Question about hill climbing technique

[Walrus]

Peter S wrote:
> Forgive this novice question ;o)
> Most of my cycling is just for exercise and I ride the same one or two
> fairly flat routes before work in the mornings. On the weekend I did a
> much longer ride than normal which put a few hills into my ride. I
> noticed that if i stayed on the seat I naturally had to gear down a lot
> to cope with the incline while sliding back in the saddle and pushing
> harder. I tried standing a couple of times but found the gearing too
> low, pedals turning too fast. Is it the 'normal' thing to either gear
> down a notch and stay seated, or alternatively gear up a notch and get
> off the seat? My legs soon ached if I tried standing for too long but i
> think maybe that's just because I'm not used to hills and don't have
> any practice at it at all. Do all you hill climbers 'gear up' and then
> stand up??
> Pete skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au


I'm no hill climber, but from what I've read there are lots of
different studies that have been done on the best way to approach this.
You can go for the Lance Armstrong approach and go for a high candence
(rpm) climb, or the Jan Ullrich approach where you stay in a bigger
gear and grind your way to the top. Standing out of your seat increases
the power to the pedals, but requires more energy, so you won't be able
to do that for long.

I usually try to maintain a constant cadence up the hill to reduce
fatigue, so this involves changing gears. I also lean back a little and
some say you should pull slightly on your handlebars. Practice will
definately help you maintain bigger gears up the hill. You can also
"pull" yourself up if you use clipless pedals which utilises different
muscle groups.



--

 

[Peter S]

Forgive this novice question ;o)

Most of my cycling is just for exercise and I ride the same one or two
fairly flat routes before work in the mornings. On the weekend I did a much
longer ride than normal which put a few hills into my ride. I noticed that
if i stayed on the seat I naturally had to gear down a lot to cope with the
incline while sliding back in the saddle and pushing harder. I tried
standing a couple of times but found the gearing too low, pedals turning too
fast. Is it the 'normal' thing to either gear down a notch and stay seated,
or alternatively gear up a notch and get off the seat? My legs soon ached if
I tried standing for too long but i think maybe that's just because I'm not
used to hills and don't have any practice at it at all. Do all you hill
climbers 'gear up' and then stand up??

Pete
skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au

 

[K&C Russell]

"Peter S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Forgive this novice question ;o)
>
> Most of my cycling is just for exercise and I ride the same one or two
> fairly flat routes before work in the mornings. On the weekend I did a
much
> longer ride than normal which put a few hills into my ride. I noticed that
> if i stayed on the seat I naturally had to gear down a lot to cope with
the
> incline while sliding back in the saddle and pushing harder. I tried
> standing a couple of times but found the gearing too low, pedals turning
too
> fast. Is it the 'normal' thing to either gear down a notch and stay
seated,
> or alternatively gear up a notch and get off the seat? My legs soon ached
if
> I tried standing for too long but i think maybe that's just because I'm
not
> used to hills and don't have any practice at it at all. Do all you hill
> climbers 'gear up' and then stand up??
>
> Pete
> skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au
>
> Pete,

I usually sit and spin for longer hills, concentrating on a smooth circular
action. However, when I stand eg switchback corner or when aburst is
required I gear up and then stand.

It is good to practice both techniques

Kevin

 

[BG]

Sit back , dont pull on bars to much , heels down......repeat this
phrase..."the hills are my friends".........enjoy
Stand & gear up if getting to hard to give muscles a rest.....try to sit as
long as possible......





"Peter S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Forgive this novice question ;o)
>
> Most of my cycling is just for exercise and I ride the same one or two
> fairly flat routes before work in the mornings. On the weekend I did a
much
> longer ride than normal which put a few hills into my ride. I noticed that
> if i stayed on the seat I naturally had to gear down a lot to cope with
the
> incline while sliding back in the saddle and pushing harder. I tried
> standing a couple of times but found the gearing too low, pedals turning
too
> fast. Is it the 'normal' thing to either gear down a notch and stay
seated,
> or alternatively gear up a notch and get off the seat? My legs soon ached
if
> I tried standing for too long but i think maybe that's just because I'm
not
> used to hills and don't have any practice at it at all. Do all you hill
> climbers 'gear up' and then stand up??
>
> Pete
> skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au
>
>

 

[Stomper]

