I am a 48 year old man, 221 lbs. FTP = 210. I realize I have weight to lose. I have a local Gran Fondo (122 km/73 miles, 1900 m/6200 ft elevation) that I have ridden several times. The problem is that my cadence gets too low and I end up using more of my muscle and less of my cardio. I had take…

Sweet spot training to raise power and muscle endurance? I’m 210 and almost a decade older, trained hard and within 7 months of buying a road bike did a handful of centuries with 8000-15,000’ of climbing. Nutrition and hydration are the other big factors. I climb 34 front and 32 rear quite a bit.

I fear that your bike shop are almost certainly right. The only practical tip I can offer is to try to hold back on other sections of the course to allow you to do the steeper parts over threshold and/or out of the saddle. But depending on how long the steep sections are, that might not be possible…

Gears: Don’t think of it as ‘Granny’ gears - having a wider range of options at our age (I’m 47) is just smart. Personally I’ve learned to enjoy climbing which has, over time, led to great improvements. My biggest tip is to use heart rate as a guide to not pushing to hard. Of course you can use pow…

Wow with a 34/36 combo you should be able to climb anything! I wonder if it’d be an option to replace the front chainrings with something smaller also

You can absolutely go bigger at the back with a road link. I rode some French Alps including Joux Plan, alpe d’huez, and col de ramaz back to back with my dad in September. He is 68 FTP 185. He had a 11-46 out back with a road link. At the front he had absolute black 30-46 rings. He never used …

Wolftooth Road link will allow clearance for a bigger cassette. May also need to put on a longer cage derailleur, and also lengthen the chain. [image] Gearing for 12-15 % pinches during 15-20 minute Climbs Equipment I can relate to all you said…I also live in Australia an…

11-46 on a Hi-Mod not something you see every day [IMG_1919]

Well I am fat, old and climbing the Rocky Mountains.

No disrespect - it’s all just a question of whatever a comfortable cadence is versus the gradient you’re going up. [image] https://www.bikecalc.com/speed_at_cadence

TrainerRoad

Bike Gearing Need Help

Equipment

DaveWh March 15, 2019, 1:58pm 7

Wolftooth Road link will allow clearance for a bigger cassette. May also need to put on a longer cage derailleur, and also lengthen the chain.

Topic		Replies	Views
Low Cadence on Steep Climb Training	24	5197	March 14, 2019
Gearing for 12-15 % pinches during 15-20 minute Climbs Equipment	12	2799	January 21, 2019
Bike gearing suggestion, 52/36, 11/28, want slightly lower gear(s) Equipment	42	24064	June 8, 2021
What Cassette is best for Climbing 4000-5000M Elevations? Equipment bike-setup	18	11706	March 28, 2021
Climbing setup recommendations Equipment	4	849	February 12, 2023

Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast

This is the only podcast dedicated to making you a faster cyclist. Listen to the latest episode and more.

We Are Here to Help!

Browse hundreds of articles in our Support Center or contact our world-class support team to get back on track.

Privacy Policy Disclaimer Terms Cookie Settings

Bike Gearing Need Help

Related topics

Get Faster with Adaptive Training

Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast

We Are Here to Help!