Climbs place a lot of stress on your muscles, and although you should be able to ride at 200 watts uphill as long as you can ride 200 watts on flat ground, cyclists often have to apply more power on climbs to maintain momentum and keep their legs moving smoothly through the dead spot at the bottom of the pedal stroke.
Unfortunately, biking uphill only really becomes easier if you do it regularly. The more hills you climb, the less tired you'll get. Make sure you incorporate hilly routes into your training and embrace them. Don't avoid hills and stick to flat surfaces as you'll struggle when the terrain kicks up.
Once you are pedaling uphill, gravity becomes the main resistance. Holding torque on the pedals - Especially during the cranks dead center, cycling required constant torque on the pedals. Walking, by contrast, there is a pause between each step.
Accelerate as you approach so that your momentum will carry you further up the hill. Keep your cadence high, standing on the pedals as the gradient begins to bite to keep the slightly-too-high gear turning. Push, push, push, and then relax as you crest the hill.
Low Gear = Easy = Good for Climbing: The “low” gear on your bike is the smallest chain ring in the front and the largest cog on your cassette (rear gears). In this position, the pedaling will be the easiest and you'll be able to pedal uphill with the smallest amount of resistance.
Instead of grinding a really high gear up a climb, copy the pros and switch to an easier gear and increase your cadence. Pushing a bigger gear can feel more comfortable, but studies have shown that spinning a lower gear leads to a better performance.
Navigating all those hills, inclines, and declines inherent to mountain biking leads to a more strenuous workout than a simple pedal across town. A typical person weighing 150 pounds can expect to burn 477 calories in a half-hour pedaling uphill, and a whopping 715 calories in 45 minutes.
Riding uphill is a great way to increase muscular endurance, which is the ability to pedal a relatively large gear at a moderate cadence for an extended period. It's effective because cyclists tend to reduce cadence and increase average effective pedal force when riding uphill (i.e., push harder on the pedals).
You can help to improve your muscle strength and tone by heading for the hills and getting out of the saddle. Steep hills force you to work harder to start each pedal stroke. Riding uphill is hard work and will place large amounts of stress on both your glutes and quadriceps, giving them a hard workout.
Cycling helps to reduce belly fat because of the endurance and high-intensity segments. Climbing a steep hill or passing other cyclists will engage you in a burst of high-intensity exercise. Enjoying nature and riding a long trail will give you the added benefits of endurance training.
By riding uphill you are forcing both your bike and body against some resistance, allowing you to work on building your quadriceps and hamstrings. Do it enough and you will find that your muscles build up fairly quickly, allowing you to exhibit more power when you are riding on a flat surface.
From both a speed and strength perspective, cycling builds the muscular structure while targeting cardiovascular endurance. Cycling tones and works many muscles in the body. While the primary muscles targeted are certainly the lower body muscles, the arm muscles as well the as the core also get in a great workout.
Just ten minutes of moderate cycling is enough to burn off 100 calories. So if your workplace is a 20- minute cycle ride away, you'll burn around 200 calories just getting there (and you'll save yourself money on fuel, too).
On flat ground running and walking consume broadly about 100 cal/mile, while biking at a moderate pace (15 mph) consumes about 30. If you bike up a hill, you are carrying an extra 25 lbs. or so up the hill which is extra work. If the hill is steep enough this extra work negates the efficiency of biking.
Generally, a good cadence in cycling is between 80-100 rpm. Beginner cyclists often pedal rather slowly, around 60-85 rpm. Racers and more experienced hobbyists usually average between 75-95 rpm, and pros can sustain over 100 rpm during attacks or more than 110 rpm during sprints.
Put simply, cadence is how fast or slow the cyclist is pedaling. It is most often measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). Having a smooth cadence is necessary for effective pedal strokes and more powerful cycling. Improving your cycling cadence can lead to higher race finishes and faster ride times.
Pros often use a 55×11-tooth high gear for time trials. On flat or rolling stages they might have 53/39T chainrings with an 11-21T cassette. In moderate mountains they switch to a large cog of 23T or 25T. These days, they've joined the big-gear revolution like many recreational riders.
The generally agreed upon ratio used to describe a route with a substantial amount of climbing is 100 feet per mile or 1,000 feet for every 10 miles.
The 7 speed will be good for rolling hills that are not too steep and long, if you are recovering from an accident or want a decent exercise going up hills, 7 speed will be great.
Steep Inclines - If you don't want to stress the engine while going uphill, switching to low gear will give you the extra torque you need. Long Declines - While going downhill, switch to low gear to help maintain a slow and steady course.