There aren’t many components more important on a bike than its chain. However, it’s easy to overlook chain wear that can cause serious inefficiency in the drivetrain and even risk a chain failure.

Meshing with the teeth of both your chainrings and sprockets, the chain transfers the energy produced by your legs to the rear wheel. As it does so both its rollers and pins will slowly wear out. Often referred to as having stretched, the chain’s length will actually remain the same, but its ability to do its job will get less and less until eventually you’ll find your gears slipping.

Hugely affected by the conditions you ride in, and the amount of cleaning you can be bothered with, its lifespan can be hard to predict. Luckily there are ways to diagnose exactly the state yours is in.

Let your chain get too worn and your shifting will suffer, along with the state of your chainrings, cassette and jockey wheels. However, change it before its too degraded and you’ll prolong the life of the other bits of your drivetrain. Most manufacturers recommend you replace your chain once the gap between the rollers has grown (due to wear) by 0.75%.

Follow our guide to see whether your chain is still in fighting shape.

How to check your bike’s chain for wear

1. Check your chain with a chain checker

Various tools exist to measure chain wear; from variable gauges to digital calipers and simple drop-in models. All do the same job in measuring the wear on the rollers between a short section of chain.

Easy to use, you simply slot them in between a set number of links. Drop-in models will fit on one side. Should the second end also drop in, this will usually indicate either 0.75% or 1% wear; it’ll be marked on the tool. More complex gauges may require you to expand them to give a more accurate reading.

2. Check for wear without tools

Pop your chain onto the largest chainring. Find the point in the middle of the section of chain that’s engaged with the chainring’s teeth. This will be around the 3 o’clock position. Try to pull the chain away from the chainring.

A new chain detaching only slightly from the chainring 

If you can see more than a sliver of daylight, it’s a good indication your chain is knackered. See the images above and below for comparison.

A worn chain pulling away easily from the chainring 

This is only a rough and ready guide, though, so if you notice a significant gap developing, now would be a good time to get a bike shop to check it for you more accurately, or indeed to invest in a tool to do it yourself. It’s a ten second job that can save you a fortune. The tool will have paid for itself in no time at all.

• If you find your chain is worn, check out our bike chain buyer’s guide

Need more tips and tricks for bike maintenance? Head over to our Tutorials hub for more alongside a stack of training advice.

The post How to check your bike’s chain for wear and ‘stretch’ appeared first on Cyclist.

With a knock-on effect on every aspect of how your body fits to the bicycle, getting your saddle in the correct spot is crucial for comfortable and efficient riding. Reams of sports science research papers have been written on how to work out exactly where best to perch your bum.

However, many cyclists are happy enough to make a rough guess and hope for the best, which is silly when getting it spot on needn’t be tricky or time consuming.

• Time taken: 10 minutes
• Money saved: Tons on physio bills
• You will need: Grease; 4mm/5mm allen key; torque wrench; a book and a tape measure

‘A saddle set up slightly too low is less likely to cause problems than one that’s too high.’

How to change your saddle height in six steps

1. Measure your inseam

Take your shoes off and grab a book. Next, line yourself up against a wall. Pop the book spine upwards between your legs. Give it a good squish.

With the book level, make a mark on the wall at the top of the book. Now measure the distance between the mark and the floor. This is your inseam.

2. Get out the calculator

There are numerous formulae for working out correct saddle height. One of the most commonly used is the LeMond method, named after the American Tour de France champ.

Take your inseam measurement and multiply it by 0.883. For example, 860mm x 0.883 = 759.38mm.

3. Measure from the bottom bracket centre to saddle top

Work out exactly where your sit bones (the bony bits of your backside) rest on the saddle. Next, find the centre point of your cranks (the spindle around which they turn) and measure the distance between the two points.

Compare the number with the one the equation gave you in step 2. If it’s significantly different you’ll need to adjust your saddle.

4. Clean and re-grease your seatpost

Adjusting your saddle height is a good excuse to clean your seatpost. Loosen the seatpost clamp and remove the seatpost. Wipe it down with a rag and clean the inside of the seat tube using silicone spray or a light solvent.

If it is a metal seatpost in a metal frame, apply a fresh smear of grease or anti-seize. If it’s a carbon seatpost in a carbon frame, leave it bare or, if slipping might be an issue, use carbon paste to increase grip between the seatpost and frame.

5. Adjust your seatpost

Return the seatpost to the frame and push it in until the distance from the centre of the cranks to the top of the saddle matches the number you calculated in step 2.

It may help if you ask someone else to hold the tape measure while you adjust the seatpost height and tighten the clamp.

6. Torque

Tightening to the right torque setting (which should be marked on the frame or seatpost clamp) is especially important with carbon parts. And it’s absolutely essential if your bike uses a wedge-type tensioner to hold the post in place.

It’s well worth investing in a torque wrench to do the job properly.

Read our guide to how to measure a bike frame to understand more about bike sizing and setup.

The post Watch: How to set and change your saddle height appeared first on Cyclist.

Riding your bike is the most fundamental way to improve as a cyclist but equally, alternative workouts away from the bike are an undeniably effective way of boosting your ability on wheels.

While cardiovascular fitness is paramount, activities such as running and swimming can also improve both strength and aerobic capacity. And with increased leg strength comes more powerful climbing, more explosive sprinting, and the possibility of becoming a more well-rounded rider.

Besides complementary activities and sports, strength exercises designed to work your quads, glutes, calves and hamstrings are also well worth including in your repertoire. Pick the right ones and they’ll not only make you more powerful but also help improve your balance, strengthen your joints, and provide you with the ultimate bonus: a good looking set of pins.

Now, we’re not promising you tree trunks like Robert Forstermann but with these six simple workouts that can all be done from the comfort of your home, you’ll have stronger legs in no time – something that will seriously benefit you when you hop back onto the bike.

How to get stronger legs for cycling

1. Box jumps

Why – Box jumps are excellent at improving and developing your explosive, fast-twitch muscle fibres by forcing your muscles into contracting before exploding upwards.

Fast-twitch muscles are just what you need when sprinting, accelerating and riding steep climbs where short and sudden bursts of power are necessary.

How – Position a stable platform in front of you (park benches are ideal for this). Position your feet slightly wider than your shoulders. Squat down and then jump onto the platform. Step off and repeat. 

For a harder challenge, attempt to keep your arms still when jumping to prevent creating artificial momentum. If you do not have a platform to jump on, just do the exercise as a standing jump.

Sets – 10 reps for four sets, one minute standing rest between sets.

2. Goblet squats

Why – The goblet squat (or kettlebell squat) was developed by American strength and conditioning coach Dan John as an alternative to the barbell squat. It minimises the risk of back injury, helps you keep better form and acts as a natural counterweight to keep your feet planted to the ground.

