Mountain Biking - Climbing - my personal riding bane

ok I suck. Climbing pisses me off. And I am not talking fireroad, put your head down and grind climbing I am talking pure technical single track. Climbing up rock gardens and roots and small rock faces for prolonged times. I just can't stand it. One small mistake and I am off and walking. Maybe it is my size but climbing just blows. I have not progressed in my ability to climb in three years. The same things that stopped me when I started still stop me now. I just can't maneuver my weight around the bike while trying to grind up a hill. This leaves me seated which just doesn't work on techy climbs. Arg....

I just got back from a ride, and really dislike xc right now. I have no rythm in it. Its so much slower than dh. I actually forget how to turn at slow speeds. I kept trying to lean the bike which, btw, doesnt work at less than 10km per hour. I got into a bit of a rythm near the end, but the techniques are just so much different.

[end whine]

i like climbing alot, i feel like i accomplished something when i get to the top. and if it is the first time ive done it sometimes i yell "****YEA!" i never thought i would be giving you tips but, you need to just stay on that section and try untill you get it.

Practice makes perfect! Keep trying! (this bit of advice comming from a total beginner!)

ok I suck. Climbing pisses me off. And I am not talking fireroad, put your head down and grind climbing I am talking pure technical single track. Climbing up rock gardens and roots and small rock faces for prolonged times. I just can't stand it. One small mistake and I am off and walking. Maybe it is my size but climbing just blows. I have not progressed in my ability to climb in three years. The same things that stopped me when I started still stop me now. I just can't maneuver my weight around the bike while trying to grind up a hill. This leaves me seated which just doesn't work on techy climbs. Arg....

I just got back from a ride, and really dislike xc right now. I have no rythm in it. Its so much slower than dh. I actually forget how to turn at slow speeds. I kept trying to lean the bike which, btw, doesnt work at less than 10km per hour. I got into a bit of a rythm near the end, but the techniques are just so much different.

[end whine]

this coming from a guy just getting back from BROKEN RIBS recently.

I dont look down when climbing but look ahead. I think about sex when climbing and think about climbing when doing the other. both help for the desired effect

Technical climbs are one of my favorite parts of MTBing. If I don't get a climb the first time, it makes me try that much harder to get it the next time. To me, there's nothing like cleaning a rocky, rooty climb. Of course, there's not much that sucks worse than not cleaning a climb because it's a little wet or you're just not in a groove that ride. Only thing that makes me madder is clay mud.;)

Anytime that I am doing some prolonged climbing I am hating it the whole way up, the quads burning, the lungs straining, but when I get to the top/start going downhill-seratonin must be released in a heavy dose because all of the hate and pain is gone and replaced with utter joy and smoothness...however, I do not seek out climbs and still think Oh $#!t:D

mmmmm.....climbs....I like climbing!

It probably helps that my bike is moderately light and suited for hills.

ok I suck. Climbing pisses me off. And I am not talking fireroad, put your head down and grind climbing I am talking pure technical single track. Climbing up rock gardens and roots and small rock faces for prolonged times. I just can't stand it. One small mistake and I am off and walking. Maybe it is my size but climbing just blows. I have not progressed in my ability to climb in three years. The same things that stopped me when I started still stop me now. I just can't maneuver my weight around the bike while trying to grind up a hill. This leaves me seated which just doesn't work on techy climbs. Arg....

I just got back from a ride, and really dislike xc right now. I have no rythm in it. Its so much slower than dh. I actually forget how to turn at slow speeds. I kept trying to lean the bike which, btw, doesnt work at less than 10km per hour. I got into a bit of a rythm near the end, but the techniques are just so much different.

[end whine]

Waa Waa

Waa Waa

Hahaha...

Anyways it will come back to me. Tis the season for trail riding. I just suck it up, and realize climbing will never be a strength.

lol same thing happens to me when I dont bike for a while.

Don't feel bad Mael...climbing is probably the one single thing I can do better than you offroad.
Me + bike weigh 175. No-brainer, I can climb. I think the rider\bikes weight make all the difference.
I took 5 lbs off my ride and the bike started going uphill hot damn.
I also practice hill sprinting on the road using the smallest cog I can possibly run and not die trying.
It pays off.

