I’m 61 & have learned to enjoy tough climbs, I stay seated & relaxed, especially in the grip & just grind em out, works for me!

I'm impressed with the quality of the audio.

@PaulRibbons

3 ай бұрын

all about the equipment

What is the saying? "Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades" ;-) I love climbing. My mind vs my body with a reward of a descent every time.

@davidarthur

3 ай бұрын

👍

@tomrees4812

3 ай бұрын

I agree. I live on a mixed terrain area so can choose but I remember bring on tour through Lincolnshire or Northern France and not going above 20 mph. Tough sitting down all day. For 40 years I would go on tour most years cycle camping in France for three weeks and the Massif Central was brilliant. The climbs not as long as the Alps or Pyrenees when I would only manage 2 or 3 in a day. A great descent is worth a lot to me and once you mentally adapt to climbing for half an hour at a time that’s not a problem.

Another top tip : get out to Mallorca for a week or two and ride some great climbs in lovely weather. Still a painful experience but you can suffer in a pleasant enviroment!

@h1n1worm

2 ай бұрын

Oh yeah... I saw the eyes of guys at the top, they were so excited, happy, and exhausted. Climbing is so cool.

Really useful, particularly for those of us carrying far too much bulk!

Did not expect to see a Topstone Carbon 3 with slick tyres in this!

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

It's my all-season bike! The rim brake mechanical climbing machine is white so doesn't come out if there is the slightest chance of rain :P

Didn't know Jack Whitehall is a pro cyclist. 80% of the way up im on the saddle grinding/spinning away, last 20% I'm out of the saddle pushing down hard with my body weight. This works the best for me

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

I think i'm a bit more deep monotone than Jack Whitehall but thanks! 😂

42/26 in front, 11/42 at back. Anything steeper, and I am happy to walk. :)

@peterwillson1355

3 ай бұрын

With a lowest gear THAT low, you would be quicker walking

@seanmccuen6970

3 ай бұрын

that gearing is too low, it's best to get over a climb before you die of old age.

@marcdaniels9079

3 ай бұрын

How do you even get traction and not just wheelie. 😅

@mettacitta2000

2 ай бұрын

11/42?? You could go up Everest with that gearing! 😂

Jeez, why all the dismissive comments. Great video David, keep them coming and hopefully see you at the Fred Whitton in May....before then I'll be battling up and down the Cotswolds escarpment whenever I can!

Thanks the cassette info was very helpful

I rode this climb on the great malvern sportive 2015 you should have crossed the road and gone up again it was a absolute struggle on 36x28 nearly got off great content David.

I firmly believe in sit and spin. Lower gearing too. My aerobic capacity is quite good.

@marcdaniels9079

3 ай бұрын

Agree but when you get into +10% then you need MTB gearing or monster fitness to spin .. I have seen 55 on my cadence at times.

Thanks for the advice.

Great video David. See you at the Fred in May.

Great video , some interesting things to think about

Good technical information! As you stated riding more hills is the key. I ride a lot more hills in Winter when it’s cooler because here in Central California it is constantly near 100 degrees for the Summer! As a result I climb better in Winter. Happy cycling mates! 🚴🏻‍♂️🚴🏻‍♂️

Pacing is key. In early days of my cycling "career" I'd go too hard too early and a few times blew up on steep climbs. Get gearing sorted, start easy and ideally know what's coming by researching climb beforehand.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

It's why I love the climbs profile function on bike computers, can see what's coming and pace accordingly, researching the climb is always a great idea!

Rode transatlantic way last year and again this year . 30,000 m of climbing, some really hard. Reducing weight makes a massive difference. I was on a weighted bike and it killed me . So for Fred Witton, only carry what you need. No xtra weight . Good gears and spin the really steep parts. You look light so it should be np to you. Enjoy

Nice low gears definitely helps, as does MTB experience on the steeper stuff in terms of maintenance grip as mentioned, I’ve noticed some folks just get overwhelmed by the idea of the hill ie they are defeated before they reach it! Personally it’s always fuelling or lack of that makes me grind up hills! Amazing what happens if one does though!

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Exactly, fuelling makes a huge difference especially on the longer events. That was a subject we were thinking of mentioning, but really requires a whole video to itself! It's obviously a complex one when giving general advice with dietary requirements, medical conditions, and allergies impacting nutrition for many people.

