Originally Posted by
ursle
I feel exactly opposite, I watch people sitting hills and cringe, standing is just like walking up a steep hill or stairs, a natural position, no unnatural stresses on the knees, sitting... now you're torquing the knees unnaturally, and the hips, when I watch Lance(?) or Alberto on a hill, standing and either keeping tempo or attacking I see balance and strength. Not trying to start an argument, just offering a different view, imho, the two types of riders are~ sit on hills vs stand on hills
The kind of standing you're describing (ie. the TDF) takes miles of training to do proficiently, IMHO. I stand on some hills at times, especially really long climbs so my cautions about standing had to do with developing techniques for hill climbing as someone getting used to it. The kind of seated grinding you describe is exactly what I am suggesting the OP avoid. Again, IMHO, I think it's best to develop the ability to climb seated, while spinning, strengthen the legs, get some climbing technique and then, when you want some extra power work on your standing technique.
Since the OP admittedly is not practiced in hill climbing I made the suggestion to remain seated because the kind of error I've seen most often is a kind of desperate alternation between seated pedaling in too high a gear, standing on the pedals for some relief, sitting back down when fatigued by standing and now pedaling in the same high gear at an even slower RPM. All of which is brutal on the knees. By all means, feel free to disagree, ultimately, the OP will develop his own approach to these hills so as many suggestions as possible are probably helpful.