Felt 95

ken1

Hi All.i am newcomer to the cycling .age 50.i bought a felt 95,i find it a bit tough on the hills ,bit short on leg power,has any one got some good advise on this for me ta

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meercat

ken1 wrote: »

Hi All.i am newcomer to the cycling .age 50.i bought a felt 95,i find it a bit tough on the hills ,bit short on leg power,has any one got some good advise on this for me ta

welcome to boards
im no expert however my advise is to stick with it
over time you will find it easier
keep putting in the kms and when you look back on this thread later in the summer you will have a good update for us

Darkglasses

ken1 wrote: »

Hi All.i am newcomer to the cycling .age 50.i bought a felt 95,i find it a bit tough on the hills ,bit short on leg power,has any one got some good advise on this for me ta

Are you using your gears correctly?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNnKvVzzGw0

Long story short, you want the bike in the smaller chainring at the front and the bigger ones at the back when you're going uphill.

If so, there's nothing much else to do except cycle more! Give yourself the best chances of success by eating good stuff before a ride, and drinking plenty of water beforehand too. Always keep your tires fully pumped up too, you'll go faster and you'll get less punctures.

happytramp

Consider getting a new cassette with more teeth on the biggest ring.

cameramonkey

ken1 wrote: »

Hi All.i am newcomer to the cycling .age 50.i bought a felt 95,i find it a bit tough on the hills ,bit short on leg power,has any one got some good advise on this for me ta

How heavy are you?

mossym

f or a z model. if it's the z, it has a pretty big cassette range already. given you're a newcomer to cycling, i;d be thinking you just need more time in the saddle rather than any changes to the bike.

Tar.Aldarion

Darkglasses wrote: »

Are you using your gears correctly?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNnKvVzzGw0

Long story short, you want the bike in the smaller chainring at the front and the bigger ones at the back when you're going uphill.

If so, there's nothing much else to do except cycle more! Give yourself the best chances of success by eating good stuff before a ride, and drinking plenty of water beforehand too. Always keep your tires fully pumped up too, you'll go faster and you'll get less punctures.

Hmm I better watch this, I have no idea what gear i should be in, always in the same four or five.

smacl

happytramp wrote: »

Consider getting a new cassette with more teeth on the biggest ring.

Also check your saddle height. I remember when I started out a couple of years ago my saddle was way too low. You lose a lot of power if this is the case. As usual, Sheldon is worth a read

mossym

the felt z95 at least has a compact up front and an 11-28 cassette on the back. i wouldn't be rushing to put new parts on just yet until we know for sure the op is using all the ones he already has

ken1

Hi Lads,Thanks for all the great advise,in answer to some of your questions i am 6 foot one,weight just shy of 15 stone the bike ,is felt95 f series,50/34 in front 11/25 in back ,will i get the better of this on hills or is it to much of a challenge for my age,weight etc,

cameramonkey

ken1 wrote: »

Hi Lads,Thanks for all the great advise,in answer to some of your questions i am 6 foot one,weight just shy of 15 stone the bike ,is felt95 f series,50/34 in front 11/25 in back ,will i get the better of this on hills or is it to much of a challenge for my age,weight etc,

I am the same height, a bit lighter at 88KGs and 2 years younger. I would advise you to keep at the hills but choose the ones you are going up carefully. At your weight and with little miles in your legs it will take a while to be able to hit the very tough ones.

what I did was go for the easier hills first and kept at them until I was comfortable and could get up them easy enough, after that I went for the more difficult ones and again worked at them until you I was able for them.

The more you cycle them the easier they get and pretty soon you will be flying up hills that seemed impossible before.

Konkers

ken1 wrote: »

Hi Lads,Thanks for all the great advise,in answer to some of your questions i am 6 foot one,weight just shy of 15 stone the bike ,is felt95 f series,50/34 in front 11/25 in back ,will i get the better of this on hills or is it to much of a challenge for my age,weight etc,

No, of course its not too much of a challenge. I know fellas your age who gallop up climbs. Go on to http://www.mapmyride.com/ and check out some local climbs that are a lower gradient 5 or 6%.
Go for shorter rides taking on more of these and gradually increase the gradient and length of spin. Always try to stay in the second largest ring for as long as possible so that you have one "bailout" gear if needed.

You could change out your rear cassette for something easier 11/27, 12/28 or a 12/30 if you wish. but hold on to the 12/25. Eventually u'll want something like that again.

chester3455

I think your gears are the right size just keep at it regularly and you'll be up there with the top guys in a few months.

brayblue24

OP as well as all the above a lot of your problem may be to do with technique. If you need to change down gears when already on the climb you will naturally lose power that will be very hard to regain on any kind of a steep climb. Try to change down before you hit the climb perhaps? It'll come together with experience anyway. Best of luck, you're starting at the right time of year when it's getting milder (allegedly)

mossym

chester3455 wrote: »

I think your gears are the right size just keep at it regularly and you'll be up there with the top guys in a few months.

this. get the engine a bit better and see if the problem persists, then look to change gear if it doesn't.

smacl

ken1 wrote: »

Hi Lads,Thanks for all the great advise,in answer to some of your questions i am 6 foot one,weight just shy of 15 stone the bike ,is felt95 f series,50/34 in front 11/25 in back ,will i get the better of this on hills or is it to much of a challenge for my age,weight etc,