Done many long climbs over 30 minutes! Know your heart rate ( not watts ) what rpm works best. Older riders I noticed a lower rpm might work better. My experience.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Lower RPM can be mechanically more efficient, especially if not doing 500w like Ganna! Exactly as you say, find out what works best for you personally

@marcdaniels9079

3 ай бұрын

From my training I know how many watts I can hold for various periods so this is very useful. HR can be a big help too if you don’t have a power meter

There's no doubt that practice and some trial-and-error with gearing and technique helps. I'm a beginner cyclist and have a decent uphill on the way home, and I've gone from finding it impossible to get started to being able to ride most of the way, even tackling some short steep sections around 20% grade. But even with low gearing, it can be tricky to go fast enough to maintain balance without spinning like crazy. I guess that's where zig-zagging comes in. And I have to say the thought of tackling 30% seems mind-boggling!

Love the bottom line, to get better at climbing is to do more climbs. There are no shortcuts.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

I was worried that advice would appear a bit of a cop-out :P

@RobertJWaid

3 ай бұрын

@@Andy13231Thank for confirming that there are no shortcuts but there are better ways to train. You still have to do the work.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

@@3TZZZ yep, building aerobic fitness and increasing that aerobic engine will help climbing performance a lot. Something we’ve gone into more detail in a previous video. You can summarise my recommendations for training pretty simply: train as much as you can, but not too much or too little, rest enough, sometimes ride for more time easier, sometimes less time harder. And then tailor this depending on you, your goals, your time availability, and a myriad of other factors. Easy! 😝😅

Still riding the Defy then David. Interested in your final thoughts on this bike as I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy it, or the advanced pro 1 as the colour is more appealing to me.

This is the best training video ive seen...no zone 2 bollocks just give it your all for 3 hours with 3 or 4 sprints thrown in...old skool style 😊

Awesome, thanks. I can cycle all day but struggle with hills.

Most bikes come over geared for your average punter. This is why double and triple cranksets are great. 24 at the front 34 at the back, should get you up most hills on the road.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Gravel bike with slicks is a great way to get some more suitable gearing!

@ossiejesson3148

3 ай бұрын

I totally agree “Most bikes come over geared for the average punter “ I’m 69 and did my first alpine climb last August on an old banger of a bike found in the chalet basement 34 rear and28 front made it possible for me to do the climb Yet a look in the local bike shop at top notch gravel bikes the lowest gearing was 42 40

🤔NEVER LOOK UP HILL TO WHERE YOUR HEADING, 🙄STAY SEATED IN RIGHT GEAR, 🧐DON'T FORCE PEDALING BUT KEEP ROTATION SMOOTH.😎 enjoy biking the way it works for you😮💚💯

😮 dang I need to add these tips as a new rider I wish I had someone to teach me 😢

Would love to see an analysis on which physiology is better suited to seated vs out-of-saddle climbing.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

That could be a very long video! Depends on muscle firing patterns, pedalling efficiency, individual leg component length (shank vs thigh), power output, total system weight and %age rider-bike, efficiency as a whole. I could keep going :P but agree would be very interesting!

@marcdaniels9079

3 ай бұрын

@@Andy13231 In terms of efficiency there is only one winner - seated. All that muscular force required to create the torque and hence power has to be reacted somewhere. If you are not seated you have to use your core and other muscles to react it, but seated it naturally reacts through the saddle with zero added effort . If you watch pros they remain seated 80/90% of the time. For attacks they jump out of the saddle like sprinters to generate maximum power or sometimes for a change of fatigue focus ( like Contador ) they dance on the pedals. Also sometimes to see off short sharp climbs they may blast up out of the saddle.

What happened to the final review of the giant defy advanced sl0? Was very much looking forward to your final thoughts.

