7 Tips for Faster Climbing

Ah, climbing. Some cyclists live for it, while others dread it. The best way to enjoy climbing is to get better at it, so we’ve brought together 7 tips which will help you climb our virtual hills, and the outdoor ones as well. Up up up!

#1: Be Cool

Climbing means more resistance, and more resistance means more work. Be sure to use a fan to keep your core temperature down so you can perform at your best!

For more information on why cooling is important for indoor riding, and how to do it best, read Staying Cool on Zwift.

#2: Ride a Lighter Bike

The legendary Eddy Merckx once said, “Don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades.” We say, “Why not both?”

Don’t let your bike and wheels weigh you down! Like in real life, you can move lighter equipment uphill a little faster. Upgrading to a lightweight bike can get expensive outdoors, but on Zwift you have access to the Drop Shop. This virtual shop is stocked with an ever-increasing number of frames and wheelsets. They’ll unlock as you level up, then you can “buy” them with your hard-earned drops. Browse the items available to you in the shop and scope out their stats. If a frame is rated at 2 stars for weight, it will climb slower than a frame rated at 4 stars.

Find a frame and wheelset with a high star weight rating and you really can trim seconds or even minutes off of your climbs. A high aerodynamic rating will help when it’s time to go back downhill. Learn more at Garage Guide: Choosing the Best Frame and Wheelset for Your Event.

#3: Spinners are Winners

Try to spin a comfortable cadence (~75-85rpm) so you aren’t mashing on the pedals as you climb. Mashing puts more stress on the knees and uses more of your fast twitch muscles, which fatigue quickly and use more glycogen than slow twitch muscles.

The other benefit of spinning a higher climbing cadence in races is that you save your fast-twitch muscles for shorter, harder efforts such as sprints or short attacks on small climbs.

#4: Adjust Trainer Difficulty

If you are running out of gears on Zwift’s steeper climbs, try reducing your trainer difficulty. This will reduce your need to shift, and allow you to spin a higher cadence up steep climbs.

Looking to feel every bit of every climb? Bump that trainer difficulty up past the default setting of 50%! Fair warning: you will need a decent direct-drive smart trainer to accurately reproduce the feel of our steepest roads. And you may run out of gears on these roads if your trainer difficulty is at or near 100%.

Learn more about the trainer difficult setting at Zwift How-to: Adjusting Your Trainer Difficulty.

#5: Keep it Relaxed

An aero posture is much less important at climbing speeds, so riders on hills typically sit more upright while gripping their bars on the hoods or tops. Keep your grip light, and try to relax your upper body.

This relaxation saves oxygen, plus it plays mind games with your riding buddies who don’t understand how you make it look so easy!

#6: Tilt Your Bike

Different riding positions use different muscles, and the more you train in a particular position the better you’ll perform there.

Training on Zwift so you can perform better on outdoor climbs? Try raising your front tire! This may be as easy as putting a thick book or block beneath your front wheel. Or you can use the Wahoo Kickr Climb which raises and lowers your bike to match the gradients in Zwift, making the experience even more immersive.

#7: Practice, Practice, Practice

Because the posture and muscles used for climbing are a bit different than those used on flat roads, the same power level often feels different on a climb than it does on a flat. If you want to climb faster, you’ll need to train on climbs!

Apart from simply doing a lot of climbing, common workouts to help you get up the hills faster include low cadence work and hill repeats.

Low cadence work means staying seated while turning the pedals at ~60-70rpm. Keep the effort medium-high and sustainable in order to build strength from the added resistance.

Hill repeats have been a staple cycling workout for decades. They can be done as many times as you’d like on any length of hill, but for starters, look for a 6-8 minute climb, then shoot for 3-4 repeats. Ride up the climb at your maximum sustainable pace, recover on the descent, then do it again.

Good hill repeat climbs in Watopia include the Hilly KOM in the reverse direction, the Volcano Climb, and the Titans Grove climb. In other Zwift worlds, try London’s Box and Fox Hills, New York City’s KOM, and France’s Petit KOM. Simply ride to the top of these climbs, then flip a U-turn to descend and do it all again.

Finishing Up

If you want to go faster uphill, there are many ways to get there. Some just require a few mouse clicks, while others require hours of training and discipline. In the end, like all things sport, you’ll get out what you put in. So give it your best, and we’ll see you at the top!