Using your tip of riding at the lowest possible speed enabled me to finally conquer Hollingbourne Hill without stopping or getting off. I did it on my Dawes mojave with a 36t sprocket in the cassette. I'm 66 and I've been trying for 54 years

I'm 120 kg and I love climbing. A year ago I moved to a hilly area where I have a steep climb with gradients up to 18% just to get out of my neighborhood. I've embraced it. Yesterday I drove to a well-known local 5k climb and did it twice, passing a couple of skinny mamils in the process. I plan to enter a hill climb there next year. Checked this year's results and I was faster than last place in my 60+ age group, so that'll be my goal: finish not last. There are three long, steep climbs near me that I haven't even attempted (except for walking my bike up one a couple years ago), so my other goal is to conquer those next spring. I broke a crank arm getting out of the neighborhood a couple months ago and when climbing my trusty 1977 Trek would creak and sway and make me nervous, so I bought a new Canyon a few weeks ago. I've decided climbing is my thing now. I mostly power through out of the saddle with a low cadence in a high gear. Feels good but I know that's not efficient, so I'll work on that.

I am one of the "gravitationally challenged" cyclists you mentioned 😀 I live in an area surrounded by long steep hills which would torture any cyclist half my weight. The mental trick I use, which is very successful for me and prevents me gassing out, is I never give more than 50% output power from my legs, when climbing. I no longer use science like cadence or watts but just a mindful awareness of what 50% is. This gets me to the top of some pretty savage hills. It even works when I cycle on my single speed bike. Anyway the 50% 'trick' gives me the feeling of always having something 'in the tank' even when I am suffering on the steepest part of the climb. Some of my cycling buddies have told me that I am fairly good on the hills... even if I don't feel as good as they say I am. Thanks for the videos. Keep them coming.

One suggestion I would add that has certainly given me an edge on climbs is the practice pedalling in circles. I got this from a Masters training program I used but have not heard much about it anywhere else. I was a poor climber and this technique helped me a lot. Imagine unclipping one pedal and what you would have to do with the clipped-in leg to pedal in a complete circle to maintain momentum. That is the sensation, but with both feet clipped in. With both legs pedalling the complete revolution (push down, scrape the sole at the bottom, pull up, motion) instead of just mashing the downstroke, brings other big muscles into play and takes the pressure off the downstroke muscles being the only ones is use. You wouldn’t do it on long climbs unless you got really efficient at it or unless the climb gradient wasn’t that steep and you could sustain it, but when you get a gradient increase and you need just a bit more power for a bit, then use it. I found the more I used it the stronger I became. At first I practiced it on my indoor trainer during the winter months to build and train the neuromuscular system. This training included long sessions of pedalling in circles and some sessions where I would spend a minute each with one working leg and one following leg, at different power inputs and different cadences, then switching to the other leg to help balance out any differences between legs. Generally you will have one dominant leg, so this helps even them out. You’ll notice when pedalling in circles your pedal stroke is smoother and you no longer ‘head bob’ and when practicing leg to leg (on the trainer only), you can’t visually see which leg is the lead leg, but mentally you are commanding which leg is in control. Try it.

Thanks Leonard for all the advice ! Me a 14 stone guy seen you going faster than me I had to investigate.Well I was cruising at 11.5 mph average nov 2021 now I am touching 14 mph average so an improvement I seen the light at the end of the tunnel !

Very helpful. I will be out putting your advice into practice this week. Thanks.

Thanks you for your great content sir. Always benefiting from your advice. All the very best mate.

when I was 120 kg for short hills I found there was value in riding up more aggressively / faster on short hills - my leg strength and gravity were stronger than holding my heart at a higher cadance and lower revs and speed - doesnt work for every hill but absolutely an asset in some cases

As an 120 kg rider, I appreciate this advice! I agree that as much as hills kill us, they are an integral part of why we do it…. At 120 kg, descending is more fun though!

Sound and sensible advice 👊🏾

Another top video my friend and thanks for your kind efforts 🎥🚴👍

Leonard, just wanted to say thank you for this! I’ve not been on the bike regularly in a month or two, and I’ve been avoiding a couple of my ‘nemesis’ climbs. With your inspiration, I went out and tackled two of them yesterday and it felt great. Cheers mate!

Great advice , Leonard. Great video. KB

Great video thank you

Great vid as I have come to expect Leonardo. What really worked for me was work in the gym as well as on the road. Heavy squats, leg extensions and hamstring work on the appropriate machines.