@davidarthur

3 ай бұрын

it's in the pipeline still don't you worry :)

what's that Wahoo branded bike? Good advice! I'll try to put some of it to good use, thanks.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

It's a Cannondale Topstone 3, just stickered up with some sponsor logos

David, Bravo for getting Andy's climbing tips on camera. Curious, were you filming Andy and you riding uphill while holding a camera on a selfie stick in your free hand or was it attached to the bars? If the former, that's quite a skill! If the latter, how do you attach it to the bars and rotate so smoothly when you switch between you and Andy talking? Cheers

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

We took it in turns just holding the camera, made sure to pick some quieter roads for the filming as well

I'm thinking having a W'bal display could be useful for pacing, it seems such a useful metric

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

I know some people have looked into that, but annoyingly for repeated efforts the W'bal model isn't that accurate, especially over more varied and longer rides with repeats such as a road race. Rider resilience comes in (Dr James Spragg has been a part of some very interesting research on this!) and also adjusted W'bal models are in the pipeline, Alex Welburn at Loughborough uni is doing his PhD thesis on that believe. So it looks at the moment like more trained riders have a slower depletion of W' as well as CP/MAP after given KJ workloads. It's why you get some Zwift racers doing exceptional numbers within an activity under 1hr, but that power is what a world tour pro can do 18 days into a stage race 5 hours into a stage!

It’s a damn sight easier these days than when I was racing and training a lot in the 70s and 80s with 6 cogs and a bottom gear of 42 x 21/22 maybe a 24 if the race had a 25% in it. I don’t know how the pros got up those long alpine climbs. I’ve ridden them all over the years so I do have personal experience of what they are like. I’ve tried riding the Ventoux for example on the middle ring but after a few miles that’s it. I’m no pro but I used to be a First Cat. Fausto Coppi etc would have had to use even bigger gears. Touring even it was difficult to get lower than a 26 x 24 because the cages of rear mechs were shorter than today. Since the 39 ring and 28 cogs are easily obtained for a standard road bike it makes an enormous difference. 20 years ago I would happily choose hills I avoided when I was racing fit. Even then I was on a tour passing through the Pennines 18 months ago and decided to ride a 25% quarter or third of a mile hill and it compromised the rest of the very hilly day. Bottom gear on my gravel bike was about 32” and I had front panniers and a seat pack.

love the vid. anyone know what brand that Andy's jacket is?

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Rule28 Spectral Jacket, looks even better when light or sun hits it!

@gregoryspowell

3 ай бұрын

Thanks, Just ordered last XL!@@Andy13231

Bridges however, I just get out of the saddle and take them as fast as possible

for beginners, if your heart rate goes too high just easy off

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

If using just heart rate, it is useful to know your maximum heart rate and threshold heart rate. Often if you hit max heart rate you have to slow down quite a bit to recover it and then can't go as fast afterwards. If you work out your peak sustainable heart rate for 10-30min say, you can then work to that heart rate and avoid spiking above that

interesting. i've always gone as easy as i can at the beginning knowing theres more fun to come...i'm a spinner to be a winner ...lol

I always say after a hard climb there is satisfying downhill. That’s my reward

Contrary of what David said, Not all of Holland is flat. Never watched the Amstel Gold Race? Or ridden the amateur’s version, It’s in the south of Holland. Also in the east of Holland around the cities Arnhem and Nijmegen you will find Some decent hills to practise climbing.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

To be fair, it's still quite flat overall as the length of the climbs are not like even some of the UK ones, let alone anything alpine. But appreciate those short sharp ones are still brutal! Ardennes is my personal hell for climbing (Belgium I know)

I'm a gym guy and carry about 10-13 kilos of additional weight for my height. Those kilos speak to me so loudly on climbs.

Andys recommendations about gear ratio is made by a skinny strong fit young man. I am fat and middleaged, so I have installed lighter gears. I look forward to this spring, putting the gear on 30 cog in front and 34 behind. I hope that will be light enough to cruise up the hills at the speed of circa 6 km/h.

@TheAjc999

3 ай бұрын

I'm with you brother, at 58 , with dodgy joints, anything too steep for me I'm walking up. Still doing it though

@erlendsteren9466

3 ай бұрын

@@TheAjc999 I too do some walking. In my picture you see what I do halfways in a 400 heightmeter climb. I stop and eat some berries. My cyclingshoes and pedals are mtb-style, which allows ok walking.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

It's why I changed from my road setup of 53/39 - 11/28 to gravel on the road with the capacity for 48/33 - 11/40! Means I can actually ride up some climbs easy rather than grinding. It's a shame road group sets don't offer more variety in gearing, so I fully recommend the Shimano GRX group sets for road riding as the shifting is great but gearing is broader

