What is the most efficient way to climb a hill?

[Matt2matt2002]

By bike.

Best

Matt

[Danneaux]

I tend to think an experienced cyclist chooses the most efficient method for themselves based on what is most comfortable and natural in a given situation depending on conditions and fitness (physics aside...I mean the method one defaults to in practice).

Early season and most of the year for me it is sit and spin, low gears at high revs,

Late season (August for me), it is standing and "honking" uphill in higher gears than I could imagine the rest of the year.

The one thing I never "do" is high gears at low revs while seated (or past traumatic knee damage/pain return to haunt me).

Best, Dan.

[martinf]

Early season and most of the year for me it is sit and spin, low gears at high revs,

Late season (August for me), it is standing and "honking" uphill in higher gears than I could imagine the rest of the year.

The one thing I never "do" is high gears at low revs while seated (or past traumatic knee damage/pain return to haunt me).

When I have low enough gears (Rohloff), like Dan I sit and spin, low gears at high revs. This is easier to do with my short 150 or 155 mm cranks.

If I am riding one of my bikes without very low gears (5 speed or 8 speed hub), if the slope is steep enough to drop cadence too far, I do as Dan does, standing and "honking" in lowest available gear. And if I reckon that isn't enough I get off and walk.

I had quite serious knee problems more than 40 years ago, so much so that the doctor recommended an operation, which I didn't take.

So far (touch wood) my combination of low gears, short cranks, spinning rather than mashing and keeping my knees warm in winter has worked (for me) to prevent recurrence of knee problems.

[Danneaux]

I had quite serious knee problems more than 40 years ago, so much so that the doctor recommended an operation, which I didn't take.

So far (touch wood) my combination of low gears, short cranks, spinning rather than mashing and keeping my knees warm in winter has worked (for me) to prevent recurrence of knee problems.

We're twins in this regard, Martin. For me, however, I find I have to stick with cranks exactly 170mm long or Bad Knee Things happen. +1 on keeping knees warm. It really helps, hence my penchant for wearing 3/4 cycling tights over shorts when it gets a little cool in the mornings and in colder months.

Best, Dan.

[PH]

Get the E-bike out and put it in TURBO!
Otherwise - Comfort = Efficient.  Anything that involves puffing and panting also probably involves wasted effort.  That's not necessarily bad, that effort may have it's own rewards.  Plus of course efficiency isn't always top of my list, I might ride the same hill differently depending on mood, or if it's at the start or end of a ride.  I'm also happy to walk, particularly poor surfaced steep sections, it's probably less efficient, though can also be lower intensity. I've sometimes walked and had to wait at the top for those who'd ridden up to get their breath back!
I find climbing on a Rohloff bike different, which can be an issue in a group.  Because I know I can always make a clean gear change, I'll change more often.  So I might go up two gears and stand to increase speed over a few meters, then sit and drop the gears to maintain it.  It's not a big deal, particularly in a familiar group, but finding myself in an unfamiliar one, I'll tend to drop back a bit rather than get boxed into the middle.
But we're all different, I ride with someone who hammers up the steep Peak District hills, which with a couple of exceptions are all short, yet when we went to Wales he struggled on the long steady ones, pretty much the opposite to me.

[Danneaux]

Get the E-bike out and put it in TURBO!

Best comment I've read today, Paul! 

Best, Dan.

[mickeg]

Before I decided on the chainring size for my Rohloff bike, I rode up some hills to try to determine the slowest speed that I could easily maintain directional and vertical stability without excessive corrective steering, and I did some math to determine that I needed a 36T chainring (16T sprocket, stock on non-Thorn Rolhoffs) to maintain 3.5 miles per hour with a cadence of 72 in first gear.  Slower cadence was more jerky than I liked, 72 was the slowest that I thought was pretty smooth.  This is on a 26 inch bike, 57mm wide tires.

If it is so steep that my heart rate is uncomfortably high to maintain that 3.5 mph, I get off the bike and walk it up at a slower speed.

When planning my last bike tour, I knew before I even arrived there that a tall hill with a 13 percent grade would be walked all the way up, not ridden.

[il padrone]

Anything that involves puffing and panting also probably involves wasted effort.

Oi, I puff and pant up plenty of steep stuff!   

