Struggling up a 20% hill yesterday I found myself slightly wheel spinning with every downward stroke on the pedals.
I was out the saddle but the tarmac road was dryish with no mud. I only have a very modest power output and have never experienced anything like it other than slippy technical climbs on the mountain bike and a wet drain cover at a junction on my commute.
Do you pro sprinters need to control the spin? Would different tyres help?
Just interested thanks.
I get this going up crowcombe hill in the quantocks if I stand up.i think it is just physics on such steep climbs. Tyres make a slight difference but I think it's just technique and putting weight over the rear wheel. Without the weight it spins out a little because of the angles created by the steep road.
How long is the climb and how were you "struggling"? Did you have any gears to spare?
At 20% unless it was a very short one I think I'd [i]mainly[/i] be sat down and pacing myself in a lower gear. In that case it's pretty unlikely I'd be spinning the rear wheel. YMMV as always but vaguely curious as to what the fuller picture was...
Lean back. Sorted. Not too far though or you'll do a backflip.
Shift your weight, you can do this without much movement, same as you would on a mtb.
Tyres do make a difference but not much. If you were on some really cheap 23mm at 120psi then maybe but most tyres would be fine.
Smoother pedaling style might help.
Generally though it just happens occasionally. Look at some of the choppier sprints and you'll see back wheels jumping all over the place - especially for the likes of Cav and Ewan who lean right forward.
Thanks. I was struggling because I am not very fit and too heavy, there were definitely no more gears left and nothing smooth about the technique. Tyres were 32mm on an old Dawes galaxy. I guess more practice need as I certainly couldn't ride up that hill sitting down at the moment!
I can make tyres spin on steep hills by really chopping at the pedals, and it'll happen on steep hills if I'm knackered and pedalling squares etc.
It's easy to suggest smoother pedalling technique but I've been there and know it's not always that easy! 8)
You'll soon get to feel the point at which the tyre is about to spin and then you can back off slightly to stop it, helps massively on damp and wet tarmac, let alone off road climbing.
I'm guessing if you're on "an old Dawes Galaxy" that the gearing won't be that helpful either... Not the cheap(est) option to make changes there but if the gearing is a challenge I'm not surprised you don't feel you can do the climb sat down! All the best with getting better, at least you have a marker to see how you're improving 🙂