@erlendsteren9466

3 ай бұрын

@@Andy13231 I have 11-25 cassette 10 speed Campagnolo record on my old Wilier Triestina Gran Tourismo roadbike that cant take 28mm tyres. I love that light, fast and stiff tarmacbike, but I stoppet using that heavygeared bike after getting my gravelbike. The gravelbike is heavier, softer and slightly slower, but it is so good in hills and bumps that I forget to take my Wilier for a ride. I think I should sell my racer ): I dont deserve it anymore. Its too good to not hit the road. In my opinion gravel bikes are the universal racerbikes for both gravel and tarmac that suits most people that is not going for winning tarmacraces. I am gonig on 38mm tyres with my gravelbike this summer. Those tyres are skinny enough for tarmac, and I probably will be good on gravel too because I have 30 mm suspension.

Because I weigh over 100 kilos! Duh! Always catch you on the other side though. ;)

As someone who lives in Worcester, the old whyche road still evades me. I've done all the others except knightwick, just don't have the balls to try it.

Power is torque x angular velocity, not force x angular velocity. Power is force x velocity. Not the same thing.

Please can somebody disclose what Andy is wearing in this video? That chameleon jacket I think is really nice!

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Rule28 Spectral jacket!

How do I enjoy climbing with 110kg and 184cm , tell me pls ….. oh wait I will have none because I can’t get a grx setup with a 40-42 cassette….. ;)

Wow! A Defy instead of your TCR

Dancing around the core of climbs, in that you should want them to hurt, and you look for the pain not to make climbs easier. If you want easy climbs it means you’re not ready to climb. Avoid them until you start wanting them. Watch what you put in your gut. Think about how important beer poison is to you. Don’t overeat. Make your legs stronger. Takes time. Enjoy the journey.

Andy talks a lot of sense.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Thank you!

I'd like a cycling coach that weighs more than half of my weight and has a normal FTP

I envy anyone who can spin a low gear up a climb. I am a low cadence and bigger gear climber I have tried to become a spinner but am not built for it.

@stephenjhughes64stephenjhu26

3 ай бұрын

Why ! 99 % of spinners I have known for 30 year are rubbish at climbing .my tip for people is just do it the way you get best results. Not about fashionable in group.

It also helps to yell profanities at the hill

Why so many dismissive comments? These are legit climbing advice on critical power, cadence, long vs short climb, including the inertia thing on indoor trainer…

@WerdnaLiten

3 ай бұрын

Cycling is meant to be fun, why take it seriously as if you're a racer........

@Jay-nt2ew

3 ай бұрын

some people find it fun to improve at the sport.@@WerdnaLiten

@govermentsoundsystemrootik8887

3 ай бұрын

Because it's alot of long winded bull crap that really & truly means nothing to the every day rider, as i said just get on ya bike & go for a ride, when you encounter a hill just start of easy, pace yourself & take your time & enjoy...,how hard is that.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for the kind feedback!

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

@@WerdnaLiten agreed, it should be fun, I know plenty of people who don't race but still want to improve their climbing as they feel that helps them enjoy it more and hopefully this helps them a bit

Gravity??

The best climbers hide their talents .

The coach was puffing too .

You wouldn't mean 'easier', you would mean optimising for the fastest time up the climb.

Yes! View #100

Weigh

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

I climbed quite well above that weight. It's Power to weight after all and given the losses to rolling resistance are not dissimilar between two riders of different weights, a higher power requires a lower w/kg to go up a climb. So two riders with identical w/kg, the one with the higher power output will climb faster all things equal

@dickieblench5001

3 ай бұрын

@@Andy13231 looking at your photo I'm guessing you were 80+ kg with FTP 320+W

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

@@dickieblench5001 in this photo I was 74kg and FTP/CP of about 415w

I’m sure this is great advice, but in layman’s terms would help some of us understand a bit better.

@jimfreeman7656

3 ай бұрын

What I took away... Go ride your bike!