Squatting helps strengthen most muscles in your lower half, quads, calves and glutes. All of these are vital when it comes to pedalling your bike. The goblet squat also acts as a great home alternative to barbell squats as it does away with the need for a squat rack.

How – Stand with your feet apart, a touch wider than your shoulders. Hold a kettlebell, dumbbell or even a heavy book just off your chest with your elbows tucked in. If using a kettlebell, hold it by the handles. If using a dumbbell, hold it by the end.

Begin your squat, keeping your elbows inside your knees. Keep your heels on the ground and drop until your legs are at a 90-degree angle. Then slowly come back up, driving through your heels. Do not worry about using too heavy a weight, this is about building endurance and balance just as much as muscle mass. Read our post on how to squat properly for detailed instructions.

Sets – 10 reps for four sets with one minute standing rest between sets.

3. Calf raises

Why – When you pedal your bike, one of the most active muscles happens to be your calves. Constantly expanding and contracting, they are always in use whether you are riding in or out of the saddle.

For that reason, it’s important to work on these muscles off the bike to make them stronger when riding and also decrease the chance of cramping. Plus, having bulging calves like Filippo Ganna is pretty impressive.

How – There are a few ways to do calf raises.

Stand on a surface such as a staircase with your heels off the edge, feet shoulder-width apart. Raise yourself onto your toes slowly before slowly dropping back down. If you feel strong, try completing the exercise with a back weight.

Or, use a leg press machine at the gym. Extend your legs and then place your toes on the edge. Slowly raise onto your tiptoes before dropping back down.

Sets – 12 reps for four sets with one minute standing rest between sets.

4. Lunges

Why – Engaging your quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes, the lunge is an easy all-round exercise that improves leg strength and balance, two things that can really make you a better cyclist.

How – Stand with both legs shoulder-width apart. Step forward with your right leg so that the knee bends to a 90-degree angle. Keep the weight planted through the heel and stop before your non-standing leg’s knee touches the floor.

Hold this position and then power up through the standing leg before repeating the process on the opposing leg.  These can either be done using bodyweight or with a dumbbell in each hand for a harder challenge.

Sets – 10 lunges on each leg for one complete set, aiming to do four sets in total with one minute rest between sets.

5. Romanian Deadlift

Why – The hamstrings are often neglected when developing leg strength leaving them much more susceptible to cramping when out on the bike. RDLs directly deal with this.

This alternative take on the regular deadlift also helps strengthen all the muscles in your posterior chain (the ones that ache most on long rides) and helps increase flexibility, which should never be turned down.

How – Pick up the bar or a kettlebell and place your feet shoulder-width apart. Slightly bend your knees and poke out your backside. Bend at your hips, keep your back straight and look through your eyebrows.

Drop until the bar or weight is just below your knee or you feel a stretch in your back. Then drive through your hips and hamstrings until upright. 

Sets – Do this for three sets of 10 reps with one minute standing rest between sets.

6. Wall sit

Why – The humble wall sit is an excellent exercise to end a session, activating almost every muscle in the lower body, increasing muscle endurance and improving stability, necessary attributes for longer days in the saddle.

A secondary benefit of the wall sit is that is also engages your core muscles, which again can help with overall stability.

How – Place you back flat against a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Sink down until your knees and hips are at a 90-degree angle. 

Engage your core, stabilise and sit. Place your hands on the wall or for a tougher challenge hold them out straight in front of you. And for a real challenge you can always place more weight on your lap.

Set – Hold until failure. Over two minutes is generally considered to be a very good effort. 

Why do I need stronger legs for cycling?

We are not necessarily saying you need to get legs like Chris Hoy, but building leg strength and muscle mass can be beneficial for many reasons.

Firstly, weighted and resistance exercises are great at helping protect your bones. Such workouts will help increase bone density, keep them healthy and also potentially ward off osteoporosis in later life, something that could keep you cycling longer.

Secondly, while cardiovascular fitness is key, leg strength derived from gym work can help with certain styles of riding such as sprinting and climbing short, punchier climbs.

All exercises are undertaken at your own risk.

The post How to get stronger legs for cycling appeared first on Cyclist.

Given that their job is to shunt a greasy bike chain up and down the cassette or chainrings, your derailleurs have a tough old life. To make matters worse, they exist directly in the firing line of spray coming off the wheels, so it’s no surprise they have a tendency to get gunked up.

That’s why it’s good practice to give them the occasional scrub and lube. Keeping yours clean and moving freely will extend their service life and help ensure you never miss a shift. Read on for everything you need to know.

Insider tip: Your sprockets and chainrings don’t require any specific oiling as they receive sufficient lubrication from the chain as it runs through them. In fact, excessive amounts of oil will attract dirt and eventually wear them out quicker.

How to clean and lube your derailleurs

• You will need: Degreaser, brush set, lube, grease, flat-head screwdriver
• Time taken: 15 minutes  
• Difficulty: Easy

1. Spray down with degreaser

Short of fully disassembling the derailleur, your best option is to start by spraying it down with degreaser. Don’t go too mad, though, as soaking it through will potentially drive out grease from inside the pivots and bearings.

Roughly the same procedure applies for both front and rear mechs.

2. Clean inside the cages 

Get a brush and scrape off the dirt that has accumulated on the inside of the cages of both the front and rear derailleurs. If you’re feeling especially conscientious, you could even remove the chain first, although it’s easily possible to accomplish a decent job with it still in place. 

3. Clean off the grime

If you’ve left it a long time since you last paid your rear derailleur any attention, you might find the jockey wheels caked with grime. If it’s really bad, you can use a flat-head screwdriver to scrape the worst of it off, and then use an old rag to wipe away any residual grime. 

4. Inspect the jockey wheels

Like the rest of your drivetrain, the jockey wheels will slowly wear out with use. As they do, they go from having a blunt, flat-topped, profile to having spike-like teeth. At that point, they’ll need replacing.

5. Oil the jockey wheels 

Whether you’re replacing them or leaving the existing ones in place, your jockey wheels would probably appreciate a squirt of lube.

Remember to use the lube appropriate to the seasonal conditions you’re likely to encounter – wet lube for wet weather and dry lube for… well, you get the picture. Be sparing, however – excessive wet lube will make a mess.

6. Lubricate the pivots

There are four pivots on the rear derailleur and four on the front, and these can benefit from occasional lubrication – if they get sticky it can lead to poor shifting.

This is particularly noticeable when moving down the cassette or into the small chainring. Give each pivot a squirt of grease and shift the derailleur to help it sink in. The springing mechanism that tensions the rear derailleur will also benefit from lubrication.

As already mentioned, your sprockets and chainrings don’t require any specific oiling as they receive sufficient lubrication from the chain as it runs through them. In fact, excessive amounts of oil will attract dirt and eventually wear them out quicker.

