Originally Posted by
AU Tiger
That's a very good point.
When I first started riding, I always stayed in the saddle. I tried standing a few times, but it was just awkward for me. When I added bar ends (for other reasons), I found them very conducive to mashing. So now on shorter hills or even at the top of longer ones, I'll stand up.
And on really long steep climbs where I can't stand for an extended period of time, you're right - it's tougher to stay up while going so slow. That's where conditioning comes in. There are hills I can do now that I wouldn't have dreamed of two years ago.
Yup, conditioning. I have considered switching out the gearing on my bike to get a lower than 1:1 gearing, but have resisted the temptation. If I can't get up a hill with 1:1 gearing, I need to work more on my conditioning. Most hybrids have a super low gear that should get even a moderately fit person up all but the steepest hills.