catonec 

so Im not quite a clyde at 180 but ill chime in.

small hills or low grades Ill remain seated and just crank, trying to keep my cadence even by downshifting.

medium hills Ill stand and power through, rock side to side if need be.

Large hills I start seated downshifting as needed, eventually Ill standup and upshift to a comfortable feel, then after maybe 20-30 seconds or so sit back down and work downward through the gears again. repeat as needed.

TrojanHorse

nobody said NO standing.

You're just more efficient sitting... and the larger you are, the truer that is. It doesn't mean you CAN'T stand nor that you SHOULDN'T stand.

mrodgers

It's a cheap POS 7 year old Walmart bike that's never been worked on (well, except by me very recently so I could start riding for exercise,) never had anything replaced, left out in the rain (by the kids,) left out in the snow (by the kids,) had a completely rusted solid chain, almost now round teeth on rear gears, frayed cables for both shifters and brakes, derailleurs that have been adjusted but takes 4 or 5 pedal rotations to shift that if I had the cash to replace everything that needs replaced, I'd just spend that money on around a 2nd tier Giant/Trek/Cannondale/Specialized hybrid bike which is what I will be doing next spring....

Myosmith

I find myself standing more often for hills, sprints or even just to let a little blood back in the tuccus. I used to hate standing but with practice I am now able to stand while pedaling hard for a few minutes at a time. +1 on shifting up a gear or two as you stand, it keeps the perceived exertion about the same. It is also important to never let your knees lock out at the bottom of the stroke, think elliptical trainer not stair stepper. I throw a few standing sprints into my LSD rides just to break up the monotony and to give my backside a break from the saddle. They are great quad developers and you will get sore if you push it hard, but it is a good soreness.

I'm sure that standing places extra stress on the pedal spindles, crankset and BB but I have midgrade components including pedals with cro-mo spindles and have never had a problem, even when I was significantly heavier. Does the BB wear out faster, maybe, maybe not, but I've gotten 5,000+ miles out of a UN54 that I replaced as soon as I noticed a grind. I had an Octalink BB in my previous road bike and put 2,000+ on it and it was used when I got it (it was still going strong when I traded up). I've never had one actually fail.

Rhodabike

If you're feeling off-balance standing, chances are you're too far forward over the handlebars. Keep your hips above a point roughly 10" in front of the seat tube and keep them low - you don't want to be too high up either. Think of the old RoadRunner cartoons for your leg movement, circling around the hip joint, using hip muscles to bring the leg over the top of the pedal stroke. Pulling up on the handlebar on the same side that a leg is pressing down on adds to the power - like putting a foot on the lawn mower to pull the starter cord.

InOmaha

This^

You can start by barely standing on flatter surfaces and working your way up. Pull on the bars a little while pedaling in a harder gear and sliding back a little on the seat. You should feel yourself come up and have less pressure on the seat. It helps with acceleration without rising totally up and rocking side to side and works a lot of the same muscles as standing up.

Null66

I'm now 265, but was 285...

I built a new LHT up to replace my Fuji tourer. Torquing up would pull the rear axle forward in the horizontal drop outs and the tire would hit the chain stay. The bike would stop dead. This would happen w/o fail if I came out of the saddle. I tried a number of skewers, consulting every LBS I could find.

I love being able to stand up on the pedals especially starting from a dead stop.

I had breaking limitations. A builder I consulted said I was spreading the front forks, so a booster was in order... Gotta say loving the new LHT. The disc brakes are marvelous! Rear wheel stays put as does the handlebars! It's even lighter then the Fuji (well the frame is)...

mprelaw

For me, when I started back riding after a long layoff, standing required building my confidence. Most people can benefit from standing on some climbs.

Some kind of foot retention system also helps build confidence. Even cages with loose straps help in this regard. One of the worst injuries that I ever had on a bike was about 40 years ago, when my left foot slipped off a platform pedal while standing, opening a gash on my calf. I switched to cages and straps then, and have never ridden a road bike without clips and straps (and now clipless) since.

Of course, being a recovering Clyde, it's easy for me now.

Chitown_Mike

I only stand to climb. Funny thing is that sitting feels weird unless I am tired. But I climb like I sprint....go as hard as I can to get momentum and back off to a point depending on the length of the climb/sprint. On a recent trip it was in a very hilly area with a lot of steep grades, I hit every one hard with the mindset of I am going to flog my legs like they owed me money.

It was hard work but fun!

mgb

Well I started this thread to get some information and I certainly have. I see that greater clydes experience the same problems I have with learning how to stand and climb and that lesser clydes find it easier. Another good reason to drop 10 pounds! Also, not to worry so much about breaking the bike.


Until this month I never climbed standing at all, I just couldn't do it. Now I'm getting the hang of it. One thing that may have helped is that I've been doing some running and that develops some of the same muscles.


Another thing is that I've found a balance point that works for me. It feels very forward but since I'm pedaling up hill, I'm probably just over the bottom bracket.


The third thing I've found is that I have to consciously try to pedal through the entire circle, i.e. I push the pedals through the dead spot at the top and bottom. Otherwise, because of my weight I get a very jerky pedaling motion.


That's my input, from someone with essentially no experience but who is enjoying learning the skill.
.

RubeRad

The thing about climbing is that it's like turbo on a car. It's not more efficient, it helps you move faster by allowing you to burn a lot more fuel faster. Standing will elevate your heart rate like nobody's business. Note also that standing uses a lot more upper body (try riding standing with a cracked rib, and you will quickly learn that you are not just pushing with your legs, you are also pulling 'upwards' with your arms on the handlebars, with the net effect that you can push down harder with your legs), so if you're not used to those muscles, you will tire especially fast.

You could consider standing to be an opportunity to get some upper-body exercises into your cycling workout. And apart from that it's also good to get circulation going when your butt gets numb.