Looking for more maintenance tips? Read our guide to giving your bike a super quick wash

The post How to clean and lube your derailleurs appeared first on Cyclist.

There are few more upsetting occurrences than shifting gears in expectation of an imminent sprint or climb only to have your front derailleur throw the chain, leaving you with legs twirling but a bike that’s going nowhere.

Less dramatic but nearly as trying is the grating and grinding of a front derailleur that’s somewhat out of adjustment.

It’s a simple-looking bit of componentry, but one that’s susceptible to minute changes in position and cable tension, which means front derailleurs can demand regular attention.

Luckily, an unhappy front derailleur doesn’t ordinarily require an excursion to the bike shop – at least not if you follow our tips to get yours working smoothly again.

Want to ensure both ends are working as well as possible? You can find our guide to adjusting a rear derailleur and indexing your gears here. 

How to adjust your front derailleur

Time taken: About 20 minutes  
Workshop saving: £10

1. Adjust to the right height

The front derailleur should run parallel to the chainrings. If it doesn’t, slacken the bolt fastening it to the frame and rotate it into the right position.

When directly above the largest chainring, the outside edge of the derailleur should sit 2-3mm above the teeth of the chainring. If necessary, shuffle it up or down before retightening the bolt.

2. Limit screws

Shift into the smallest front chainring and biggest rear sprocket. Of the two screws on top of the derailleur, the one closest to the frame ordinarily controls the lower limit.

This prescribes how close to the frame the derailleur can travel. Adjust it so the inner plate sits just clear of the chain. Rotate the crank to ensure the chain isn’t catching.

3. Cable tension

Disconnect the cable attached to the derailleur at the anchor bolt. Pull the cable as tight as feasible with your fingers and retighten the anchor bolt.

Try to shift up to the larger chainring. If the chain won’t shift or feels sluggish, twist the inline barrel adjuster further up the cable (turn it anti-clockwise) to increase the tension and try again.

4. Shifting

The second screw on the top of the derailleur controls how far outwards it can move. It may be necessary to back it off to allow the chain to reach the big ring.

Once engaged on the largest ring, adjust the screw so the derailleur can move no further than 1mm past the chain. This will ensure the chain can’t over-shift and fall off.

5. Fine-tuning

With everything now secured in position, try shifting through the gears. If you can, use the barrel adjuster to fine-tune the position of the derailleur. Turning it anti-clockwise will increase the tension, making it shift into the big chainring more readily.

Don’t forget to shift across the cassette as well to make sure each individual gear combination works.

6. Derailleur trim

Riding with the chain in the smallest sprocket and smallest chainring, or biggest chainring and biggest sprocket, will wear out your drivetrain. On Shimano groupsets, it will also cause the chain to rub against the derailleur.

Shimano shifters have a built-in half-click (press the lever halfway) to allow small adjustments on the move, known as trimming.

How to adjust your rear derailleur

Now you know your barrel adjusters from your limit screws, why not also have a go at adjusting your rear derailleur?

The post How to adjust your front derailleur appeared first on Cyclist.

There’s little more annoying when cycling than clicking or jumping gears, so our video and step-by-step guide will help you adjust your rear derailleur (also called a ‘rear mech’) and index your bike’s gears.

A surefire way of interrupting your momentum at a key moment on a climb, or when pulling away from traffic lights on your commute, badly indexed gears can irritate all the enjoyment out of cycling. Thankfully, adjusting a rear derailleur on a bike is a solution that is fairly simple and possible for most – if not all – home mechanics.

Follow the five steps below to learn how to adjust your rear derailleur and save the expense of a trip to the bike shop.

Did you know? The cross-head limit screws used on all Shimano derailleurs until hex heads became more common don’t use a standard Phillips head, but rather JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard). Standard screwdrivers may fit, but they are much more likely to damage the screws. Do yourself a favour and get a proper JIS screwdriver. We suggest the Megadora 900 if you’re on a budget, or the delightful Park Tool DSD-2 if you’re feeling flush.

How to adjust a rear derailleur and index your bike’s gears

1. Set the limit screws

With the gear cable disconnected, gently pedal forwards until the chain drops onto the smallest sprocket. Find the screw towards the back of the derailleur marked H (for high). This is typically a cross-head, but many many newer derailleurs use hex-head screws instead.

The H screw dictates how far towards the frame (away from the hub) the derailleur can move (the higher limit). Turning it clockwise moves the jockey wheel closer to the spokes, counter clockwise, closer to the frame.

You want the uppermost jockey wheel to sit directly below the smallest of the sprockets.

2. Tighten the cable

Turn the barrel adjuster on the derailleur clockwise until it is almost fully screwed in. Select the highest gear (smallest sprocket) on the shifter.

Pull the cable as tight as possible at the derailleur and attach it to the body via the cable anchor.

Once you’ve done this, select the third gear on the shifter and gently pedal forwards to shift the chain. Don’t worry at this point if it doesn’t shift smoothly.

Visually check the position of the jockey wheel relative to the cassette – it should fall directly beneath the third sprocket.

3. Adjust the cable tension

Use the barrel adjuster to fine-tune its position. Turning the adjuster anticlockwise increases tension on the cable, bringing the derailleur closer to the wheel. Clockwise decreases the tension, moving it back towards the frame.

If the chain seems hesitant to shift up, increase the cable tension by turning the barrel adjuster anticlockwise. If it skips over a gear, turn the adjuster clockwise to decrease the tension.

Listening to the noise coming from the drivetrain will tell you when it’s set up correctly. You want it to run as quietly as possible.

4. Shift it up

Shift into the largest sprocket. Find the screw marked L (below the H screw). It dictates how far towards the wheel the derailleur can move (the lower limit).

Push the body of the derailleur until it’s as close to the wheel as it’ll go. The jockey wheel cage shouldn’t be able to move further than a position directly below the largest sprocket.

Turn the screw clockwise until the derailleur is unable to move beyond this point. This is crucial in order to prevent the derailleur getting tangled in the spokes.

5. B-tension screw

With the chain still on the largest sprocket, it’s time to adjust the B-tension screw – find it on the uppermost part of the derailleur, next to where it mounts on the frame.

This dictates how close the upper jockey wheel sits to the cassette; it should be as close to the sprockets as possible without actually touching them.

Turning the B screw clockwise moves the jockey wheel away from the cassette. Tweak it until there is a gap of approximately 3mm.

Then take your bike out and enjoy trouble-free shifting for ever more – well, at least for a few months until it needs adjusting again.

If there’s anything else you need a hand with (maybe your front derailleur?) head over to our tutorials section.

The post Video: How to adjust a rear derailleur and index your gears appeared first on Cyclist.

Learning how to clean your bike helmet is an important yet underrated skill. While we might see cycling as a hobby or a mode of transport, it’s still a form of exercise and when you exercise, you sweat, even if only in small amounts.