[JohnR]

I regularly go up a local 16% hill and my preferred method uses an upright position at about 3mph and a cadence of about 40 - 45 in 3rd gear (42 / 17 gearing). Occasionally I can go up slightly faster in 4th gear and I've tried dropping a gear which results in less effort but lower speed as the cadence stays the same. I keep the bottom gears for even steeper hills or when my legs are feeling knackered on the multi-day tours.

[il padrone]

I regularly go up a local 16% hill and my preferred method uses an upright position at about 3mph and a cadence of about 40 - 45 in 3rd gear (42 / 17 gearing).

Ooof!! My minimum desirable climbing cadence is about 80; I feel stress under about 90. I will pedal slower cadence (50-60) on flatter riding, or rolling over the crest. On a 16% climb I would be hitting 1st gear, and my drivetrain is 39-17.

[JohnR]

Ooof!! My minimum desirable climbing cadence is about 80; I feel stress under about 90. I will pedal slower cadence (50-60) on flatter riding, or rolling over the crest. On a 16% climb I would be hitting 1st gear, and my drivetrain is 39-17.

On a good day I can get my cadence up to 90 when going downhill in top gear and want a bit more speed. My legs won't spin! They think I doing a brisk walk. My average cadence for a whole ride is usually between 50 and 55.

[Pavel]

I had found that under about 4 miles per hour, I wobble so much and spin so fast - that it is far better to walk and push.  The plus side column includes the fact that I can rest my cycling muscles while doing so, and thus increase me daily mileage, versus the hero mileage of my mind.

[PH]

I had found that under about 4 miles per hour, I wobble so much and spin so fast - that it is far better to walk and push.  The plus side column includes the fact that I can rest my cycling muscles while doing so, and thus increase me daily mileage, versus the hero mileage of my mind.

I agree.  I understand that some people see it as a failure, but I like judge success against the objectives I've set myself rather than anyone else's.  I'm reminded of some belittling comment as a couple of riders passed me walking up a hill in the first 20 km of a 400 Audax.  Something that implied if I was walking then there was little hope of finishing.  The reality was that walking then increased my chances of finishing, which I did, comfortably and with plenty of time to spare. 

[Danneaux]

... I like judge success against the objectives I've set myself rather than anyone else's.  I'm reminded of some belittling comment as a couple of riders passed me walking up a hill in the first 20 km of a 400 Audax.  Something that implied if I was walking then there was little hope of finishing.  The reality was that walking then increased my chances of finishing, which I did, comfortably and with plenty of time to spare.

I love stories like this. I don't walk/push hills very often, but when I do it is because it is actually more efficient, kinder to me, and I end up fresher. For one example, see...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QgSAPmEzaj0alh6kYRSJZ2Bdo-WW7IpC/view?usp=sharing
This was one very warm Serbijan day and I was heat exhausted. Walking the hills was less intense than trying to ride them, even though it increased my time in the sun -- a moot point as there really wasn't any cover from the Eye of Sauron impression made by the sun. Both Serbija and Romania had historic heat waves each time I passed through. Kinda like my desert tours, but with the added joy of high humidity.

Best, Dan

[il padrone]

I had found that under about 4 miles per hour, I wobble so much and spin so fast - that it is far better to walk and push.  The plus side column includes the fact that I can rest my cycling muscles while doing so, and thus increase me daily mileage, versus the hero mileage of my mind.

On steep grades (over 20%) I have seen as little as 5kmh on my cycle computer. I prefer to ride if at all possible when fully loaded for a camping tour on such gradients. It is often quite horrendous to try and push the beast; there is no rest for the crazy. As for fast spinning, that is part of my whole strategy on climbs to do it well. Pushing is sometimes required, but by then it is too steep to get ANY rest for cycling muscles; the same quads and calves are worked hard, with the added strain upon arms, shoulders and an off-line back. I have been on steep climbs (rough gravel mountain tracks) where we have been two-people pushing a bike, and on one infamous occasion, three-people! The next step becomes "panniers off, shuttle bike & gear". A friend once had to do this for a VERY steep 3km climb to get out of the Wonnangatta Valley, on a 4WD track.

Two-to-a-bike on the Deptford Track in East Gippsland.