Originally Posted by
schiiism
I have a question about changing gears during climbs. I have Sora thumb shifter buttons and have found that riding the hoods is the best way for me to easily shift. But when I’m climbing, I usually grip the tops or drops to stay steady, which puts the thumb shifters out of reach and the brake shifters questionable. Because of that I anticipate my gear and shift ahead of time before the hill. Is that the best way to manage it, or should I start practicing climbing while on the hoods?
Well, I have bar-end shifters and drop bars, so practically any position is away from the shifters
I think the trick is learning to change hand positions fluidly while you climb. It does break your flow a bit to have to move one hand towards the shifter, but I guess that's life. Depending on my level of tiredness I may switch hand positions to use different leg muscles while climbing - more leaning-forward to use the butt, or more upright to use the quads (something like that - it *feels* different). The hardest thing for me is to shift if I'm standing up on the pedals to climb - I need to sit down, unweigh the pedals, shift, and stand back up.
(Do you "unweigh" the pedals while shifting, while still turning the cranks? I find it *much* harder to shift if I'm applying power to the pedals. If I'm just spinning them without pressure, shifting goes a lot smoother/quicker.)
(Can you ride on the hoods comfortably while not climbing? I'm not sure why you'd feel unsteady if climbing on the hoods... can you post a picture of your handlebars? Personally I like climbing while on the hoods - they let me "pull on the handlebar" nicely.)