This sweat builds up over time and can lead to odours and skin irritation. In the same way that we clean our cycling clothes, we need to clean our helmets too.

Though it might seem self-explanatory, there are a few easy mistakes to avoid and some simple tricks that can help make the process easier and keep you and your helmet happy and healthy.

Do I need to clean my bicycle helmet?

Bike helmets are designed to sit close to the skin to help keep them secure and provide protection, and so they will inevitably absorb some sweat.

Sweat will accumulate over time and, while it won’t initially cause problems, it can lead to unwanted odours. It can also cause skin irritation where it’s gathered and affect the sweat-wicking properties of the padding.

Dirt and grime can also build up, dependent on what type of riding you do, and the combination of all these factors can lead to bacteria and fungus growth. It’s important to know how to effectively clean your helmet to eliminate these risks and keep your helmet hygienic – after all, you are putting it directly on your head.

How do I clean my bike helmet?

What you’ll need

• Mild soap such as dish soap or a helmet-specific cleaner like Muc-Off Foam Fresh
• Warm water
• Bucket/bath/bowl
• Soft/microfibre cloth
• Sponge
• Soft brush eg, an old toothbrush

We’ll tackle one section at a time. The different areas interact with your skin in different ways and will need varying levels of cleaning, as well as some areas requiring specific types of treatment.

Step 1: Padding

The padding is typically the area that gathers the most sweat as it sits close to the skin and is often designed to have sweat-wicking properties. As such, many manufacturers make this padding removeable so that it can be thoroughly cleaned.

If you can, remove the padding from the helmet. Some brands will specify whether this can be put in a washing machine, which will always need to be on a 30°C or below gentle wash to prevent the padding from shrinking. If you do use a washing machine, it’s a good idea to put the padding inside a mesh bag to protect it.

Machine washing can cause the padding to separate so, unless it is really dirty, we would recommend washing it by hand. If the padding cannot be removed, it must be hand-washed as the helmet itself must not go in the washing machine.

If you are washing the padding by hand, soak it in warm, soapy water and clean with the sponge. Squeeze out the excess and leave to air dry.

Step 2: Helmet interior

Once the padding is out, use the cloth and warm, soapy water to wipe the interior – try to avoid soaking the helmet for too long as the shell is attached by glue, which may begin to de-bond if left in hot water for a very long time.

The inside of the helmet won’t typically get as dirty as the padding but dirt and grime can get in through ventilation holes so it’s worth cleaning anyway.

Step 3: Straps

Unlike the padding, bike helmet straps are rarely detachable. Use the sponge to soak the straps and lay them on a flat surface to scrub. If the straps are very sweaty, it’s worth getting a soft brush to really agitate them to get them fully clean.

Step 4: Helmet exterior

Take a lightly dampened cloth and wipe over the outside of the helmet to remove excess dirt and run-off from cleaning the rest of the helmet. Wipe gently so as to avoid damaging the lacquer or paintwork.

Leave to dry in a warm, well-ventilated place and re-install the padding once everything has completely dried.

Key mistakes to avoid

• Don’t machine-wash your helmet – while it may be safe to put some types of padding in the washing machine, it is never safe to machine-wash the helmet itself. This can cause invisible damage that will affect the helmet’s safety, rendering it useless. (Same goes for putting it in the dishwasher or tumble dryer, though we imagine you wouldn’t do that anyway.)
• Don’t put your helmet padding in the tumble dryer – the high temperatures from a dryer (or washing above 30°C) will cause the padding to shrink and warp and will likely mean it no longer attaches correctly to your helmet.
• Don’t use petroleum-based cleaning products – aggressive cleaning products, particularly those with a petroleum base, will cause damage to the expanded polystyrene (EPS) liner which can be invisible to the eye but render the helmet less effective. The same goes for insect repellents that contain DEET. Either use mild soap or helmet-specific cleaning products such as Muc-Off’s Helmet Care Kit.
• Don’t submerge the helmet for long periods – the polycarbonate shell is bonded to the EPS liner with glue which will begin to break down after soaking in hot water for a long time. To avoid, ensure you only submerge the helmet for short periods and in lukewarm water.

Helmet-specific cleaning products

While soap and water will do the trick, sometimes it’s nice to have the reassurance of a dedicated cleaning product to ensure you’re using the right materials. There aren’t many specific helmet cleaners out there but Muc-Off does make a dedicated kit.

It’s primarily listed for use with motorbike helmets but we got in touch with Muc-Off who confirmed that it’s bicycle helmet-friendly as well. The Foam Fresh cleaner is the essential part and can be purchased separately, but you might find the visor/goggle cleaner and anti-fog spray useful for cycling sunglasses. Double win if you also own a moto.

How do I look after my bike helmet?

Keeping your helmet clean is one of the easiest ways to extend its life and keep it in a usable condition but here are some extra tips for looking after it:

• Store away from direct heat and sunlight
• Avoid dropping it/keep in a protective case
• Dry after sweaty/rainy rides and keep in a dry place
• Replace every three to five years or after a crash

You know how to keep them clean, now see our guide to all the best road and gravel bike helmets

The post How to clean your bike helmet appeared first on Cyclist.

While it may not look like it, strength training is an important part of any professional cyclist’s arsenal, even those straw-thin mountain goats like Jonas Vingegaard. It’s not necessarily a case of lifting weights and performing strength exercises to look like Lou Ferrigno or Arnold Schwarzenegger but rather developing key muscles that make you a better cyclist.

‘Cycling by nature is repetitive, requiring being in a fixed, and often quite flexed position, for long periods of time,’ says physiotherapist and bike-fitter John Dennis of Momentum.

‘Mobility, strength and stability are therefore crucial to not having to compromise on position and to generate maximum power.

‘Trunk control and strength through the abdominals and obliques are therefore essential to holding a good posture on the bike, which in turn helps with efficiency – if you’re not stable in your core it doesn’t matter how strong your legs are, you’re going to be rocking around and wasting energy.

‘Strength conditioning programmes are also important. You lose strength quickly when you haven’t ridden for a while – something that tends to happen a lot over the winter – but strength conditioning helps minimise the loss of riding miles.

‘Alongside that, stretching is important for mobility and flexibility, helping recovery and regeneration, a kind of general maintenance really.

‘Having a programme that incorporates these things alongside your normal riding timetable will therefore be beneficial for both performance and injury prevention. For example, look to incorporate two or three strength and conditioning sessions into your week, on the days when you’re not riding.

‘Then look to do ten minutes of stretching either side of a ride or session, though I don’t advise you do hard stretching after exercise, as you don’t want to inflict more damage on the muscles you’ve just been working. A programme of 12 weeks is optimum, but you’ll see improvements in four to six weeks, or with some exercises even sooner. Some things like muscle lengthening can take longer, but as with everything perseverance will pay off.’

