Mountain Biking - Standing UP

Most people talk about whether they think it is best to stand up during a hill climb....but I find myself standing up the entire time I ride...even when I am going down hill or on flat ground. I hardly ever use my seat.. What would you make of this...does anybody else do this too?

It depends on the length and terrain of the ride. On short rides (under an hour or under 5 miles) and especially technical rides, I've been known to be off the saddle the entire length of the ride. However, that's more the exception than the rule for me.

I usually sit down to rest, and through the smooth sections of trails. Also, for the most part I sit down on roads, dirt or paved - except when accelerating.

I spend a lot of time out of the saddle. I feel much more comfortable standing for most sections of trails. But you will tire yourself out that way, so i sit for the bulk of it, if i see theres roots or something that causes a bump i stand for a second to absorb the shocks. Also on anything technical of course

Yeah, i rode with a couple of guys a few weeks ago, and they never seemed to stand. I was quite surprised. I stand quite a bit, but where i ride there are alot of roots in some sections. I seem to pretty much always stand on even slight downhills, unless i'm extremely tired.
I think standing is a good thing as long as your not tiring out. In motocross, its called the attack position, and they say you should pretty much be standing the entire time except for turns.

You will sit more as your skills improve, your legs get stronger, and you become more comfortable with your trails. You'll learn how to "sit" through sections you used to stand through.

You can sit through a lot by just rising over the saddle a short distance for roots, rocks, and small logs.

Yeah, i rode with a couple of guys a few weeks ago, and they never seemed to stand.

Some riders are very subtle with the amount they actually rise off the saddle. It may seem like they are still sitting, but they could be off the saddle just enough that it appears they are planted. That's how I ride some parts of some tracks. I like just barely feeling the saddle as I adjust my center of gravity accordingly. The saddle is a good reference point. Unless there is a need to be fully off the saddle and standing, I am often hovering just above it as much as I am sitting on it.

If it's a long ride coming up, through relatively smooth roads/trails or a long climb then I'll have the seat high to be able to fully stretch my legs but when doing urban assault or downhill I lower the seat as far as it goes and stand.

If I have to pedal hard, I always try to sit on the saddle. It is the most efficient way for long hard climbs, although very short climbs can benefit from out of saddle efforts.

I do get off the saddle in very technical, rough sections, logs, roots, downhills, etc - but only if I can roll through these sections. If I have to pedal my way through them I try to do it in the saddle.

Ditto. I only stand for technical sections where I need my legs for shock apsorption on my hardtail, or for short bursts like short steep ramps in the middle of the climb. I leave it in gear, preserve my momentum then sit back down.

My XC bike is pretty well perfectly balanced. I get the most climbing traction sitting down. I am far enough forward that I don't really have to worry about the front wheel coming up and then my weight is right over the rear wheel for traction. If I stand I actually lose traction unless I lean back at the same time which is a bit awkward.

'Of course on my hardtail I stand for most trail descents.

C

I don't think it would be desirable to stand all the time, no matter how strong you are. Bio-mechanically, you are using very different muscles when you pedal standing than you do when seated. I've always been under the impression that the muscles used for seated pedalling are better suited to sustained efforts. If you look at road riders, you mostly see them standing to get a quick burst of speed, to rest their other muscles briefly, or to mash the cranks in a sprint finish. Off-road, full suspension bikes have reduced the need to use your arms and legs to absorb shock, so you don't necessarily need to stand through rough sections. And someone else already mentioned that you generally get better traction for climbing by staying seated.

I am trying to make my legs stronger so I don't sit very much. On flat terrain I do sit down though.

I can't generate nearly as much torque from sitting down and pedaling, or even hold a decent amount of torque (enough to climb a fairly big hill) as easily.
Wheelies are easier sitting down IMO, because your weight is on the seat which can be over the rear wheel without much effort, and then its easy to balance.

I sit during long climbs, but for anything steep at all be it short or not, I stand and mash on the pedals and hold those bar ends

I stand and mash on the pedals and hold those bar ends

My favorite part :D

I ride with 2 other friends and we are all pretty close to the same skill level. We're xc geeks so we stick to the xc trails. 2 of us have hardtails and the other has a full suspension. The two of us with HTs I've noticed do a lot more standing than the one with the FS.

Also I probably stand the most out of the group because I am an absolute TWIG. I'm very tall and lanky which is nice for maneuverability but not so much when you need extra power, so I find that I might have to stand up to make a hill that my friends with legs that are bigger than mine can sit through.

Sitting can preserve your energy for those blasts that are needed to get thru/over stuff. I used to ride almost exclusively "out" of the saddle, but for the last 6 yrs. or so I've sat probably more than stood. Flyin' DH is a definite "stand" only, with knees bent, ready for anything & everything coming @ me. :eek:

At 43, I need all the energy conservation I can find... :p