14 Simple Tips for Biking Uphill  

Many people find it extremely challenging to bike uphill, which is understandable because you have to pedal up a slope taking all your biking gear with you. Climbing uphill means you will be working against the forces of gravity, and you cannot afford to stop pedaling so as not to disrupt your momentum. You need to find a way to sustain a certain amount of energy to make it all the way to the top.

To make biking uphill easier, ensure you’re using the right gear. Factors like cycling position, overall weight, and outfit choice play significant roles, too. Furthermore, spend some time preparing ahead and learning nifty techniques to help make the climb a breeze. 

In this article, I will offer some practical tips on how you can make biking uphill easier and faster. I’ll talk about using the right gear, devising a favorable gear ratio, as well as the importance of practicing, deciding which techniques work best (including pacing and drafting), and avoiding unnecessary pounds. Let’s set the wheels in motion, shall we?

1. Pack Snacks and Water

Get your fill of fluids and nutritious snacks before making the climb. Remember that you’ll be exerting a lot of energy as you ascend, so you need adequate sustenance. Consume in moderation so that you don’t feel too full — too much might make you sluggish — but make sure you’re satisfied too. 

Here are some snacks and drinks you can indulge in before hopping on your bike (you can also bring some of these along with you so you can take breaks during your climb):

• Bananas: These are probably the most popular food for bikers because they are excellent sources of carbohydrates (for energy supply to the muscles) and potassium (to replenish the electrolytes lost with sweat).
• Dates: Similar to bananas, they are high in potassium and carbohydrates, too. Furthermore, dates are great for maintaining blood pressure since they’re good sources of copper and magnesium. The glucose in dates can give you a sustained energy supply.
• Energy bars: They can provide you with an energy boost, and since they are quite handy, you can take them along practically wherever you go. 
• Water: You can never go wrong with water. It’s a great way to revitalize your body, replenish lost fluids, and feel cooler. Generally, you need about 1.2 – 2 liters of water per hour of biking.
• Coffee: This much-loved beverage is known for increasing alertness and reducing fatigue.
• Caffeinated sports drinks: This is another excellent way to rehydrate. These energy drinks can help enhance your cycling performance. Care should be taken, though, if you have underlying medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

2. Use the Right Gears

You can exert the same effort — translated into revolutions per minute — pedaling uphill and on a flat surface by using the right gears. Your bike’s lower gears, in particular, can efficiently help make the climb easier and faster. Remember that when you’re climbing a hill, a good cadence (pedaling speed measured by revolutions per minute) should be at least 60 rpm. If you go below that, your leg muscles, especially your quads, will bear the brunt of the climb. 

Aside from checking on your gears and rpm, a simpler way to gauge if you’re efficiently exerting energy is by being more in tune with your breathing. If you notice yourself huffing and panting more than usual, switch to an even lower gear and aim to exert an even amount of effort throughout the climb. Your quads, as well as your heart and lung muscles, will thank you for it. 

How Low Can You Go?

Bike gears are typically measured in gear inches. Generally, the lowest gears in most bikes register at 14-15 inches (355.6 – 381 mm). This translates to a climbing speed of about 4.1 – 4.3 km/h, with your rpm clocking in at about 60. This is roughly the slowest you can go without teeter-tottering on your bike. 

3. Adjust Your Bike’s Gear Ratio

Most touring bikes are not equipped with sufficient lower gears meant for climbing. If you love the challenge of biking uphill or if you frequently find yourself having much difficulty climbing, then it’s about time you make some tweaks to your gear setup. 

Adjusting gears is pretty simple, right? All you have to do is look at the gear numbers, pick one, and switch. However, gaining a deeper understanding of how gears actually work will give you a better insight into how you can make biking uphill much easier. 

To start off, here are some elements you have to be familiar with:

Front Chainrings

Biking uphill is made a lot easier by switching to a lower gear. When you do so, your bike utilizes a bigger cassette gear with a smaller chainring. Chainrings are the gears found in the front wheel of your bike. 

There are typically 1-3 front chainrings. The smaller the ring (usually called a cog), the less pedaling resistance. This translates to an easier gear. The front gears are your go-to if you want to make pronounced changes in gear resistance.

Rear Cassette

Your bike’s cassette is the collection of cogs and sprockets on the rear wheel. Typically, there are 7-12 cogs back there. Here, the smaller the cog, the harder the gear. It is through the rear cassette that you can better calibrate gear resistance.