I must say.....You are looking Good Leonard. When I grow up, I want to look like you! I love climbing. Keep up your effort....and videos.

I love this channel. Setting aside those that deal with maintenance or that help with route planning, if we were honest with ourselves, this has to be one of the few cycling-specific KZfaq channels so many of us really need! 😅Great work, sir, thank you and keep it coming 🙏

Great vlog, Leonardo thanks! Where I live there are many short, sharp hills and not many long drags. The only way is hill repeats and build up to the next brute of a climb on the next hill. Cheers!

Good vid, Len. Since I live in a hilly area of SoCal, I cannot avoid climbing. So much so, there are times when I go out and do hill repeats. One my favorites is a route that's 10 miles with 1000 ft of elevation. I usually do repeats of this 3-4 times for a good workout. Climb on!

Great video Leonard . Wonderful tips. I find that two of my heavy riding buddies are immensely powerful guys and can really climb. Unfortunately what they have in brute power is lost in cardio endurance and they can’t ride for distance. Somewhere in the middle if they lose the extra baggage they will be world beaters.

Nag pie!!! Love it!!!

Another great informative video Leonardo. There are loads of ways I’ve tried to get my heavy frame up hills over the years with variable success, but one that has helped recently is to try to ride up the steepest road in my area until it was conquered. Once I’d done that, I knew it was doable and nothing else locally is harder. So I now ride my local roads with confidence that my bike set-up, and my fitness will see me well, whatever route I take 😊

Two outstanding episodes back-to-back.

Great advice! I live in So Gulf Coast Texas, which is quite flat. We have a small local bridge with a protected pedestrian/bike lane nearby that us cyclists call the town’s “Only Mountain”. It’s used by us and runners for hill climbing training. I’m working in strength so I try to up my gearing a little bit at a time. I like to bike camp, so for me strength, not speed, is important.

Only went up Cheddar gorge once, in my thirties, thin as a racing snake and riding a bike with super bale out gearing, seeing you going up brought back the memory of that day, just an average guy on a bike here too. Cheers.

Great advice 👍🤩🚴🏅getting your breathing rite also helps

100% agree about the mental aspect. I have a couple of hills that when I'm on my own, I struggle with. Often stop or get off completely and walk the last couple of hundred metres. When I'm in a group however, and chasing someone's wheel, the hill is usually over and done with without issue. Yes I'm working harder than the people I'm following but I don't (or can't) concentrate on the hill itself, only the chase.

Hi, I found your channel last week and found it pretty interesting. As a heavy cyclist myself it´s nice to get som inspiration from a fellow heavy cyclist. I can better relate to a guy like you than to totally fit young 20-30 yo guys ;) Even that you are still a bit fitter than I am. Of course you are at bit heavy, but you seem to be pretty good on a bike, at least considering your age and weight! I am pretty much the same age as you and weight 110 kg (I guess it´s more than you!) and I must admit that when hills get steeper than 8-9 %, I have a very very hard time climbing them. Even at a slow pace. But 5-6% is okay! Also 7-8%, if the hills are not too long. But it has to be said, that I only have 8 gears on my bike (I don´t have a racerbike, only a citybike, but it´s an okay bike to the 20-30 km. rides that I usually do). That also contributes to making it almost impossible for me to climb extremely steep hills... Fortunately for me I live in Denmark, one of Europes´flattest countries. So there are actually only very few climbs here I can´t do. But there are a couple ;) Denmark is flat, but not quite as flat as many believe. We actually have many hills that are 50-100-150 meters high. If you are fat it can still be pretty hard to climb a 100 meter high hill! The bad thing about living in Denmark is that there are no climbs longer than 3-4 km. So it´s impossible to train your ability on very long climbs. Like 8 or 10 km. Such climbs don´t exist here! In the city where I live, Aalborg (which is pretty hilly for Danish standards, much more hilly than the extremely flat Copenhagen!) the longest climb is about 3 km long, but it´s less than 3% steep on average, so not such a hard climb. But we do have a nice hill here that is 700 meter long with an average gradient of 7%. It´s located only 1½ km. from my home, so it´s very convenient to go there. That´s a pretty nice and hard hill, at least hard for me! We also have a short climb that is only 350 meters long, but with a 9% average gradient (17% where it´s steepest). Pretty hard also! So yes, even in flat Denmark we can find pretty nice climbs. But I am sure that you have much harder climbs in Great Britain!

