Yet another hill question for my Silvio.

[joy]

I rode this short, but very steep hill today on my Silvio. Speed at the top was 3.1. The problem was the wheel kept slipping on almost every revolution. I sat up and pulled on the bars, which helped, but did not eliminate the problem. Further up the route, the road turns to hard packed gravel and I began slipping again. Any technique advice to rty to stop the slipping. At only 3.1 mph I can't slow down or I might as well walk. Is this just a case of more practice needed? Thanks, Joy

 

[MrSteve]

Things to try:
-Lower your tire pressure. Try to run them low enough for the extra traction but not so low that bumps pinch-flat your tires.
-Sit up in your seat. This will shift your center of gravity forwards, putting more weight on the front wheel.
-Depending on how smooth your pedaling style is, try to either mash your pedals smoooothly in a slow cadence or spin your pedals in a fast cadence, again, do so smooooothly.
Your normal cadence is creating a little burst of power for every pedal stroke, which breaks traction.
-Get a wider/bigger cross-section tyre on the front wheel and run that at low air pressure.

My old gravel driveway was a tenth of a mile long, with one short, steep section that I might ride up maybe twice a year, on my narrow slick tyres.

Good luck!
-Steve

 

[battleaxe0]

After triking up some real hills, which is a new experience on a recumbent for me, I can't imagine changing gearing on the Silvio for climbing. At times I was down to 1 mph with the 30t granny - that's fall over territory on the Silvio.

 

[tiltmaniac]

I found that I needed to change gears up, not down, when slipping if I wanted to stop the slipping.
Alternately, I just accepted the slipping was happening and went with it.

The other suggestions (lower tire pressure) are good. Running a wider tire can help a bit. I like my tubeless tire for the somewhat increased traction I think it gives.
You can also try running q-rings, which, depending on orientation, even out the power a bit.

 

[Charles.Plager]

I found that I needed to change gears up, not down, when slipping if I wanted to stop the slipping.
Alternately, I just accepted the slipping was happening and went with it.

Huh. I've found the opposite. Being in a low gear so I could smoothly spin and sitting up helps prevent slipping for me.

 

[ratz]

700c this:

I found that I needed to change gears up, not down, when slipping if I wanted to stop the slipping.

451/406 this:

I've found the opposite. Being in a low gear so I could smoothly spin and sitting up helps prevent slipping for me.

Apparently size does matter.

 

[tiltmaniac]

@ratz, lol.

As I've gotten better at balancing at low speeds (so much difference from 3 months ago!), I've been able to use less force when doing a hill-start since I don't need such a large impetus to get to balancing speed.
So, developing better low-speed balance helps at least in that arena. When the gear is too low (on my 700Cs), I don't get enough force feedback from the pedals to really know how much I'm pushing. With a higher gear, I get more feedback and can modulate my pushing a bit better.
I imagine that a more circular gear (however that might actually be shaped) and more practice would help out even more when attempting to do low-gear climbs/hill-starts.

 

[ratz]

@ratz, lol.

As I've gotten better at balancing at low speeds (so much difference from 3 months ago!), I've been able to use less force when doing a hill-start since I don't need such a large impetus to get to balancing speed.
So, developing better low-speed balance helps at least in that arena. When the gear is too low (on my 700Cs), I don't get enough force feedback from the pedals to really know how much I'm pushing. With a higher gear, I get more feedback and can modulate my pushing a bit better.
I imagine that a more circular gear (however that might actually be shaped) and more practice would help out even more when attempting to do low-gear climbs/hill-starts.

Practicing 1 legged drills will help with that now that you have balance.

 

[Charles.Plager]

700c this:

451/406 this:


Apparently size does matter.

For what it's worth, I have the same experience on my 20" and 26" wheels...