Crankset 

The crankset is where you pedal so that the bike moves forward. Whenever you pedal, you prompt the crankset to drive the chain, which in turn sets the rear wheel in motion. It has 1 or more chainrings that are attached to crank arms. The crank arms are where the pedals are affixed.

This is where gear ratio comes in. It refers to the correlation between one gear’s number of teeth and that of another’s. To get your gear ratio, just divide the chainring’s number of teeth by the cassette’s number of teeth. 

For instance, if you have a 55-tooth chainring and an 11-tooth cassette, your gear ratio is 5. This means your rear tire spins 5 times for each time you make 1 complete rotation with your pedals. Take note that a lower gear ratio is better suited for biking uphill. 

Using a lower gear ratio helps make biking uphill easier and faster. You exert less effort to keep your cadence high, so you’re less tired and less frustrated. With a lower gear ratio, you’re pedaling more, but with significantly less effort and lower speed. Endurance takes a front seat, rather than muscle power, in getting all the way to the top.

Experts recommend using a smaller chainring with a bigger cassette cog to help make biking uphill a breeze. Note that going too low on gears is inefficient since you’ll be wasting too much energy and oxygen, practically focusing too much on pedaling. 

Here are some popular gear ratios to consider:

• 36/40 = 0.9 gear ratio
• 34/30 = 1.13 gear ratio
• 40/34 = 1.18 gear ratio
• 32/20 = 1.6 gear ratio
• 50/34 = 1.47 gear ratio

4. Prepare Ahead

It is best to be familiar with the various types of terrain you’ll be dealing with whenever you go for a ride. This way, you can better prepare for more challenging situations, such as biking uphill. For instance, before approaching a hill, it would be wise to gradually change gears rather than doing it right before the climb.

Consider initially shifting to lower chainring gears as you approach a hill. As you begin your ascent, gradually shift to lower cassette gears as well. This way, you can adjust your cadence slowly, depending on what feels most comfortable and manageable for you. A slow and steady grind would be great for your legs if you want to slip in a bit of a workout as you climb. On the other hand, effortless pedaling is for you if you want to relax and enjoy the view. 

5. Find Your Rhythm

Biking uphill isn’t all about getting to the top as fast as you can (unless you’re in a race). If you’re in it for fun, exercise, or recreation, it would be better to set a manageable pace, so you don’t tire yourself out and actually enjoy the experience. This also helps guarantee that you get all the way to the top.

Some bikers might be inclined to approach the bottom of the hill at top speed, thinking that momentum will work in their favor. However, this may be more of a disadvantage because it increases your risk of being unable to sustain your energy and speed as you pedal your way to the top. 

Finding a cadence, rhythm, and intensity level that you can sustain would be best. A reliable gauge is your breathing pattern. Huffing and panting may not always indicate that you’re overexerting yourself. As long as you can take in sufficient air properly and converse in phrases, then you’re good to go. 

Most bikers agree that maintaining a cadence of 80-90 rpm is ideal when biking uphill. With the proper gear setup, maintaining this speed will be manageable. Your leg muscles won’t be overworked, you’re breathing efficiently, and your heart rate isn’t going haywire. 

6. Take Quick Breaks

You don’t always have to conquer each hill all in one go. If you need to take a break, do so. This is a great opportunity to replenish your energy, load up on fluids, and nourish your body with much-needed nutrients. Refuel with whatever liquid you’ve brought to quench your thirst and re-energize your muscles with a snack packed with essential nutrients (take a peek at the fluids and food items mentioned in #1).

The key here is to familiarize yourself with the route. Know when level ground and downhills are coming up so you can take advantage of these short rest periods for refueling and re-energizing yourself. Stopping for breaks has to go hand in hand with how you pace your ascent, so you always have enough energy to pedal your way to the top. 

7. Be Intentional With Your Posture

Having a good riding technique is crucial in saving energy, avoiding injuries, and success in conquering the climb. Aim to keep your center of gravity low by staying seated and leaning your upper body forward with your back straight and your elbows bent. This posture helps you become more aerodynamic and will help encourage a more forceful downstroke when you pedal. 

It may sometimes feel tempting or natural to want to stand on your pedals, especially during particularly challenging parts of the climb. However, this is not advisable since studies show that this riding form increases your heart rate by about 6%. This could lead to premature exhaustion and overexertion. 

