Originally Posted by
grolby
As a beginner, your primary goal may be simply to get to the top of a hill and down the other side without keeling over, having to stop, etc. In that case, I think good technique is mostly about figuring out how to tackle hills without going too hard too early and exhausting yourself. Where shifting is concerned, much is made about spinning a low gear, but as CDR points out this loads your cardiovascular system more and you will probably find it more helpful on longer hills to switch between a higher cadence while seated and a lower cadence while standing. But what's most important is limiting your initial effort to something you can sustain. Again, CDR explained this: if you are on a slope of a certain steepness and going a certain speed, you are producing the same power regardless of what gear you a using. The only way to save energy, if you are going harder than you can sustain, is to slow down. I would recommend starting a longish hill at a pace that feels too easy. You will likely find, by the midway point, that it doesn't feel too easy after all.
As someone who does a lot of climbing (a million feet in my 2012 season), this is the best beginner advice in this thread. Learning to pace yourself is the most important thing. A longer term goal is to learn how to spin at a reasonable rpm on climbs. Even if you're going the same speed, at a faster rpm your leg muscles will last longer. That's important for the third or fourth big climb in a day.
Grinding up a climb in too high a gear won't make you faster. If your gearing does not let you tackle your climbs at a reasonable rpm, get lower gearing. I relearned that this year, discovering that I'm faster up climbs using a lower gear than I had been using. I had my best placings in climbing races this year.
When I stand I make the bike take a straight path even though I am rocking it side to side. It takes a tiny bit of pressure on the bars. If you let the bike take a track that is weaving back and forth you're making the hill longer. On hairpins the inner line is steeper but shorter than the outer. If you're hurting take the easier outer line. If you don't mind standing to get up a short harder section, take the inner line- its faster. Keep your head up and look up the hill. Don't focus right in front of your front wheel. You never know when something is going to come down the hill at you. Also, looking up shows you what you have in store so you can meter your effort.