climbing out of saddle limitations

[lennyk]

I have been trying to extend my out of saddle workouts and varying steepness/gearing etc.

It would appear that at high power/forces the limitation is the gravitational force of my body down on the pedals as well as how much my arms can pull the bike upwards to force my leg/body to push the pedal down.

It would appear that the pulling motion seems to be a major limitation, is this correct ?
Are all of those tour riders doing serious pulling when they are sprinting up the alps out of the saddle ?

 

[Pinion Pine]

I have been trying to extend my out of saddle workouts and varying steepness/gearing etc.

It would appear that at high power/forces the limitation is the gravitational force of my body down on the pedals as well as how much my arms can pull the bike upwards to force my leg/body to push the pedal down.

It would appear that the pulling motion seems to be a major limitation, is this correct ?
Are all of those tour riders doing serious pulling when they are sprinting up the alps out of the saddle ?

Lots of hill specialists and flat-land sprinters pull down against the handlebars for extra power, and pull up with the opposite foot. Both will increase the amount of power that you can put to the back wheel. Pro riders pull HARD too.

 

[frenchyge]

It would appear that at high power/forces the limitation is the gravitational force of my body down on the pedals as well as how much my arms can pull the bike upwards to force my leg/body to push the pedal down.

It would appear that the pulling motion seems to be a major limitation, is this correct ?

Not really, unless the hill is so steep relative to your gearing that your cadence drops really low. What you describe in the top paragraph only really applies to a static situation with no movement, as that's the only time when the forces all balance. When the bike/pedals/body are moving, the forces aren't balanced and you not only have to consider weight, but also how fast the body wants to fall relative to how fast the pedals are already moving downward with the rolling of the bike.

When riding uphill in a gear that allows a cadence of at least ~50rpm, the force on the pedal is pretty low compared to ones body weight. Pulling upward on the bars and opposite pedal certainly help accelerate the pedals, but body weight and arm strength are not a limitation at those cadences. Because of the mechanical advantage of the gearing, simply standing on one pedal would be enough to accelerate the bike from a dead stop.

Sorry for the complicated answer.

Are all of those tour riders doing serious pulling when they are sprinting up the alps out of the saddle ?

Some pulling, yes. Serious pulling, no. Those guys weigh about 130lbs and have twigs for arms, so there's not a lot to work with compared to an average proportioned person.