"Peter S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Forgive this novice question ;o)
>
> Most of my cycling is just for exercise and I ride the same one or two
> fairly flat routes before work in the mornings. On the weekend I did a
much
> longer ride than normal which put a few hills into my ride. I noticed that
> if i stayed on the seat I naturally had to gear down a lot to cope with
the
> incline while sliding back in the saddle and pushing harder. I tried
> standing a couple of times but found the gearing too low, pedals turning
too
> fast. Is it the 'normal' thing to either gear down a notch and stay
seated,
> or alternatively gear up a notch and get off the seat? My legs soon ached
if
> I tried standing for too long but i think maybe that's just because I'm
not
> used to hills and don't have any practice at it at all. Do all you hill
> climbers 'gear up' and then stand up??
>
> Pete
> skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au
>

I usually go to my lowest gear and grind....

Unfortunately I seem unable to spin when goign up hill/

Must be the extra weight I've been carrying this year.

Karl aka Stomper

 

[John Tserkezis]

Peter S wrote:

> Thanks for all the responses - I knew after a few hills that there must be a
> right and wrong technique - seems to me that those riders that like hills
> are a rare breed. I'm not one of them! But it sounds like practice,
> determination and mixing it between grinding up low and standing for a while
> in a higher gear is the way to do it. And being fit probably helps too.

I used to have a bad habit of a very low cadence. Nothing more than personal
preference, and not knowing any better. I loved hills, simply because I was
good at them.

After several years and various knee problems/pain, I found that a high
cadece is better.
Several years after that, I can definately state that my aerobic stamina is
much better, and my cruising speed is much higher than its ever been.

But since I no longer cadence slowly anymore, as a consequence, I'm lacking
in the raw strength department, and can no longer climb hills like I used to.
In the meantime, I'm doing short stints of higher gear/harder pedalling to
try to build up my strength, without staying at a low cadence for extended periods.

As for your standing/sitting question, as already metioned in this thread, if
you stand, you can apply more force, but at a cost of efficiency, so it's only
good for the short term.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622 <http://counter.li.org>

 

[Michael Warner]

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 20:47:47 -0700, Peter S wrote:

> Most of my cycling is just for exercise and I ride the same one or two
> fairly flat routes before work in the mornings. On the weekend I did a much
> longer ride than normal which put a few hills into my ride. I noticed that
> if i stayed on the seat I naturally had to gear down a lot to cope with the
> incline while sliding back in the saddle and pushing harder. I tried
> standing a couple of times but found the gearing too low, pedals turning too
> fast. Is it the 'normal' thing to either gear down a notch and stay seated,
> or alternatively gear up a notch and get off the seat? My legs soon ached if
> I tried standing for too long but i think maybe that's just because I'm not
> used to hills and don't have any practice at it at all. Do all you hill
> climbers 'gear up' and then stand up??

I've found that I do best when I alternate sitting in my lowest couple of
gears and standing in third to fifth, usually sitting on the flatter
stretches. They seem to load muscles differently, providing some relief
from each other, and I guess there's some mental diversion, too

When sitting, try to sit well back on the saddle, holding the tops of the
bars, sitting as upright as possible to help your breathing. Pull on the
bars a little if you like, but don't overdo it.

It takes some practice to stand and feel relaxed without wobbling around,
and your legs won't take much of it until they toughen up a bit. Make
a point of standing rather than changing down when you take off quickly
from lights and go up short slopes around town, even if it means changing
up instead, and soon you'll feel comfortable doing it on real hills. Lean
on the brake hoods and wrap your fingers around them lightly, but don't
pull on them - find the gear that offers the best resistance to your body
weight, and let the bike rock a little from side to side.

--
bpo gallery at http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/mvw1/bpo

 

[Tamyka Bell]

BG wrote:
>
> Sit back , dont pull on bars to much , heels down......repeat this
> phrase..."the hills are my friends".........enjoy
> Stand & gear up if getting to hard to give muscles a rest.....try to sit as
> long as possible......
>
> "Peter S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Forgive this novice question ;o)
> >
> > Most of my cycling is just for exercise and I ride the same one or two
> > fairly flat routes before work in the mornings. On the weekend I did a
> much
> > longer ride than normal which put a few hills into my ride. I noticed that
> > if i stayed on the seat I naturally had to gear down a lot to cope with
> the
> > incline while sliding back in the saddle and pushing harder. I tried
> > standing a couple of times but found the gearing too low, pedals turning
> too
> > fast. Is it the 'normal' thing to either gear down a notch and stay
> seated,
> > or alternatively gear up a notch and get off the seat? My legs soon ached
> if
> > I tried standing for too long but i think maybe that's just because I'm
> not
> > used to hills and don't have any practice at it at all. Do all you hill
> > climbers 'gear up' and then stand up??
> >
> > Pete
> > skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au
> >
> >

Everyone has something different to say on the hill climbing. Here's my
contribution.

