Steve Sawyer

I was reading asomething yesterday (Bicycling Science) that discussed the relative efficiency of shifting to a lower gear for hill climbing. For me, I often prefer to shift to a higher gear and stand on the pedals, but the article made no mention of this technique. is this a technique that many prefer, or does it depend on other factors like steepness of the grade or length of the hill? Or am I just nuts?

wn rider

You are right that it will depend on the grade and length. If you have a short steep hill, sure, stand up and hammer it out. Climbing while standing will result in higher power output at the expense of an elevated heart rate and more energy usage. Sitting and spinning at a high RPM will save the legs. I tend to stand on climbs only for short intervals to use a different muscle group and stretch a little. I don't race but do some reasonably tough rides with some 10-15 mile uphill grinds of 6-10%. For these I sit, gear down, find a relatively high cadence that I can comfortably spin at, and think about the fun downhill ride. Although it can get painful at times, climbing has always been one of the more enjoyable aspects of cycling for me.

Biker395 

I had no idea Nebraska had climbs like that!

icyclist 

"10-15 mile uphill grinds of 6-10%"

I'd love to see that mapped.

stapfam

Slowly.

chasm54

Yes, it depends on grade and duration, among other things.

In general, climbing seated and spinning in a fairly low gear is the most efficient way of getting to the top of a climb in good shape. Standing uses more muscle groups and therefore tends to expend more energy for a given speed. However, standing can be useful when:
A) You want to accelerate past someone or something, in which case you change up a couple of gears and stand to exert greater force;
B) You've been climbing for a while and want to ease your muscles by changing positon. It's possible to stand to recover, as long as you drop the cadence (and possibly the speed);
C) The gradient gets so steep you can't get on top of even your smallest gear when seated;
D) The hill is short and you want to power over it without losing momentum.

Looking at the map I don't imagine there is much in the way of long climbs in your immediate vicinity, so that may explain your preference for standing. On long climbs, only the most natural climbers with high power/weight ratios will tend to stand for extended periods, and even they will usually stay seated most of the time. However, if you are going to stand you are doing the right thing in shifting up a gear or two. I sometimes see people out of the saddle trying to maintain the same cadence they had when seated, which quickly tires them out.

maddmaxx 

That would be you I see way up there in the distance getting smaller.

rdtompki

This.

billydonn

While Nebraska is not nearly as flat as most people think, I do not believe we have such slopes. Wn Rider must climb those while traveling. We do border on Colorado and Wyoming.

doublegg66

Not 10-15 miles,but we do have some nice climbs in the Chadron/Pine ridge area

Dudelsack 

This doesn't exactly address your question, but it's a great little article and its always worth a quick read, for inspiration if nothing else: https://theclimb.blogs.nytimes.com/20...han-vaughters/

Barrettscv 

95% of my climbing is done seated. If the climb is steeper than 8%, I'll be in the granny gear and holding a 50 to 80rpm cadence. It's slow and very efficient, I can climb long and steep grades without concern.

I'll climb while standing using the criteria that chasm54 provides, but it's not needed very often and it requires greater effort with only a small increase in pace.

Steve Sawyer

yes - in our area, short streep climbs are the norm, which is probably why I prefer standing. it does feel good to change position and muscle groups, and the feeling of pushing hard up the hills. I too enjoy these climbing "breaks".

rydabent

If the climb is a short one , I almost just mash the pedals, and power my way up. I feel that it improves leg strength in the long run. On longer climbs, I do gear down and spin.

BTW another Nebraskan here. A lot of people that drive across Nebr on IS 80 does get the wrong picture of the state. IS 80 is on the Platte River bottom, and of course is flat. When you get off the Platte River the eastern 1/3rd of the state does have some pretty good hills.

andrewclaus

There are times there simply isn't enough power available to climb in a higher gear. Drive an under-powered standard shift auto in mountains and you'll notice the same issue. Or a heavy truck.

On my bike, there are times there simply isn't enough power to climb a hill, period. The heck with standing, time to rest.

Shamrock

I like you shift to a higher gear,if I don't I tend to pedal out.Advise Iwas given was to seek out the hills and climb them.But my sub consious routes my ride away from hills.So I'll never be a climber.Maybe this spring I'll turn the bike towards the hills.

Garfield Cat

Once you get used to climbing while sitting in low gear, the next thing to conquer is to stand and dance on the pedals in a comfortable gear. Do this with as little lateral movement as possible and don't concentrate on speed, just a steady dance with arms loose. Try doing this for a mile or two.

If you feel the legs burning or the breathing is getting more rapid, then that means the dance is too fast. adjust the gearing, up or down.

Now you will have two ways to climb and to incorporate into your riding regimen.

AzTallRider

I'm performance oriented (race) and I look at it like this: Climbing is hard, especially for big guys like me. To beat the other guy up the hill, I'm going to have to utilize everything I've got. That means spreading the load over every muscle group I can, which means standing, sitting, riding in the drops, riding on the hoods, and riding on the bars. If I could ride standing on my head; I'd do that too. And I think most people don't ride in the drops enough when climbing more gradual slopes. If you can hit 16mph, you should consider being in the drops to reduce your aero-drag.

Hermes

This +


Note the guys position when standing. His ass is forward of the saddle and his arms almost vertical. Also, when I do steeper sections of the switchbacks, I like to pull up on the pedals for more power. My visualization is running on the bike lifting my knees.

Dudelsack 

For us benders, standing on the pedals isn't exactly a viable option

When it warms up, I'm "looking forward" to hill repeats in my very lowest gears at as high a cadence as I can sustain. That would do as much to improve my climbing as anything I can think of.

wn rider

Yep, these were done in Colorado.

Agree, pretty easy to find 5+% climbs around 2 miles even in our "flat" state.


A nice resource on climbing is Arnie Baker's book "Altitude Climbing Endurance Training for Cyclists". Lots of good info on all aspects of climbing and pretty cheap at less than $20 for the electronic version.

cccorlew

I grew up climbing on bikes with gears that were too large for the hills I was on. I ended up standing the whole climb on hills like Mt. Diablo.

Though I sit on long climbs now, I actually prefer standing when I can. Even when I'm not powering through, I feel like I get a better rhythm standing.

It also seems like on a long long ride it's great to use a different set of muscles. On last years Solvang Double where I spend endless hours riding into a huge headwind I was so relieved to get to the hills and have a chance to stand. It actually perked me up and I started catching and passing people. Weird.

ericm979

I've done a lot of 10-20 mile climbs. (by "a lot" I mean 40 or 50 a year for the last 8 years). For long climbs like that I do everything- sit, stand, whatever. When the grade is steady and not super steep I prefer to sit, even though I am fairly light. If the grade varies and the steep ramps are short I'll stand for them. When it is really super steep then I am standing.

I can stand for a long time but I'm faster seated and turning a higher rpm.

There is no "right" way to climb, there is only the best way for you with your current fitness.

big john

+1. I have done a 9 mile climb with a guy who stood the whole way and looked quite comfortable. I rode a slight grade for 10 miles with a pro racer and he stood the whole time, chatting, checking traffic, etc. and we were going pretty fast (for me).

big john

Probably no stranger than the rest of us.