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I don't race anyone but me so I Hammer the up hills and rest on the down hills~ :P
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As far as trying to figure out which way takes up more or less energy, it seems to me that it depends on the technique used and also how tired a rider is during that climb.
There's got to be some tipping point but who is going to try to measure that! What I do observe is how those mountain stage attacks occur. The rider tries to break away and the others try to respond. If it goes as planned, the front rider puts it all out there off the saddle. Then sits down and repeats that cycle maybe two more times to shake off any responses. It ends up to be the rider with the fresher legs. |
Personally, I climb out of the saddle because I imagine I look like Eddy Merck....
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Originally Posted by BikeArkansas
(Post 18272144)
I recently watched on television, as I am sure others did, Frome pedaling up a hill in little ring with the largest cassette. I do not know what gears he had. On the same hill in the same place, Contador was on his big ring. All this tells me is that there is not an absolute correct way to do anything. These are two of the best climbers in the bicycling world with exact opposite methods. Interesting.
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Originally Posted by StanSeven
(Post 18275584)
This is exactly right. It's not just Frome and Contador but the entire field climbs differently. Seated and stranded climbing uses different muscles. So pro's, as well what we should do also, cater to their strengths.
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Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
(Post 18273346)
Exactly. Using different muscles and at a lower cadence helps the tired muscles a bit, but there is no free lunch. In order to use your weight to push on the pedals, you first have to lift your weight.
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One more note on the method of standing the coach is trying to get through to us. When standing to "get some rest" he is teaching us to swing the bike so that your weight comes directly down on the pedal to get every ounce of your weight into the stroke with a very minimum of muscle power. When I do hit the sweet spot it does make a big difference. I am not that good yet at placing the bike exactly as he wants, but close. I know that resting while out of the saddle does not sound correct, as noted a number of times in this thread, but when done as he says it comes very close.
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I've been doing this for 65 years - since I was about 5! I thought everyone did it! Probably perfected during paper route days, long ago. My route had lots of big hills, and 125 papers on big days, was a big load!
Seems like the big ring had about 100 skip teeth, and the cog had about 6 single spaced --- that is sure how it seemed when chugging up those steep hills! Man, could I fly when the basket and bag were empty! |
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