Where I am is pan flat, any form of half decent climbing spin involves a full day out between getting to the hills, the ride and getting back again. Did the L'etape Slovenia and paid heavily for my lack of climbing miles, muscles I didn't even know I had were on fire! Did the lightweight bike stuff, the slick aero fabrics clothes, even the fancy light Crono CV1 carbon soled shoes - every trick I could think of but it was still a complete sufferfest. Roll on 2023 and more adventures in next years season!

Superb

My top top tips for all...keep to the right ( Left in Uk) . its give everybody a bad rep, when cycling in the middle of the road. as you did in your video ;-) . else keep up the great videos ( cyclist age 59, 170cm and 97 kg)

I climbed over 3,000 feet in the Cotswolds the other weekend and only had to get off once and that was to help another rider with a chain off. It was so steep I then had to walk to a flat bit to get me back on again, but felt really proud that was the only one I didn’t get up.

Leonard, I love your videos. As an Australian it would be great to have the locations of your rides titled on the videos. As a guess, is this latest video at Cheddar Gorge? It is so scenic

I did the Isle of Man TT course last week, I’ve done it many times on my motorcycle so we popped over to the beautiful isle to do it. Picked a day with 35 mph head winds up the mountain, Typical ! But we did it👍. Thrilled to bits , definitely one for the confidence bank. 50mph on the way down, much quicker coming down 😂😂

Well done video. Magpie? I need to look that one up😢

An experienc with gravitational cycling yesterday was that while slow uphill, I can easily make up the difference on the flats into a headwind and downhill!. The difference in types of riders is profound. Work on aero position even if only coasting and use the timber and grunt to maximum advantage!

I struggle with climbing even on London roads. I don’t like doing ‘the climb’ up the road hill entering into Canary Wharf, im exhausted by the time l reach the top and legs feel drained. Haven’t got a cycle computer yet, but if it can help me improve l might consider buying one. Thanks Leonard for these tips 🚴🏾🚴🏻‍♂️🚴‍♀️

I have to do hills everytime I go out. So I can suggest another way to increase hill climbing ability. Adding weight as I do when I bring home 25kg of shopping. I feel really proud of myself for getting up our steep climbs with 2 bags of flour on the bike.

I enjoy the mountain climbing on a bicycle. I gear down, and travel only about 10kph on an 8% grade. This slow pace on wilderness mountain climbs is extremely enjoyable, I get to look around and truly take it all in. Descents, however, are all skill and attention, wind in the ears, fear of wildlife jumping out in front of you, rock slides, mechanical failures...and more, nothing fun about it and certainly not adding to my fitness. IF you need speed in your life, do NOT choose cycling, ride the chair lifts, or buy a motor vehicle.

I have found key is, focus on being able to keep up a steady cadence no matter what the speed, no matter what the gear. To keep a steady cadence requires that you have control over your breathing and heart rate. If the heart rate starts to climb, you need to back off a wee bit. After a while you will notice that your speed will increase because you will be able to use bigger gears.

I’ll start adopting some of those ideas. My nearest climb is 10 km away which leaves me warmed up enough to tackle it without fear of having a cardiac event. Did my first climb today after four days of weather-induced slothfulness where I didn’t ride at all. Felt like my conditioning had regressed 3 months as on this ride as I was getting to the point where I wanted to throw up. A week ago I went up that hill with energy to spare, and even though I was breathing hard, I felt good. I guess at our age we lose it quickly if we’re not using it. Sigh.

Great film thank you! Did you ride along the Strawberry Line whilst you were in the area?

I did my "favourite" (NOT) climb on September 1st. Later than other years. I managed it. Again it wasn't easy, in fact it was quite tough again, The problem is, that the climb starts after 18 km (counted from home), of which the first 10 km is fairly flat and the following 8 km is false flat (average 2.3% but some shorter parts are 6-8%. So before I start the climb, I'm already "half dead". (but warmed up 🙂). I can't image to do it in the one but lowest gear, because in the lowest gear I have a speed of 5.5 km/h and my cadence is just high enough to not tumble over. It's just a lousy climb. My second "favourite" (NOT) climb is much closer (4 km from home) and that one I do more often, 4 or 5 times a year. There I can see some improvement during the season. That climb I started to like (maybe because they put a new asphalt surface there). I should do this climb some more times before winter. Knowing the quality of the roads here, next spring the road might be as bad as before, again.

Not good on hills I am 72 thank you for your tips

Great tips. Pacing is also a skill. You want to maintain your momentum at the bottom but not push too early and have trouble finishing. Also shift up just before your current gear bogs you down. I like to climb hills now because you get the reward of the descent. On a local gravel ride, I go from almost 50 kph going down to my lowest gear(less than 15) at the top. The next dip allows your downward speed to carry you all the way up. Motivates one to keep at it and improve.