Attach an occy strap to the faster cyclist in front. Gradually ease off
your workload until you're just coasting up the hill behind them and see
how long before they notice.

Tamyka

 

[flyingdutch]

Im no great climber myself and its definetely an approach of survival for me

Shorter hills can be 'stomped up in a bigger gear and i recoup at the top

Longer hills i tend to use a vague rule of thumb of 2-gears up to stand, 2-gears down to sit so that i can spin my way up

i find when standing putting pressure on differing parts of the rotation can help you stay standing longer. read a 'lnace' thing somewhere that he concentrates on 'pulling' the knees up 'at' the bars when he makes a jump. seems to work. then you go back to ;normal' standing for a few more strokes and then sit and grovel again

 

[Munk3y]

Peter S wrote:
> Michael Warner wrote:
>
>>It takes some practice to stand and feel relaxed without wobbling around,
>>and your legs won't take much of it until they toughen up a bit. Make
>>a point of standing rather than changing down when you take off quickly
>>from lights and go up short slopes around town, even if it means changing
>>up instead, and soon you'll feel comfortable doing it on real hills. Lean
>>on the brake hoods and wrap your fingers around them lightly, but don't
>>pull on them - find the gear that offers the best resistance to your body
>>weight, and let the bike rock a little from side to side.
>
>
> I'd never have thought of practicing to stand when moving off from lights
> etc. Excellent - I'll use this practice technique on future rides. I was
> watching my tape of the live stage SBS broadcast of the Tour for the first
> time tonight, and after reading the responses to my question to this group
> and it's clear to see that once the proper technique is learned it looks
> really fluid and natural, albeit still needing strength and fitness. It
> looks to me that when the pros stand they stand pretty well straight up and
> move the bike from side to side to balance out their pedalling action. I'm
> looking forward to tomorrow mornings ride already! - and the forecast is
> fine and dry :0)
>
> Pete
> skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au
>
>
I used to do the standing take off thing at traffic lights, but after
snapping a few cranks and nearly getting run over (see earlier posts) I
gave up doing it on the commuter bike.

Mark

 

[Peter S]

"Stomper" <[email protected]>
>
> I usually go to my lowest gear and grind....
> Unfortunately I seem unable to spin when goign up hill/
> Must be the extra weight I've been carrying this year.
> Karl aka Stomper

Thanks for all the responses - I knew after a few hills that there must be a
right and wrong technique - seems to me that those riders that like hills
are a rare breed. I'm not one of them! But it sounds like practice,
determination and mixing it between grinding up low and standing for a while
in a higher gear is the way to do it. And being fit probably helps too.

Pete
skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au

 

[Peter S]

Michael Warner wrote:
> It takes some practice to stand and feel relaxed without wobbling around,
> and your legs won't take much of it until they toughen up a bit. Make
> a point of standing rather than changing down when you take off quickly
> from lights and go up short slopes around town, even if it means changing
> up instead, and soon you'll feel comfortable doing it on real hills. Lean
> on the brake hoods and wrap your fingers around them lightly, but don't
> pull on them - find the gear that offers the best resistance to your body
> weight, and let the bike rock a little from side to side.

I'd never have thought of practicing to stand when moving off from lights
etc. Excellent - I'll use this practice technique on future rides. I was
watching my tape of the live stage SBS broadcast of the Tour for the first
time tonight, and after reading the responses to my question to this group
and it's clear to see that once the proper technique is learned it looks
really fluid and natural, albeit still needing strength and fitness. It
looks to me that when the pros stand they stand pretty well straight up and
move the bike from side to side to balance out their pedalling action. I'm
looking forward to tomorrow mornings ride already! - and the forecast is
fine and dry :0)

Pete
skypete(remove_this_bit)@iinet.net.au