12 Better Ways to Climb Hills on your Bike Commute

A lot of people didn’t love my suggestion in my last video of really tackling hills on your bike commute like a bike racer, so I asked for better ways of doing it. Here are 12 better ways.
Thanks to everyone who submitted ideas!

[karlovsky_]

Ebike is a universal solution to 95% of biking problems seems like

[blubaughmr]

I don't use an ebike, but they really are the best tool to get folks out of their cars and on a bike.

My attempts to get my girlfriend to commute by bike didn't go very well until I converted her bike to an ebike.

[AgentAlmost]

Personally:

For small hills, pedal fast to get up speed and momentum and power through it.

For larger hills with a geared bike, go in fast but downshift before the hill and just spin the crankshaft in the lowest gear to make slow but relatively easy progress.

For larger hills with a single speed, go in fast and try to power through as much as possible and when that starts to stall then start standing on the pedals using your body weight to push it forward.

For ebikes without a throttle, put pedal assist to max, approach it as fast as possible and power through.

For ebikes with a throttle, hehe motor go

[owenlee]

My preferred method on the hill on my commute is taking a twenty second breather on the sidewalk halfway up the hill if I feel too exhausted by doing it in one go.

[tconnolly]

For me, I just gear down until the lowest gear if needs be.
And if it's still too difficult I'll get off and walk.
I use bike trailers at least once a week and it makes a difference for my gear selection even on a moderate hill if I'm pulling 30kg or 60kg or even more! Although not as much as many people might think.
I just say to anyone who asks, (or even many who don't! 😜) that it doesn't matter if you're being overtaken by a one legged octogenarian jogger on the way up.
When you reach the top you can power on down again past them at 50kmh+ with a fraction of the effort.
That's my personal philosophy for utilitarian cycling. Don't worry about whatever you think the other guy is thinking.
If you want to get sweaty and give yourself a really good workout, you can do that on the way home.

[WhitneyOpfar]

I really liked your tip on smashing the hill. Ever since your video I have kept my bike 1 or 2 gears higher than I normally do and tried to really push myself to get stronger 👍🏻

[lesbianesti]

Number 5 is definitely my preferred tactic. Get enough speed going before you hit it so you can maintain cadence, then gear down and pace yourself so you can keep that speed constant (even if you aren't going that fast to begin with). I find that I'm way less sweaty and less tired this way

[jarjarbinks]

Lol avoiding the hills isn’t an option in this city if I need to go east-west! (Seattle)

[fearsomefawkes]

If possible, I like to break the hill up into bits. Instead of grinding it straight up hill on the main road, I like to use the small neighbourhood streets. The I can go up one block, turn and bike level for a block, turn and climb for a block etc. It helps that my destination is kitty-corner to my starting point so that I can do this without having to double back at all.

[PixelShade]

if the hill is long I would say that the gears need to do the work. I would try to accelerate and gain momentum before the hill and try keep that momentum as long as you can. As soon as it becomes heavy, gear down, and eventually gear down to a crippling speed which isn't more demanding than cycling at a slight incline. speed isn't important and climbing a hill should not feel worse than that.... if the hill is too step that you can't utilize the gears to make it a pleasant ride, you can stand up and use your body weight.... But at that point you might as well just walk up the hill instead.

[markmarlatt]

Depends on the type of rider and type of hill. I'm not good at spinning at any point and always feel a bit better in a harder gear spinning slower.

[juliuscaesar]

I live in a very hilly area, and I usually bike in the countryside.

I'm not an expert on the bike, but my favourite way to get through long and steep roads is to use a heavish gear, stand up, and pedal slow. I feel like the position gives me a powerful enough pedal, and taking it slow helps the breathing's rythm and it doesn't make me tired too fast.

Sorry for the broken english

[grahambonner]

Slow on the less steep sections to save yourself for the steepest parts. If safe to do so, zigzag to reduce the gradient. If it's just too steep, push, your cycling legs will be fresher once you reach the top.
Whatever method you use try to train your mind to love hills, think of the strength your building in your legs and enjoy the view at the top.

[LeSpeederus]

Honestly, boild down to getting an e-bike or waiting until your muscles adjust. Personally i prefer option number 2

[georgekarnezis]

Ski from side to side this maybe a unique experience I get to have living in a ghost town of a city.

[zensenpai]

Riding a single speed or fixed gear forces you to make the most out of your gearing. You essentially create a really wide powerband going from 30rpm all the way to 130+ rpm.

Stand up, use your bodyweight and posterior chain, and zig zag up the climbs.

Every hill will have a slightly different approach to one another. Long climbs require momentum and focus while shorter ones will require you to charge and attack.

My gear ratio is 52/18 which gives me 79 gear inches. I've gotten to the point where I can climb a 9-10% grade hill since I got used to the gearing. However, it took me nearly a year to do so.

Nothing more satisfying than seeing a roadie admire your tenacity as you're climbing up a hill.

[theJmanStriketh]

As an addendum to "go around" you can also sometimes catch public transit through tougher parts of a commute. I used to bike/bus through a couple cities I lived in, but normal bus racks make an e-bike a worse choice because you have to be able to lift the bike wheels 2+ft off the ground.

[miffachan]

lol i live in toronto (scarborough), my daily commute is 15km each way. going to work is so fun and fast because of downhills, but going back. oh boy. its like i dont want to go home anymore.

[EriebyCycle]

I’ve found that climbing hills is all about momentum. If you are able to build it before the climb, it seems like it’s much easier to maintain. Works for me anyway.

[msironen]

#5 seems like the obviously best tactic, kinda like picking the best parts of the earlier ones.