So what are you waiting for? Here are ten key moves (split into bodyweight exercises, weighted exercises and stretches) to integrate into your training regime to ensure you’re fighting fit for spring.

And just to make it even simpler, we’ve drafted in Fitness First personal trainer Anthony Murray to talk you through them.

Bodyweight exercises

Traditional plank

How to: Lie your stomach on the floor with your palms facing down either side of your shoulders. Your feet should be together with your toes facing down. Engage your core and lift up your body so that your arms are straight, resting your body weight into your forearms.

Your elbows should be below your shoulders and your back should be straight – to make sure you’re body forms a straight line from your head to feet then line up against a mirror. Aim to hold the plank for as long as you can (at least one minute).

How many: 4 sets x of 1 minute planks. You’ll find that as the weeks go by and the planks become easier, you can do less sets and plank for longer.

Spiderman plank

How to: Start this move in the traditional plank position and draw your left knee up towards your left shoulder then return to the plank position. Repeat the move by drawing your right knee up to your right shoulder.

‘The key to performing this move successfully is to maintain a strong plank position with your hands under your shoulders, whilst keeping your abs engaged.

How many: 5 sets x 30 seconds each side.

Hanging L-sit 

How to: Stand underneath a pull-up bar and reach upwards to form a tight shoulder-width grip with your palms facing away. Contract your abdominals and raise your legs from the floor to form a 90-degree angle.

Slowly move your legs down and repeat. When you’re doing the move, remember to keep your legs straight and together. If you’re having trouble reaching the bar just use a box to lift up.

How many: 4 sets x 8 to 12 reps.

Hanging knee tuck

How to: Start in the same position as the Hanging L-sit – with your hands gripping the pull-up bar shoulder-width apart and palms facing outwards. Tuck both of your knees up and align to the same height as your hips.

Tuck your pelvis under to round your back and ensure your abs are engaged. Slowly lower your legs back down and keep your abs contracted so your legs don’t swing beneath you.

How many: 4 sets of 15 reps.

Weighted exercises

Deadlift

How to: Step up to the barbell and ensure your feet are shoulder width apart, with the balls of your feet just under the bar and your toes pointing slightly out to the side for balance.

‘Bend your knees, keep your back straight and grasp the bar, keeping your arms straight and slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

‘To lift the bar stand up by raising your hips and shoulders at the same time and make sure your abs are always contracted. Lift up the bar vertically and pull your shoulders back as you stand.

‘Allow the bar to hang in front of your hips and don’t try to lift it any higher. Keeping your back straight, return the bar to the starting position.

‘If it’s your first time performing a deadlift start with light weights – it’s always better to add weights later on and it’s better to perfect your form before you strain yourself.

How many: 5 sets x 5 reps medium to heavy weight.

Goblet squat with kettlebell

How to: Get yourself into the starting position by holding a kettlebell close to your chest. With your legs shoulder width apart and feet pointing outwards, slowly squat down (three second count as you go down and 1 second count as you come up) between your legs until your hamstrings are touching your calves.

Grip the sides of the kettlebell handle tightly and ensure your back is straight. Continue to look forwards and pause for one to two seconds to hold the move. Engage your core and push up through your heels to return to the starting position.

How many: 4 sets x 20 reps. 

Romanian deadlift

How to: Place your feet shoulder-width apart while holding the bar or kettlebell. Then bend your knees slightly, poking your backside out. Pivoting from the hips, look through your eyebrows to maintain a straight back.

Slowly lower the weight until you begin to feel a stretch in the back. Drive back through the heels, hips and hamstrings, slowly rise until upright.

How many: 3 sets x 10 reps

Dumbbell lunge

How to: Hold a dumbbell or plate weight in each hand, with your arms straight by your side. Keep your chest push up and out and engage your core muscles. Begin by striding forward with one leg to execute a lunge while keeping the other leg set in place (both front leg and back leg should be a 90 degree angle).

Be sure to really stride forward so that you get a great stretch. Bring that leg back to the start position and repeat with the opposite leg.

How many: 4 sets x 10 reps per leg.

Cycling-specific stretches

Hip flexor stretch (like a static lunge)

How to: Get yourself into a lunge position, right leg with knee up and left knee placed on the ground, remember to push your hips forward. Squeeze your core and glute muscles nice and tight. Place your left hand up in the air and tilt to the right, with your right hand aiming to reach for your heal of your left leg.

Hold the stretch for 60-90 seconds, remember to control your breathing then switch legs.

Cat stretch

How to: Position yourself on the floor on your hands and knees. Squeeze your core muscles and slowly round your back from your lower back up to your shoulders while allowing your head to drop.

Hold this position for 20 seconds and then slowly relax, repeat this stretch three times.

Cobra stretch

How to: Lie face down on a yoga mat with your hands by your sides and the tops of your feet flat on the floor. Take a deep breath in and let it out, exhaling completely and relaxing your body into the floor.

Move your hands, palms down, to just under your shoulders, with your elbows close to your body. Engage your core muscles to draw your navel toward your spine, as you press your thighs and pelvis toward the floor.

Spread your fingers wide, inhale and press your palms into the floor, shoulders down and back as you straighten your arms. Lift your chest off the floor as your pubic bone, legs and feet press downward. Don’t push past the point where you stay connected to the floor.

Tighten your butt and feel the stretch down the entire front of your body. Tilt your chin up and lift your chest toward the ceiling, as you breathe evenly and keep lifting. Avoid pushing your ribs too far forward, sharply increasing the arch in your back.

Hold the pose for at least 15 to 30 seconds, continuing to draw the navel to the spine, breathing slowly and evenly. Release back down to the mat gently, on an exhalation.

This is an old article that we’ve republished because it’s still relevant.

The post 10 weight & strength training exercises for cyclists appeared first on Cyclist.

The cassette is the set of gear sprockets (or ‘cogs’) that sits on the right hand side of your rear wheel and meshes with your chain to propel your bike forward. As with a replacement bike chain, it’s important to make sure your new cassette is compatible with the rest of your drivetrain – plus it needs to fit on your wheel.

Here’s how to find the right cassette to replace yours. But first up, why would you want to replace your cassette?

When should I replace my cassette?

Pedalling, changing gears and the road grunge you pick up while riding will progressively wear your bicycle chain and cassette. Chains stretch and as a result, the tooth profiles of the sprockets in your cassette change, so that they gradually become sharper and the flat parts between them larger.

That results in progressive degradation of shifting performance, so your gears might skip. You’ll also see changes in the tooth profiles in your chainrings, but because there are a lot more teeth in the chainrings in contact with the chain, the result may not be as pronounced. On the other hand, chainrings are often more expensive to replace than the cassette, so you’ll want to try to reduce chainring wear.

