Best Climbing Tips (...EVER!)

I myself and many other people i see from other posts and threads need help on climbs. Heres the deal, write what you have to say, on this subject, and if there is anything else, take it to another thread please- i guess ill start first, if ur in really lose dirt or gravel climbing a really steep hill, lean to the top of ur seat and have ur chin almost at ur bar to keep ur weight in the front so u dont fly back. when u start to lose grip with your rear tire, slightly adjust ur weight to keep it balanced.

 

I'm not a natural climber, but have learned to climb pretty effectively, so here's a couple of things I do while climbing.

If you know the ride and know you're starting a long climb, pace yourself, no use going out too hard and bonking badly before the summit. If you're on hardpack or relatively secure surface, try get a nice cadence going, spin a gear you're comfortable with and shift your position on the saddle periodically, as well as standing from time to time.

If you're on V technical terrain, scan ahead for roots, rocks, ruts and try plan your route to acommodate them. Nothing worse than climbing a steep hill and losing rhythm/momentum by hitting annoying obstacles

On really steep or shifty (terrain) climbs, Umberto's advice is good. Also don't be scared to use your upper body...will add power to your pedal strokes.

Try control your breathing, relax, and also be sure to shift your hand position as well.

I'm no climbing authority but those have helped me a lot.

T

 

Shift weight forward and spin smooth and fast over difficult technical stuff. Sit back and mash if you can handle it of smooth climbs or sit forward and spin really fast over smooth climbs, all depends on your style. Whatever you do just be sure to not attack a hard long climb from the very beginning and burn out towards the end, pace yourself and remember to breath. Most importantly of all, just ride, ride, ride, and then ride some more. If you develop the leg and cardio strength the rest will come naturally. If you are not strong enough to climb none of these tips are of much use.

 

some other good things to do is to do 50 squats and then 50 lunges twice a day, when u wake up in the morning and when u go to bed at night

 

a good strength helper for sprinting up hills is to do 50 squates and 50 lunges every morning when u wake up in the morning and when u go to bed at night

 

My advice is to never Ever ride in one position during long climb.
Try to sit most of the the time and sometimes stand on pedals to stretch your muscles a bit and then sit again.

Never look just in front of your front wheel, or look down, you will not see the obstacles... and also you feel depresed....
Try to see far - so you will see the obstacles sooner and will have time to choose the best way between or over them.

-have a nice ride -

 

I get forward on the saddle and try to keep my cadence relatively low.

 

cutting your steering tube down slightly would help. it would save u like 50 grams (woo hoo!!!) and give you a better position when climbing up. Keep in mind that if you go too low, then "the bike will become virtually unrideale" and you would probly tip over when traveling downhill and jumping.

 

As long as the slope is not too steep and the traction is good, climbing is mainly a matter of strength and endurance. When I first started ridding I had a hard time keeping the front wheel on the ground and maintaining enough weight on the back wheel to keep it from spinning when the slope was steep and the traction was bad. I picked up a tip from a beginner's mountain biking book that has helped a lot. Lower your elbows and try to point them towards the ground, lean over the handlebars and slide forward on the saddle until you are barely touching the point of the saddle. If the front wheel starts to come up, lean forward more. With every pedal stroke, pull back and down on the handlebars, as if you were rowing a boat. This pulling will drive the back wheel into the ground, thus providing the needed traction. It takes some practice to get the feel of maintaining the right balance and it is very hard on the muscles, but for a short period of time, using the row-a-bike method, you will be amazed at what can be climbed.

Happy trails...

 

wow that is some great advise, im definitly going to try that tecnieque out in my next ride

A good overall tip for people out there who bought cheaper bikes, take off all things you wont seriousl need. is the kickstand really nessissary? Takeing reflectores off the seat post and wheels is also good, it makes the bike look smoother and cleaner. Believe it or not, even though the reflectores only weight like nothing, it is weight, considering that it it rotational weight. if you dont use your bike at night or around the city, there arent going to be any cars on the single track So you wont need them.

 

Spin, get those legs moving. Keep that butt in the saddle and spin. Then when you think you can not spin anymore, downshift and spin some more. There is nothing like beating a huge hill.

Ron

 

I ride on lose Australian gravel with some high gradients, and were you can just ride in the lowest gear. Here’s my hints, don’t use you bar ends unless you have a good amount of traction, stay seated, get good tyres, lighten up, and most importantly learn to spin.

 

ok i just sit sortof low and pull on the handelbars, and depending how big the hill is and how fast im wanting to go i take my weight off the seat but not really standing up, i just use my weight a little but prettymuch stay on the saddle, hell i dunno what im on about, do whats best for you lol

 

is 24 speed enough for climbs or would 27 do wonders?

 

Also, would changing to lighter rims and tyres makes the climb easier... on an NRS?

 

More gears help and a reasonably good hardtail would make your riding a little more efficient. But it's mainly improving your strength that would make you a better climber.

 

lighter rims would help anything, but you also have to stay alert on durability if you're going to launch of 4ft jumps. the tires would help being lighter, but lighter tires tend to have less grip, so you would have to put the psi of the lighter tire lower

 

Now that I changed bike notice that a better suspension fork helps, it reduces the resistence of obstacules. Also I think is better if teeth of the cassette's stars don't change much frome one to another, I mean, you can keep your pace with a cassete that goes from 11,12,13,15,17,19,22,25,29 (or something I dont have the right numbers by now) than a cassette that goes from 11,13,16,19,23,27,31,35 because in this one when you down shift you gotta spin considerably faster than with the first one.

Hope I explained myself

 

i run a road cassette on my HT.. a 13-25... 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25... it's great for climbing with a much better gear spacing that allows you to keep your cadence in a tighter range. also, with a 25 low gear instead of a 32 or 34, i find that i actually use granny gear every so often.... amazing!

 

You can laugh if you want to.... but what's spin? Maybe I know the swedish word, but please explain what it is...