Just keep rpm 80-100, gear accordingly. So much money on lightweight gear and really proper fitness and proper weight is far more important. Learning to spin smoothly is critical, yes clipped in for certain.

Perhaps also worth a mention is heart rate and health. BPM needs to be monitored. I know i can increase my climb speed but do not wish to exceed my safe bpm limit (there or thereabouts as not an exact science either). So Even though I feel good to push harder and go faster I let the wheel in front drift away from me and focus on my breathing. Gradually the cardi vascular improves but one should not go too hard without watching this aspect. Happened to me yesterday near Nice (St.Jeannet & la Gaude)as I had to let the brother in law move away asIi hit 165bpm when really I target 155 as my max. He was kind about it though!

With the range of gear ratio available these days there's no reason why 'gravitational challenged' cyclists can't enjoy the climbs. Good video leonard

What cycling clothes would you recommend for bigger riders?

Spin to win!

I personally cant think about numbers when i ride but since i hsve a Wahoo ,i cant help but to....I have a hill on my route that is roughly 1/4 mile long and fairly steep and curvy.... it's a real challenge .. I try to go up as fast as I can to achieve a PR but im realizing I need to approach it with better cadence instead, that's the good and bad with #'s😒 ..I still love the challenge

Jeez I’m an avid cyclist but I hate when lone cyclists ride mid lane backing up traffic lol

99.99999999999999999% of all cyclists don't have the correct gearing on their bikes. That same percentage is the number of recreational road bikes with pro gearing from the factory. You want to enjoy climbing, install the correct gearing on your bike. I am an Xpro racing cyclist, today, after 55 years of intense training at age 65 still ride 17,000k a year, mostly in mountain terrain on paved roads. As strong and as skilled a cyclist as I am here is the gearing I use: Chainrings = 22-32-42. Cassette = 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 24, 28, 32. When I was racing in the 1980's, my high gear was a 52x13; this is the same high gear I have today with a 42x11. But the low gears have changed from a 42x18 to a 22x32. This is how to enjoy cycling, with the proper gearing, NOT an 8kg bicycle. My bike today weighs 15kilos fully equipped for 7 hour (non-stop/unsupported) rides in the mountains; and it is the strongest bike in the world that I paid $1000 US for, all new frame and components.

As for climbing all being fair , sprinting etc. Every pound is a penalty, at least extra liquids and food are valuable, imagine doing the same work and eating a few hundred calories less each day. You would likely lose 10kgs. And be faster and then do it again...

Hills are easy if you've grown up with them and don't know owt else. Living in a Pennine town you've no choice. You just accept that everywhere is 'up'.

You forgot to mention wind direction, that can destroy your planned cadence and gearing

Frame flex.

I blame my weight on too much nagpie.

I'll state the obvious for all of us: climbing sucks. Having said that, what helps me make it up those leg-burning, soul-destroying climbs is ... focusing on my front brake rotor. As long as I can keep it turning, regardless its speed, I'm succeeding. It works for me. And if it works, it ain't stupid.

Ebike: stiff climb? No problem

Cadence without pedal stroke skills is worthless. From your video, your cadence is too high because you are bobbing up and down on the saddle. Next every rider needs to identify their body type from ectomorph (endurance) to endomorph (power) or somewhere in between. This identification will indicate your muscle fiber ratio between fast and slow twitch. Endurance bodies will naturally gravitate towards high cadences and power bodies lower cadences. Next you need to work on pedal strokes, everyone knows the power stroke, but few cyclists have a good bottom, up and across the top stroke; with the bottom stroke the most important to develop. By combining variations of cadence and pedal strokes you can semi-rest muscle groups and slow/fast fibers on the bike during the ride/climb. Now, just because you are an ectomorph endurance body, doesn't mean you can't train for power too. I am an extreme ectomorph cyclist specializing in ultra-marathon racing, but after ending my pro career, I began bodybuilding and increased my size by 15kilos in muscle mass. So, even an endurance rider with power training can increase their power. Skill is necessary BEFORE strength training on the bike. Make sure you are skilled in pedal strokes and variable cadences before any power training on the bike. Skill will increase speed much more than fitness training, you are limited to speed by genetics primarily, we are all born with different levels of VO2 max possibilities, and the best body type for cycling, so NEVER compare your training to someone else's.

Nice job mate but please talk more lively, i was having trouble paying attention because your voice is so monotonous and boring. Just saying.