“They have a high power to weight ratio!”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nOr to put it bluntly: they're strong riders with very little extra weight. \u00a0You see, unlike flat ground where wind resistance and power favor larger riders that can put out huge numbers, climbing favors small riders who can put out modest power. \u00a0If rider 1 weighs 100 kilograms (220) pounds and puts out 300 watts, that's about 3 watts per kilogram. \u00a0If rider 2 weighs in at 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and puts out 250 watts, they're making about 3.6 watts per kilogram. \u00a0So even though the smaller rider is making about 18% less power, they are going to go faster uphill. \u00a0Losing a few pounds of unnecessary fat will make you a better climber, no questions asked. \u00a0So think about that the next time you stop by Five Guys for a burger on Friday night before the group ride. \u00a0Maybe that extra pound of water you'll retain could be the difference between being first and being last to the top of the climb.<\/p>\n
Of course, the alternative to just losing weight is to also increase your fitness. \u00a0Getting stronger will not only cause you to drop weight, but you'll excel in almost all aspects of your cycling, not just your hill climbing.<\/p>\n
Equipment Choices<\/h3>\n
Light bikes are fun. \u00a0Light bikes are neat. \u00a0Light bikes lighten your wallet just as much as anything else.<\/p>\n
If your ultimate goal is to get uphill as quickly and efficiently as possible, you'd be best advised to build a bike that caters to your strengths, not just the lightest thing going. \u00a0Pick gearing that allows you to comfortably spin (or grind, depending on your preference) up the most common grades you encounter. \u00a0The lightest bike in the world does you no good if you can't turn the gear over because you're over geared. \u00a0Have a variety of cassettes and chainrings for special occasions: if you're going to be on a very hilly ride, swap to a larger cassette so that you have some lower gears for later in the ride when you may be tired. \u00a0Make sure your bike is comfortable and your fit is good. \u00a0An uncomfortable bike will get you nowhere fast, and the more comfortable you are on the bike, the faster you'll climb on it.<\/p>\n
Finally, take a little advice from the greatest cyclist of all time, The Cannibal, Eddy Merckx. \u00a0“Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades!” \u00a0Get out and ride those hills. \u00a0Who cares if you have to walk part of it…you'll know for next time what to do differently, and when you finally ride it from bottom to top, you'll have the sense of accomplishment of a job well done.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Want to get deeper into any aspect of climbing? \u00a0Leave a comment below and we'll jump right in!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A\u00a0few posts back we talked about different positions to make your climbing more effective. \u00a0This time around, we’re going to talk about the intangible side of going uphill: the psychological and physiological side of things. Climbing is tough, there’s no question about it. \u00a0But what makes a great climber? \u00a0Ask that question on an internet forum and you’ll get all manner of answers from “high power to weight ratio” to “they like to suffer” to “some people just are.” \u00a0All are good, legitimate answers, but it doesn’t help you if your goal is to not get dropped on the Saturday group ride or to set a personal best going uphill. \u00a0Fortunately, just like any other aspect of cycling, you can practice and improve your climbing, which will make your days in the saddle that much more fun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,38],"tags":[157,175,68],"yst_prominent_words":[790,1452,3533,3535,1933,407,3536,1800,3537,341,664,3538,1449,3534,3542,3541,3532,3539,225,3540],"wppr_data":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Battenkill-Rob-Race-10-100-205.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9329,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571\/revisions\/9329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Climbing](\"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/climbstand-300x225.jpg\" "\\"Climbing")
<\/a>“They're just a natural climber!”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n