47 myself, 6 foot even and about 13at6 at the mo, though was a bit lighter last summer. In your shoes, I'd change the cassette, maybe a 12-28 or even 13-30. Busting a blood vessel for the sake of it is a waste of time and may well put you off cycling or knacker your knees. My lowest gear is 30/28 on an old triple and I can comfortably climb walls on it. Not very quickly, but comfortably, allowing me to cycle all day over most terrains, including three 200ks last year. Only been back on a bike for a couple of years since my teens, but the best advice you will hear repeatedly is spin, don't grind. I changed for 11-23 to 13-28, and found it to be a great move. Better to look at gears you don't need than look for gears you don't have.

derealbadger

Ok advice please i find climbing tough as-well bought a second hand Fuji SL 3.0 full carbon bike http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/179032978 now I am 6.1 foot and 18 stone after losing 4 stone since the start of the year.Also my front cartridge only has two gears is it worth looking at changing out for 3 i'm only on the bike for 2 weeks hadent been on a bike in 20 odd years before that

Darkglasses

derealbadger wrote: »

Ok advice please i find climbing tough as-well bought a second hand Fuji SL 3.0 full carbon bike http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/179032978 now I am 6.1 foot and 18 stone after losing 4 stone since the start of the year.Also my front cartridge only has two gears is it worth looking at changing out for 3 i'm only on the bike for 2 weeks hadent been on a bike in 20 odd years before that

Not really worth doing yet, if you keep cycling regularly you'll find your fitness will increase dramatically. You'll soon "grow into" the gears you have on the bike now, so to speak.

Of course, if you want a triple, get one! I use them happily. However, most road cyclists comfortably use doubles after a bit of hard work, even people bigger and heavier than you!

derealbadger

Another quick question i am finding that after 2 hours on the bike my hind quaters so to speak are in so much bother that i need to wait 2 to 3 days before gettin back on the bike,i wear two pairs of shammy shorts one over the other and i use easyglide anti chaffe stick aswell the saddle is a seali italia

cameramonkey

derealbadger wrote: »

Another quick question i am finding that after 2 hours on the bike my hind quaters so to speak are in so much bother that i need to wait 2 to 3 days before gettin back on the bike,i wear two pairs of shammy shorts one over the other and i use easyglide anti chaffe stick aswell the saddle is a seali italia

I was having a similar problem when I first started. I got a gel saddle cover but also shortened my handlebar stem, I think that was part of the problem. make sure your bike is set up properly for you .

nilhg

smacl wrote: »

47 myself, 6 foot even and about 13at6 at the mo, though was a bit lighter last summer. In your shoes, I'd change the cassette, maybe a 12-28 or even 13-30. Busting a blood vessel for the sake of it is a waste of time and may well put you off cycling or knacker your knees. My lowest gear is 30/28 on an old triple and I can comfortably climb walls on it. Not very quickly, but comfortably, allowing me to cycle all day over most terrains, including three 200ks last year. Only been back on a bike for a couple of years since my teens, but the best advice you will hear repeatedly is spin, don't grind. I changed for 11-23 to 13-28, and found it to be a great move. Better to look at gears you don't need than look for gears you don't have.

Couldn't agree more, OP I'd suggest swapping out your 11-25 for a tiagra 12-28 which is essentially swapping a small cog for a big one, you'll probably use either very little, but appreciate having the 28 more when you need it than you'll miss the 11.

derealbadger wrote: »

Ok advice please i find climbing tough as-well bought a second hand Fuji SL 3.0 full carbon bike http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/179032978 now I am 6.1 foot and 18 stone after losing 4 stone since the start of the year.Also my front cartridge only has two gears is it worth looking at changing out for 3 i'm only on the bike for 2 weeks hadent been on a bike in 20 odd years before that

derealbager, I know those roads well, the climb up over the motorway from Ballitore is a leg cruncher if you push on and the same applies to the drag up to Mooretown, the same advice applies to you, to change from two to three sprockets up front will be expensive, make sure you have something like a 11 or 12-28 or even a 12-30 on the back and see how you go from there.

derealbadger

cameramonkey wrote: »

I was having a similar problem when I first started. I got a gel saddle cover but also shortened my handlebar stem, I think that was part of the problem. make sure your bike is set up properly for you .

just bought a gel saddle cover at the weekend so havent used it yet but hopeing it will help think the rest is set up right how can i check for sure

chester3455

Your best way to make sure its the right fit for you is to get a proffesional to fit it either at your LBS or a bigger store that fit bikes

derealbadger

chester3455 wrote: »

Your best way to make sure its the right fit for you is to get a proffesional to fit it either at your LBS or a bigger store that fit bikes

Euro cycles in Newbridge seem to be fairly good but my only question there is as i am dropping the weight so fast is that not going to keep changing the fit i have 3 more stone to go over the next 3 months

NeedMoreGears

My original bike was a compact with 12-26 at the back. I found hills quite tough - at the time 80kg/167cm. I changed it out for an 11-30 and found it was great. I could spin up the hills a lot quicker using the 30 than I could struggle up them with the 26. I had also started to lose some weight which helped.

That bike was nicked and I now have another compact with 11-28 on the back, which I find is perfect for me. I've become stronger since and lost weight (now 72kg) which probably also helps.

ken1

Hi lads ,thanks for all the great feedback .on hearing yesterday that you lads
reckoned the gearing should be ok for me,i decided to challenge myself today with a hill or two,went from palmerstown towards blessington left up towards sally's gap would of made it only for bad ice and snow on road stopped me,about 2 k from the gap,i'am more than happy with that for now,so again thanks a mill for advice helped loads