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

@@jimfreeman7656 essentially :P

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

What terms in particular would you like some better explanations for? Happy to elaborate, I can sometimes get a bit over sciency with some terms

@m1les7

3 ай бұрын

@@Andy13231 hey Andy. Thanks for getting back to me. The critical power point, and the low critical power point? I’m a weekend gravel and road rider, far from pro! But any tips like this vid are a big help! Much appreciated Myles

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

@@m1les7 so Critical Power is another one of those terms that covers the 'threshold' where aerobic power becomes unsustainable. So FTP, Lactate Threshold 1, Anaerobic threshold, Ventilatory Threshold and Critical Power are all pretty similar and cover a power zone that's a bit blurry rather than a set line. Critical Power is potentially more useful for those who do efforts outside of 20 and 60 minute where FTP is actually fairly useful. CP is what I use with the riders I coach and can be used alongside Work Prime (W') to determine how long you can sustain a given wattage or what wattage you can sustain for a given time period. Often accurate to 5ish watts between 3-45 minutes. A lower CP is similar to low FTP, as in overall sustainable aerobic power is lower meaning you can't recover as easily at given intensities, and going above that 'threshold' will not be sustainable and lead to more fatigue. I've written a few pieces on both CP and W' both on my website and for magazines but can't post the links in comments unfortunately Glad you enjoyed the video and hope you find the tips helpful! You don't have to be pro to want to know more about these things or improve your bike riding, I'm certainly no pro anymore :P

Someone just said it. Overly long explanations of simple concepts. Numbers (rpm) would be easier for beginners.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

The issue with specific numbers is 'it depends'. The correct RPM for a rider will not be right for another. It requires personal trial and error to find what is efficient to you. Some people will be most efficient at 60rpm and 200w, some more efficient at 90rpm at the same power. There unfortunately isn't an optimal number to apply to everyone which I why a lot of my coaching is helping people understand that what works for someone else isn't always going to work for them. Once people optimise things to themselves, they often perform a lot better than when they were trying to apply someone else's ideal to them

This bloke’s hilarious! Talk about stating the bleedin’ obvious. It’s just an exercise in using as many big words and impenetrable jargon as possible, to try and explain the most simple, straightforward, basic stuff that’s totally obvious to anyone who’s ever done any exercise whatsoever In a nutshell, pace yourself. Cheers for that.

But you have a size small Castelli on, you are forbidden to give advise. Good luck on the sportive.

I have the answer to the question Why is it hard climbing a hill. Answer : because you don't have an E. Bike 😂😂😂

jUsT wAtCh AdS. 4 sections of 2xunskippable ads in a 20min vid. $$$

Dark clothing on a dull day do yourselves and other road users a favour and wear something more visible Nothing new about climbing but a good refresher.

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

My jacket reflects when light from cars when the light hits it, I also have a garmin varia light/radar going while we're not filming behind the bike. Thank you for the concern though :)

@pauljordan2955

3 ай бұрын

Ride safe.

This could’ve been a 3 minute video

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

Without any explanation as to why, probably. It comes down to climb more for the most part, but there are reasons as to why you should, what to do if you can't, and how to optimise your individual climbing performance based on your goals/reasons for climbing :)

Hills are the only thing no cyclist should mention, as men go through them silently & stop your nagging you sound like my 5 year old daughter, how dare you mention hills 😅

Yes! View #1 :)

@cochise6345

3 ай бұрын

Woohoo

@vasyarogov8848

3 ай бұрын

Woohoohoo

@radiocontrolled9181

3 ай бұрын

Yippiieeeee

Too much technical talk about how big wheels are what gear to use blah blah , a bikes a bike just get on it and pedal 🙄🚲

Wrong bike; get an ebike and problem solved

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

I would have preferred that for the steep ones

Blah, blah, blah, long winded explanations..., steady easy pace & take your time, just enjoy it as your doing it.....

@Andy13231

3 ай бұрын

And enjoyment should always be key, but for those wanting to maximise their own performance I think it's important to understand the science behind why I suggest they try something. If they want to just ride their bikes and enjoy it, then great! If they want som pointers and the reasoning behind them, then also great

@richeeg3271

3 ай бұрын

Thanks, you saved me 20 mins :)

@govermentsoundsystemrootik8887

3 ай бұрын

@@richeeg3271 your very welcome...,👍🏾

@neilfox9540

3 ай бұрын

Have you tried any of the Fred climbs? Enjoy is not a word that comes to mind

@govermentsoundsystemrootik8887

3 ай бұрын

@@neilfox9540 maybe not for you in your mind & no I have not tryed this perticular ride but have enjoyed many climbs throughout England....