We’ve got a guide to how to check your chain for wear; in general, when it shows 0.75 per cent wear it’s considered time to replace your chain. You should replace your cassette at the same time too, or shift quality may become even poorer. 

Of course, derailleurs will work with multiple sizes of cassette, so you may also want to replace your cassette to get a wider or narrower spread of gears or you may have just bought some shiny new wheels and need a cassette to fit to them.

How to choose the right cassette for your bike

There are a few things you need to get right for your cassette to work with your gearing and your wheels.

First up, a new cassette has to have the same number of sprockets (‘speeds’) as the one you’re replacing, otherwise it won’t work with your shifters and rear derailleur and it might not fit on your rear wheel. If you’re not sure, count them.

Your cassette also needs to be compatible with your rear derailleur, which will have a limit for the number of teeth it can work with in the largest sprocket.

You can’t use a cassette with a largest sprocket that has a greater number of teeth than this, so for example you cannot use an 11-42 tooth gravel bike cassette unless you have a derailleur specifically designed for it.

Some derailleurs, including those from Shimano, also have a limit for the smallest-size large sprocket that they’ll work with. You can check the permissible range on the derailleur maker’s website. Sometimes brand specs are conservative and you can get away with pushing the limits by a couple of teeth or so, but you do so at your own risk – don’t expect any warranty cover if a component fails as a result of doing this.

How do I make sure my cassette will fit my wheel?

Next it gets even more complex. Your replacement cassette needs to fit on your wheel’s freehub. There are multiple freehub standards and they’re not interchangeable with one another.

• Read our full guide to freehub standards

Shimano-style freehubs

The most common type is Shimano/SRAM 11-speed, which has flanges that mesh with the cassette. A lock ring, which usually comes with the cassette, is used to hold the cassette sprockets in place.

If you have a bike with ten speeds or fewer, you’ll need to use a 1.85mm spacer for a ten-speed cassette to fit securely on an 11-speed hub. You should find that there was a spacer in place when you remove your old cassette, which can be reused.

Older bikes may have a slightly narrower 10-speed freehub on the rear wheel. Shimano 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace 10-speed cassettes will need a 1mm spacer to fit. If you’re mounting them on an 11-speed freehub, you’ll need to supplement this with a 1.85mm spacer as well. 

Mountain bike cassettes are slightly narrower than road bike cassettes with the same number of speeds and so are not generally compatible with road bike wheels unless you use a spacer.

Shimano 12-speed groupsets use a newer standard called HG Spline L2 with more splines in the freehub and cassette, but fortunately it’s backwards-compatible with 11-speed hubs.

Shimano Micro Spline mountain bike hubs and cassettes with a similar-looking spline pattern are not compatible with road bike components. To complicate things though, Shimano’s latest single chainring 12-speed GRX RX820/RX610 groupset uses an MTB Micro Spline freehub to accommodate its cassettes, which all start with a 10-tooth sprocket. The double chainring version uses cassettes starting at 11 teeth and a standard HG11 11-speed freehub.

Shimano launched CUES for drop bar bikes in January 2025. When it comes time to replace your CUES cassette, it uses a different tech called Linkglide, rather than the Hyperglide used for the above groupsets, so you’ll need a Shimano CUES cassette to work properly.

Campagnolo freehubs

Another freehub standard is Campagnolo 11/12-speed. Campagnolo freehubs have deeper grooves in their flanges and a Shimano cassette won’t fit; you need a Campagnolo-specific cassette. There’s a specific locknut needed to secure the cassette to the wheel too. 

Campagnolo’s latest wheelsets use a new standard that it calls N3W. This mates a shorter freehub with the 13-speed cassettes used by the Campagnolo Ekar gravel bike groupset, but is also backwards-compatible with 11/12-speed Campagnolo cassettes when used with a special adapter.

SRAM XD/XDR freehubs

Yet another standard used on road bikes is SRAM XDR. This is used for SRAM 11 or 12-speed cassettes and allows a ten-tooth smallest sprocket to be used.

The XDR cassette initially pushes then screws onto the XDR freehub body and doesn’t have a lock nut. SRAM also makes XD cassettes for mountain bikes, but these are narrower than XDR cassettes and won’t fit on an XDR freehub without a spacer. You can’t fit an XDR cassette on a wheelset with an XD mountain bike freehub. 

Again there’s an exception. The Apex Eagle 12-speed groupset uses a range of cassettes with MTB spacing, which will fit on an XD freehub or an XRD freehub with a spacer.

There are also cassette options for Apex XPLR and Apex Eagle which have an 11-tooth smallest sprocket and fit on a standard HG11 Shimano/SRAM freehub.

What if I don’t have a cassette?

Not all bikes have a cassette. A single speed bike will have a single sprocket with a freewheel mechanism included that threads onto the hub. If it’s a fixed gear single speed bike, there’s no freewheel and the sprocket will be held in place by a reverse-threaded lock ring. Many single speed bikes will have a flip-flop rear hub that lets you set them up with a freewheel on one side and a fixed sprocket on the other.

In the past, bikes used a freewheel, aka a block, which included the freewheel mechanism in the freewheel body and threaded onto the hub. You need a differently designed set of gears to work with this system and different tools to change the freewheel.

Should I just buy like-for-like?

As with bicycle chains, if you’re just replace your existing model with the same one you’re not going to have any problems. If you want a wider or narrower gear range, though, you’ll need to check derailleur compatibility, as above.

Again, like chains, you can save a significant amount of cash by downspeccing through the manufacturer’s groupset range. A 12-speed Shimano Ultegra 11-34 tooth cassette, for example, will work exactly like a 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace 11-34 tooth cassette, it will just be a little heavier and a lot less expensive.

Make sure that a replacement cassette has the same number of sprockets as the one it’s replacing, though. Groupsets typically add a speed from one generation to the next, so you can, for example, find a Shimano 105, Ultegra or Dura-Ace cassette fairly readily with 10, 11 or 12 speeds.

For systems with 11-speeds and fewer, SRAM and Shimano road bike cassettes are interchangeable with each other. Their 12-speed road bike cassettes are not, though. 

You can also buy cassettes made by other brands such as Miche. Provided they have the right number of speeds, correct gear range and use the same freehub standard as your current cassette, these should be compatible with your drivetrain. They are sometimes cheaper than brand-matched components. 

What do I get if I spend more money on a cassette?

A more expensive cassette will, in general, be lighter than a cheaper one. That may be because it’s been made of more exotic materials or because it’s been machined more.

Shimano’s top spec Dura-Ace cassettes, for example, have their largest sprockets made of titanium, whereas in Ultegra and 105 these are steel and mounted on an aluminium alloy spider. 

In the case of SRAM, its range-topping Red cassette is machined from a single steel billet, while 12-speed Force cassettes have a single piece for the smallest four sprockets and the larger ones are individually pinned to the cassette body. Durability may be greater and a cassette made from fewer components could be more rigid, but that’s not necessarily the case.