8. Focus on Anticipating Road Conditions Ahead

Do not settle on one gear setting for your whole climb. Adjust and readjust your gears depending on what feels comfortable and what the situation calls for as you make your way up. Gear switching depends on the type of bike you’re riding, the terrain, the steepness of the hill you’re climbing, and how long it’ll take you to get to the top. 

Change gears as you go along, adjusting promptly to the various scenarios you’re faced with. Don’t change gears too late because your bike might not be able to react quickly, and you may soon find yourself grinding to a complete stop. Don’t switch gears too early either because it will be pretty pointless and you’ll be unnecessarily exerting effort with the switch. Avoid switching gears too often, so you can maintain good momentum.

Anticipate when the slope begins to increase by switching to lower gears and increasing your cadence. You should switch gears smoothly — being abrupt will ruin your momentum and may make it extremely difficult for you to get back into the rhythm. 

9. Avoid Any Steep Apex

Biking uphill is challenging in itself, and it will be even more difficult if you do not learn to discern the dips and peaks ahead of you. Apart from anticipating the need for good timing in changing gears, it is a good strategy to avoid pedaling through steep peaks during your climb.

This could be done by making wider sweeps whenever you’re conquering corners and curves on the round. Your goal is to reduce the incline as much as you can. If you pedal straight through the apex, your bike will significantly lose momentum, and you will have to pedal much harder than usual. However, if you take the longer but easier route around the apex, there will be less stress on your bike, and momentum will not be considerably affected. 

10. Don’t Take Proper Breathing for Granted

It’s easy to get distracted by all the challenges and demands of biking uphill. After all, there are so many factors to think about — gears, cadence, biking form, energy conservation, and energy restoration, among others. Now, you have to pay attention to your breathing patterns, too.

Make it a point to take regular breaths. Breathing too fast elevates your heart rate and makes you feel unnecessarily tense. Start by ensuring your back is always straight, no matter your biking form. Take deep breaths so that there is a steady supply of fresh, oxygenated blood to different parts of your body, particularly to the legs, where much energy is needed, and to the lungs, where maximum airflow is required.

Deep, steady breathing will allow you to adopt a more relaxed stance while biking. It will help if you loosen your grip on your bike’s handlebars, especially since doing so will also provide you with better control over your bike. Release tension from your shoulders as well.

11. Always Travel Light

This does not merely pertain to packing only the essentials in your bag. Traveling light also refers to making sure that you and your bike are stripped of any unnecessary weight that may slow you down or make the ascent much more challenging. The heavier you are, the tougher the climb will be. 

Here are some tips:

• Don’t wear heavy clothing. Avoid rich fabrics and outfits that are baggy or flappy. These types of clothing are not aerodynamic and may add unnecessary pounds that may slow you down. Go for cycling outfits because they’re comfortable, appropriate, and breathable. 
• Pack only essential liquids and food. Try to gauge how much fluids and munchies you need, throw in a little bit more, and pack no more than that. Having excess baggage, particularly liquids, can significantly weigh you down. 

12. Go for a Dry Run (or 2)

As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” Before the day of your climb, especially if it’s a particularly challenging one, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the route. This is an excellent opportunity to pinpoint your strengths, identify your weaknesses, and to promptly work on them.

Here are some aspects you might want to look into:

• Which of your cycling outfits will suit the conditions best? Factor in the terrain and weather conditions.
• Which gears will work best for each leg of the climb? Uncover your limitations and learn how to properly pace yourself so you can be confident about achieving your goal. Experiment with various gear setups and figure out which techniques will work best.
• How much food and liquids do you need? Anticipate how much you need to pack to last you the entire climb. Don’t forget to pack extra for the trip back home since you might need to recharge when you get back down to the base. 

13. Consider Investing in a Power Meter

This nifty gadget will come in handy when biking uphill. It measures your cycling power, displayed in watts, and can help you control how much effort you exert during your ascent. This gadget can aid with pacing and help you determine which gear ratios work best for each part of the ride. 

14. Learn How Drafting Works

Learning about drafting will come in handy if you’re riding with a group. This technique is a great way to conserve energy while maintaining your speed and is even popular in professional races. Drafting results in about 10-30% energy conservation. 

Essentially, drafting involves cycling behind another person to enjoy an aerodynamic boost. You can take advantage of this anytime, but most especially when there is a headwind — wind blowing directly at you, going toward the opposite direction you’re going.