Improving Hill Climbing on Bike

Relative to 3 months ago, when I started to follow a mileage plan, I have improved on the hills.

I'm sure intervals and other things will help, but really just time in the saddle and struggling up the hills help me find some strength and endurance with it.

I try not to get out of my seat anymore, and just go with it.

Find a bike group to ride with, preferably one faster than you.

That has done wonders for me.  I ride with a group that has a distinct A and B group.  Each week I try to hang with the A group as long as possible, then I always have the B group to fall back into if I want.  Seems like each year I am hanging with the big boys for a little longer.

Just having that someone there to push you a little bit more than you would on your own.

I just got a nicer roadbike that has a 50/34 crank and 11/28 cassette.  My tri bike has a 52/38 crank 12/25 cassette.

1. Increase power = faster on hills
   Way to increase power = ride more and ride harder
2. Decrease weight = faster on hills
   Way to decrease weight = eat less

In 2011 I went 3:12 at Oceanside 70.3 on a 53/39 w/ 12/27 cassette

In 2012 I weighed 30# less and went 2:55 on a 50/34 w/ 12/27.  I was in about the same shape, so formula #2 along with a compact accounted for most of the drop

^^^ This. 

There's little need to climb hills in order to become a better climber on the bike. Except for a bit of practice in gearing and pacing. Mostly it's simply a function of your watts-per-kilo (w/kg) ratio. The higher it is, the faster you will climb. The climbs are where I generally pass people on the bike in a tri, but I almost never see a hill in training ... except in the movies that I watch while I'm on the trainer on my back porch. Ride hard lots, and count calories. You'll get faster.

You say riding hard is really what'll get you faster.  Do you see any benefit riding hills assuming you're riding hard?  My training time has been limited so I've but in harder hill workouts but shorter sessions.

What will really get you faster is increasing watts and decreasing weight. A good way of increasing the watts that you put out is through a structured program with plenty of high intensity riding, typically in the form of intervals. (See, for example, Allen & Coggan's book "Training & racing with a power meter" -- it's useful even if you don't have a power meter, which I don't). Riding hills can be a very good way of doing high intensity riding. It's just not essential. Some of us have easy access to long hills (i.e., 10-30 minutes), others don't. Doing lots of 2-minute hills is useful, but it's not the best thing for building a strong FTP on the bike.

Mainly it's less difficult for most to push harder on the hills vs the flats. What do you call "shorter"?

Riding hills often forces you to ride hard.  So that's good.  Also, you will get more comfortable on how to attack a hill (whether to stay seated, stand, spin, mash, etc.) and it will build confidence.  So, you don't NEED to ride hills to get faster on them.  But it certainly won't hurt and will probably help.

One hill that's right in my backyard is about 1mi 4.6% via Strava.  Others are .5 mi 6-7% grades

I suppose fast is a relative term.   It's more the perceived effort I'm putting forth.  While I wouldn't call it a struggle to get up the hill, I definitely wouldn't call it easy.  

A shorter rider for me is 15-20 mi of hill work versus 30 miles of "relatively" flat work.  I don't have a lot of time I can commit to the bike this time of year, so I was trying shorter hill intervals hoping to improve my overall hill climibing.

If 0.5 and 1 mile are what you have to work with, I'd suggest knocking out some hill repeats on both of them.  The interval style training would have good benefits for generating power.

I've lost 90+ lbs in 2 years and I think it goes without saying that I have found significant improvement. I personally think your fitness got better and it has little or nothing to do with your new carbon fiber bike.

I could say that's partially true, though I did the same ride with both bikes about a week apart and improved by over a minute.  The bike had something to do with it. 

I agree, equipment helps, but something tells me your effort was not apples to apples. Headwind vs tailwind and other weather and climate changes, time of day, workouts leading up to rides, etc.

 I know on my new TT my effort was greater than on my roadie... just like when you were a kid and tried to run faster and jump higher in new sneakers.

depending on the 1 mile time your percentage gain increases exponentially.... 6 min to 5, 5 min to 4, 4 to 3 etc.  From 6 to 5 it is a 20% increase in speed, 5 to 4 is 25% increase etc. Unless your first bike weighed significantly more or was a MTN bike with knobby tires, I don't see how by simply going to carbon will give you that increase.

It doesn't get easier, you just get faster. :-D

That is true though. The best thing to do is find a hill and ride it all the time. You can develop the power on the flats too, but nothing gives you more confidence on hills than knowing you've ridden bigger. 1mi, 4.6% is good, longer and steeper is better. Strava is great for finding new ones. Look for one with a nice long leader board - those are usually the best/safest.

This is one of my favorites - 1.2mi at 4.4%, but with three sections each topping over a 10% grade. Don't laugh at my slow time. Small leader board because it's a bit of a nasty road with steep segments around blind bends.

http://app.strava.com/segments/1064583

Here's another one - 1.3 miles at a pretty steady 6.1%. Again, no laughing at my shoddy time. Huge leader board because cars travel as fast as bikes, the road is one way to the top and the descent on the other side is fun as anything. I love this climb, even though it hurts.

http://app.strava.com/segments/794513

I was terrified the first time I tackled that second hill - it's pretty intimidating from the bottom. Now it's my choice for hill repeats.