Originally Posted by
Laurel Lane
I never stand unless it's a tiny sharp rise that can be taken in mere seconds. I always try to keep an even perception of effort. This means dropping gears and spinning. Others have success standing, not me. I think it takes more out of you to run a course doing intervals - which is what standing feels like to me. Steady all the way untill the last 5-10% of the course, then die an ugly death.
I think a lot of people don't understand that there is a difference between standing and sprinting and standing and pedaling. When I stand on a climb, I'm usually doing it to give my body some difference so it can recover a little. I am not pulling up on the pedals or mashing, but mainly using my body weight to push the pedals down. My cadence usually drops a little, but I don't drop much and neither does my speed. What it does do is gives me a little recovery time for when I sit back down and finish the rest of the climb. I personally think it helps me quite a bit on long sustained climbs.