You might get flashy finishes too, as in the latest iridescent SRAM Red cassette or the Recon Racing cassette that is also iridescent and weighs just 94g.

What tools do I need to change a cassette?

Removing a cassette and adding a new one requires a few tools that are specific to the job.

First, you’ll need a cassette lock nut tool. This slots into the flanges on the locknut that holds your cassette in place. Most then require you to use a large spanner to loosen the lock nut, but you can get all-in-one lock nut tools with a handle. Lock nuts are different between Shimano/SRAM and Campagnolo cassettes and you need the appropriate tool for each.

If you try to loosen the lock nut, you’ll just turn the whole cassette with its freewheel mechanism, so you need a chain whip to hold the cassette in place. This usually takes the form of a metal bar with a short length of chain attached. You wrap the chain around a sprocket on the cassette, which lets you brace the cassette while loosening the lock nut.

Once you’ve removed the lock nut, the cassette sprockets should just slide off the wheel’s freehub. Be careful to catch any spacers on the inside end of the cassette as you’ll need them when you add your new cassette. Now is a good time to clean the freehub and the area around the hub flange, which is usually very hard to get at with the cassette in place.

Next you need to slot the new cassette onto the freehub body. The flanges on both are designed so that the sprockets will only fit on the freehub in one position and one orientation, so you need to get both right. That’s so that the ramps and tooth positions in the sprockets are precisely aligned to ensure smooth shifting. It can be fiddly and may be messy if your freehub is a little dirty. Your new cassette may be greasy too. Gloves are handy.

Once all the sprockets are threaded onto the freehub, you can add the lock nut. Do this very carefully by hand, as it’s easy to cross-thread, potentially destroying an expensive freehub. If the lock nut doesn’t seem to be going on correctly, remove it and try again – never use a tool to force it on.

Once you’ve got the lock nut on correctly and it’s flush with the sprockets, you can use your lock nut tool to tighten it. It needs to be tightened firmly to ensure that it stays in place under load – 40Nm is the usual quoted torque value. If you’ve got everything set up correctly, your cassette sprockets should be held firmly together on the freehub with no play. If they do move, you may have forgotten a spacer.

If you have a freewheel rather than a freehub and cassette system, you’ll need a different tool to mesh with the freewheel and unthread it from the wheel and then tighten your replacement in place. You don’t need a chain whip, though.

Best cassette: Our picks for every major current groupset

You can usually choose from a range of different cassettes that will work with your gears. While there’s no single best option, here are our picks to balance value and performance. We’ve also mentioned some flashy options if you want to save a little weight, but bear in mind that a cassette and chain probably won’t last more than a year of steady use, particularly if you ride through winter.

Best cassettes for Shimano groupsets

Shimano Dura-Ace/Ultegra/105 12-speed and Shimano GRX 2× 12-speed

For the best of the best, a Dura-Ace cassette will match your drivetrain and give you titanium larger sprockets – but at a price. For around half the cost, a Shimano Ultegra 12-speed cassette will give you the same gear ratios and preserve the Hyperglide+ shifting, which 105 12-speed does not have. Fit Ultegra and there’s a weight penalty of around 100g relative to Dura-Ace.

If you’re running Shimano GRX 12-speed single ring, you’ll need an MTB-style cassette. We’d recommend the SLX-level M9100 cassette.

Shimano Ultegra/105/GRX 11-speed

For Shimano’s 11-speed groupsets, again there’s a choice of Shimano cassettes available and a downshift to 105 will save you some cash over an Ultegra cassette with the same ratios. It will work with the GRX 2× 11-speed gravel groupset as well. If you want ultimate lightness though, the Miche Supertype cassette drops the weight of the component down to under 150g.

Shimano Tiagra/GRX 10-speed

At ten speeds, the Shimano HG500 cassette is a good option which works with both the Tiagra road and GRX400 gravel groupsets. It offers four range options from 11-25 all the way up to 11-34, so there’s plenty of choice to suit your riding style.

Shimano Sora 9-speed

Another Shimano option which gives you a wide range of ratio choices, the HG400 MTB cassette is available in six different configurations from 11-25 all the way up to 11-36. You’ll need to use a 1.85mm spacer, but cassettes up to 34t are otherwise compatible with Sora groupsets and give you some wide range choices.

Shimano Claris 8-speed

Among aftermarket brands, Microshift gives you good compatibility with Shimano groupsets and consistently undercuts the price of the Japanese components. It’s durable and gives you a range of five different ratio spreads.

Buy now from Condor

Best cassettes for SRAM groupsets

SRAM Red/Force/Rival/Apex AXS 12-speed

For SRAM’s 12-speed groupsets, you’ll need an XDR cassette (or an XD MTB cassette with a spacer). SRAM Red cassettes are beautifully made from one piece of steel and you can now buy one in rainbow colours. The more considered choice is probably the Rival cassette though – as with Shimano’s offerings, you can save a significant amount of money and it’s likely to be as durable, just heavier than the Red option.

There’s a complication if you’re running SRAM Apex Eagle, as you’ll need an MTB-style cassette. We’d recommend the NX Eagle cassette.

SRAM Force/Rival 11-speed

As with Shimano 11-speed drivetrains, there are multiple levels of 11-speed SRAM cassettes available that will work with SRAM 11-speed groupsets. The PG-1130 cassette is the cheapest of these and offers a good range of gear options. Be careful to ensure that your derailleur is compatible before ordering options with 36 or 42 teeth, which need a Force 1/Rival 1 derailleur. Ranges up to 11-32 should work with a standard 11-speed drivetrain, and you’ll need to use a 1.85mm spacer to fit it on road bike wheels.

SRAM Apex 10-speed

The SRAM PG-1030 cassette covers a similar range to the PG-1130 above, just in ten sprockets instead of 11. It too is an MTB cassette and so will need a 1.85mm spacer on road bike wheels, and you need to ensure that your derailleur is compatible with wider range cassettes.

Best cassettes for Campagnolo groupsets

Campagnolo Ekar 13-speed

You are going to need an Ekar cassette to work with Campagnolo’s gravel groupset. It’s available in three gear ranges though, so you can fine-tune your cassette choice to match your riding terrain. Ekar GT adds a 10-48t option, although this can’t be used with the original Ekar. Speccing an Ekar GT cassette will save you a little money relative to an Ekar cassette and weights are comparable.

Campagnolo Super Record/Record/Chorus 12-speed

As with Shimano’s 12-speed groupsets, if you go for the top spec Super Record cassette you’ll save a little weight but the price doubles over the Chorus 12-speed cassette. We’d recommend speccing the latter.

Campagnolo Centaur 11-speed

An in-series Campagnolo Centaur cassette is fairly inexpensive and will give you three different gear range options.

