-11 is plenty tall enough as a top gear.

except for one minor detail i would agree, thing is, is the OP a pro with a decent level of fitness, flexibility, and no beer gut?

The OP was asking about bicycles, I think the bicycles used by those climbing chappies would be a good starting point.

crikey, good starting point agreed, just concerned that trying to emulate a slammed stem and long reach, as per the average pros bike, without the decent flexibility and core strength is not going to be very comfortable. be better kicking it back a little and slowly adapting the bike if you want to get the same position rather than trying to get there in one step.

Climbing works best if you actually put some effort in rather than trying to sit and spin. Winching up there as you might on a MTB, spinning away in the granny ring, just doesn't work as well on road bikes.

The bike itself is less of an issue although light/stiff helps.

Oh yes, I agree that the whole slammed stem and pro style thing isn't something to copy without thought, but in terms of the ...type of bicycle, the setup, the approach, then the type of bike described above by davidtaylforth is as good a recommendation as you can get.

😀

Even with a slammed stem and a long reach to the hoods, you can still sit up and hold onto the top of the bars.

I reckon longer and lower bars are better for out of the saddle climbing though. Also, climbs in england arent that long, and I find it best to mix standing and seated climbing, so even up one of the longer climbs, you're probably only sat down for a few minutes at a time.

Whereas the climbs in the alps tend to take ages, so its important to have a comfortable seated position for those.

Climbing works best if you actually put some effort in rather than trying to sit and spin

you can do both. I spin, but pick a gear that keeps my power at about 300-330W. Mind you, I ride singlespeed on my mountain bike, so I can do the honking stuff as well, it's just not as efficient.

So in answer to the OP. A comfortable one. Climbing is about technique. Know what works for you and adapt the bike to it.

But Contador rides a compact and spins, and he's no bad climber 😈

contador might spin but he does an awful lot of it out the saddle, for what it's worth.

pick a gear that keeps my power at about 300-330W

Surely that depends entirely on the length of the climb? I find doing that is good for endurance, but frankly I go quicker if I just ride hard, not to a number!

Also depends on your FTP. I couldn't stay at 300w for more than about 5 minutes but I can sit at 240 for half an hour without too much difficulty what so ever, my current 20 minute PB for this year is 254w which is 3.8w/kg.

Not really. On a long ride a power meter stops you going too hard - even when you know you can (on the current hill). If you want to finish the ride, climbing the first hill at 900W is not going to be a good strategy, trust me! And keeping to 300W is hard enough. That means no slacking either.

Which is basically what I said - riding to a power is good if you want consistency, I ride faster when I ignore the number though. If you always climb at 300w you'll never push yourself. Don't get how that doesn't vary with climbs though. I did 460w up a 2 minute climb today, but that's my lot, that would've come down if it had been much longer! Certainly wouldn't aim to climb Barhatch at that.

In fact these days I use my PowerTap far more for post ride analysis than real time. It's totally wasted anyway, I don't train anymore, just ride my bike.

TiRed - Without sounding rude, I've been riding with a power meter for 2.5 years, I'm aware of how much power I can put out for how long.

njee20 - I agree completely, I set my Garmin to just show cadence when I'm on a hard interval, that way I can just concentrate on the riding and not look down every few minutes at the power reading, and I also use my power meter less than I used to, purely because I know from all the time I've spent riding with it what certain power levels feel like, so I can easily ride on feel without having to look at the Garmin once. Being able to analyse post ride is incredibly useful though, even though I'm not training for anything.

Well obviously, the 300W is for me and is relative to my FTP, I wouldn't claim 300W for everyone, just that when climbing it helps to know and maintain one's effort.

When I ride intervals I'm counting pedal strokes and trying to keep the big number over 330W.

Well obviously, the 300W is for me and is relative to my FTP, I wouldn't claim 300W for everyone, just that when climbing it helps to know and maintain one's effort.

Not sure I get it though. If you know you can do all climbs at 300w then surely you're spending your whole life pootling around below your FTP and not really getting much out of your power meter?

Surely the whole point is that you establish your x minute power (which of course varies by duration) and use that to avoid blowing up... I'd not ride a 10 mile TT and the same power as a 25.

If you know you can do all climbs at 300w

But I find that on longer climbs keeping to 300W or 110% of FTP is a reasonable effort for long rides in the Surrey Hills and a power meter helps my climbing by stopping me going to hard. And I select a gear for that power.

We are saying the same then. You made it sound like you just do all your climbing at 300w!

If I sprint over Le Col de Colnbrook (M25 bridge) on the way to work, I'm well-over 400W.

If that's a sprint there's an area to train 😉