Perhaps others have said this already, but it sounds to me as if you are in far too low a gear when you stand. I also expect that you feel yourself forced into the granny at the bottom of the climb in order to maintain momentum, so that standing is, as above, no option.
I suggest you consider fatter tires: what are you riding? A fatter tire will ceteris paribus roll better on loose and rough surfaces, and perhaps allow you to maintain momentum without immediately bailing out into the granny; in a higher gear, you can stand without losing so much momentum. At the extreme, I admit, I use 65 mm (actual) road tires -- 60 mm (labeled) Big Apples on 45 mm rims -- at very low psi for sand, and they roll extremely well there; and gravel is like smooth concrete in comparison to 2 or 3 inch fine sand. These wheels are not in any way comparable in performance on sand to skinny, pathetic 50s at a rock hard 30/35, and I expect that these 50s, in turn, will be similar on gravel in comparison to, say, a 32 at 70 or 80. > > On Tue, 2009-07-07 at 19:30 -0700, GeorgeS wrote: > > I should preface this question by saying that most of my bike riding > > has been in pretty flat and/or rolling hill sort of country. I have > > little experience on steep, long climbs. In Vermont I'm seeing quite > > a few challenging (for me) hills. On the road I'm doing OK so long as > > I don't talk myself into trying to "crush" the hill. Usually I can > > get on my middle chain ring and one of the big sprockets and get off > > the saddle after a bit and I'm getting to the top though I doubt that > > Rabobank is going to be calling me anytime soon. The problem is on > > gravel roads where I'm, out of necessity, riding substantially slower > > so that I usually lack much momentum when I approach the hills. This > > means I'm sometimes in the granny gear from the word go. But when I > > try to break things up and rest my back a little by getting out of the > > seat, I can't do it. My pedals are just falling away from me and I > > immediately loose even more speed and have to unclip in a hurry to > > save a ignominious fall. I'm afraid to try to upshift to the middle > > chain ring while I'm climbing. What am I doing wrong? I guess I > > should also say that I'm on the wrong side of 65. > > So, any number of people offered advice. Have you had a chance to try > any of it out yet, and if so, how has it worked out? > > > > > > > -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM Professional Resumes. Contact resumespecialt...@gmail.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