Best single speed sprockets

A single speed sprocket is an inexpensive item. Miche has a good reputation for its track components, and its sprockets are available in a range of size options and 1/8in and 3/32in, so you can fine-tune your ride. If you want to replace your single speed freewheel, Token Shark Bite freewheels are well-made and should be durable.

Need a chain to go with that? Read our guide to the best bike chains and how to choose a replacement chain

The post What road bike cassette is best for me? Cassettes explained and compared appeared first on Cyclist.

Lungs like airbags and legs of steel will certainly make the challenge of cycling uphill a whole lot easier, but physical prowess alone won’t guarantee that you’re crowned King or Queen of the Mountains. Technique, mental preparation, familiarity with the hill and selecting the right gear – in both senses – all have a key part to play in successfully and consistently ensuring you reach and overcome your peaks.

Fortunately, Cyclist knows a few people for whom tackling climbs is all part of the job, and they have some exclusive tricks and tips to help you push onwards and upwards…

1. Start steady

‘It’s a no-brainer, but the key to improving your climbing strength is to get on some hills,’ says Paul Mill, coach and owner of elitecycling.co.uk.

‘When starting out, it’s a good idea to ride as steadily as possible on a light gear to focus on how your body reacts to different gradients. Keep your upper body controlled and just work on finding a rhythm. You’re looking to perfect your technique and manage your output too.

‘Seek out routes with several hills that take a good chunk of time and include a variety of gradients – anything from 5% to 12%. If you’ve only got one hill near you that fits the bill then look at repeating the climb three or four times.’

2. Do your research

‘If you have a set target and know the types of climbs you will be riding, then first of all you need to work out what gear ratios you require,’ says Ben Simmons, a British Cycling club coach and former advisor to Team Wiggle.

‘The steeper gradients may require a compact chainset or a wider-ratio cassette. I rode the Giro delle Dolomiti [a six-stage amateur race through Italy’s Dolomites mountain range], which had some seriously steep gradients. I underestimated them as my smallest gear was 39×25 – most others were riding 36×28. I would have benefited from a smaller gear as my cadence was really low on some of the 20% gradients.’

3. Adapt to your surroundings

‘Look for positive aspects in every climb,’ says Simmons. ‘And use what hills you have at hand to fine-tune your training.’ If you live in a flat area where you have relatively short, sharp climbs, you can attack these quite hard.

‘It will require more of an anaerobic effort and breathing won’t be affected until you reach the top of the climb when you are trying to replace the oxygen debt.

‘This will help you develop one of the key skills in hill climbs – being able to judge your effort for the type of ascent and its duration so that you are not riding up too comfortably or going too hard and struggling to reach the top.’

4. Descend the scales

One of the major contributing factors of climbing is the power-to-weight ratio. ‘Finding out your body composition, fat weight versus muscle weight, is a good starting place,’ says Nigel Mitchell, British Cycling’s team nutritionist and advisor to sports nutrition brand CNP.

‘Get into the habit of noting down what you eat and drink through the day. Look out for calorie-heavy meals that aren’t going to be burned throughout training. If you’re looking to lose weight and retain or develop muscle then set an achievable target of, say, 500 fewer calories a day and work out how many calories you’re burning on a ride.

‘Fasted riding can help you reduce body fat – if it’s done at a relatively low intensity [heart rate zones 1-2],’ says Mitchell. ‘But if you’re working out on climbs or upping the intensity then have some protein before heading out. Riding on the amino acids from a protein shake will help with fat reduction but you’ll still get some glucose from the protein conversion and it’ll aid recovery too.’

It’s important to be careful not to fall into unhealthy habits – if you lose weight the wrong way you’ll lose strength too, meaning it won’t improve your climbing. And remember, no KOM or QOM is more important than your physical and mental wellbeing.

5. Pace for a place

‘Plenty of riders use power meters and heart rate monitors to judge their pace,’ says Simmons.

If you don’t have access to a power meter, a heart rate monitor can help too. ‘It’s not as accurate at judging direct effort compared with power meters but it can help you control your effort.’

6. Find cadence consistency

‘Some riders find that their cardio system is the limiting factor for high cadence – in which case I would encourage them to focus on breathing and slowly increasing cadence over a period of time,’ says Mill.

Adding more regular sessions will not only improve your climbing but also instil some confidence as you start to see improvements.

‘A steady cadence is essential,’ he says. ‘I often see novices force a lower cadence too early in the climb. It is good training to climb while maintaining a higher cadence than normal – try to keep a target of around 80rpm. Climbing at a high cadence also gives you a bit more confidence should the gradient increase or you tire. There’s room for manoeuvre.’

7. Get geared up

‘Gear selection on the hills can be dependent on where you live and ride,’ says Mill. ‘If you’re in London then riding local hills first gives you an introduction to riding with good technique and practising variable cadences to see improvement.’

But if you live in the countryside other aspects may need to be addressed depending on the gradient of climbs – certainly checking your gearing ratio is advisable.

‘For novices, a compact chainset would be a very good choice because of its wider ratio of gearing,’ says Mill.

Three-time Olympic medallist and World and European Champion Rob Hayles agrees: ‘When the mechanic fitted a compact chainset for me I thought he was being cheeky, but after riding in the Peak District I phoned him to say thank you. When you’re on a long ride, say 80 to 100 miles, and there are a few hills at the end, you appreciate this kind of gearing setup to get you through when your legs are hurting.’

8. Play mind games

‘Pain is temporary,’ says Simmons. ‘The summit will come sooner than you think. If you are hurting, remind yourself that everyone else is hurting just as much as you, if not more so.

‘The best bike riders are the ones who can hurt themselves the most. Don’t give up and always keep pushing over the top of the summit and relaxing on the descents.’

9. Add variety as you advance

‘I found adding variety to cadence work was good preparation for events such as the National Hill Climb,’ says Hayles.

‘Take to moderate hills and devote two to three minutes of a five-minute stint to working at around 70 to 75rpm – certainly no lower than 60rpm – then knock it down to the little ring, keeping a similar pace but upping cadence to 110 to 120rpm. I found this mix was great for adaptation, useful for fitness and pretty good at taking my mind off of the bloody gruelling hills!’

10. Take pole position

‘When you’re more comfortable on climbs and you’re riding with a group, aim to lead at the approach to a hill and, as you ascend, look to keep at the front for as long as possible,’ says Rob Hayles.

‘This gives you “sliding room” and the motivation to hold the pace of the stronger climbers, pushing you out of your comfort zone. If you start at the back and you get dropped immediately, then this can affect you mentally and lower your motivation to push yourself.’

Where possible, try to take some sting out of the gradient by going wide on the corners and avoiding the apex – it’ll help you maintain your rhythm.

This is an old article that we’ve republished because it’s always relevant.

The post 10 tips to improve your climbing appeared first on Cyclist.