I don't like climbing much either, but it's not too bad unless it's in mud that's flinging everywhere, thats just annoying lol

I hate climbs, I do `em the whole time hating 'em waiting for the descent to come, climbing is a *****, i like speed

I dislike climbs, but when I reach the top of the 30 min fireroad climb, I'm so sweaty and angry I just launch myself down the rocky-rooty downhill trails at full speed and I forget the horrid climb I just had in about 10 seconds. :D

Climbing really annoys me sometimes...but you do get that when your a xc rider, so you eventually get used to it....but "When there's uphill there's downhill" :D

I get my big butt dropped on climbs all the time. I'm not really bad at it I'm just slow.Just think about how how good all that work is for the old ticker!!

The same things that stopped me when I started still stop me now.

Chill dude - some things just can't be climbed. Not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. :(

Move on and find more challenges.

I think about sex when climbing and think about climbing when doing the other. both help for the desired effect

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v246/pinit/fb9f6628.gif

Chill dude - some things just can't be climbed. Not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. :(

Move on and find more challenges.

Or build a ss trials bike. Oh and be 18 with balls the size of small planets.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=108543&highlight=climbing+rocks

Took a little time and practice to be able to haul up it.

I get my big butt dropped on climbs all the time. I'm not really bad at it I'm just slow.Just think about how how good all that work is for the old ticker!!

Ever made it out of Turkey Pen to the parking lot using the trail instead of the road?
My Buddy's & I rode there last Wed., and I was the only one who could make it up w/o stopping or touching the ground. That's a pretty incredible feat IMO. I should've took some pics....

I sweated more in those last 300 yds. than during the rest of the ride combined.

Well my dh season is over. Do back to trails full time anyways. Should be a good one, hopefully the snow holds off a month or so to give me some good trail times.

I did go for a ride today. Short, like 30minutes, felt really strong and was able to climb everything I wanted to (easier trail a bit) Thinking back it is always my rear wheel hanging up on the techy stuff (body movement I know) but a nice short travel dually might make all the difference. haha




Chill dude - some things just can't be climbed. Not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow.

Move on and find more challenges.


That would be nice to believe, but I know these are doable. My xc buddies and their light bikes and 170pounds frames ride this stuff with ease :)...practice practice. I was just pissed off yesterday. Thats likely the one reason I don't like xc, I don't progress in that aspect of my riding. Dh, djing, fring etc I can progress in just fine, it is quantifiable and easy to see. Progression in xc seems like tiny little itty bitty baby steps by comparison :)

Progression in xc seems like tiny little itty bitty baby steps by comparison :)

That's exactly what I always tell people. Every time you ride, you ARE getting stronger/better/faster - you just don't realize it.

a nice short travel bike would be perfect for improving your climbing, as would a 26" rear heh. i have a hard time climbing some of the short steep climbs in the don on my 37lb fluid. i can't imagine trying those hills on a 40lb bighit w/24" rear. forget about it... hah.

for me, my climbing has gotten somewhat better this season - i still hate it, but i feel i've improved somewhat. i've come close to cleaning two tough, but relatively tame (i.e., no real roots or rocks in the way), climbs i usually walk up. i'm off the bike now for about a month with ramadan just about to start in a day or so. but hopefully, the november weather will be pretty mild and i'll be able to try to tackle those hills before winter starts. might have to pick me up a set of lights too... days gonna be real short around that time.

i like climbing alot, i feel like i accomplished something when i get to the top. and if it is the first time ive done it sometimes i yell "****YEA!"
I do that too, although when I'm on a tricky climb and making little cruxes I often use the following phrases:
"Huh? You like that?"
"Yeah, take it!"
"Root Down!"
etc.
I have a love/hate relationship with climbing. If it's a trudge up a fire road or something, it's not really enjoyable. If it's a winding singletrack climb through a forest, it's usually pretty good. Now that I'm back on a hardtail, I enjoy a little give'r at the end of a climb - I power over the last root or rock, out of the saddle, my face twisted up in a gestalt of pain, anger and elation. I don't descend as well as I climb, even when I had a FS. There are still a few trails where I'm as fast as my FS brethren, but for the most part I just let them go ahead so they don't have to pass me.

if you find a nice female but to climb hills behind it makes it much more enjoyable

I hope my wife doesn't see this - but yeah, following the ladies is really great. :)