Good point regarding chain tech; they're so much better these days. I still seem to remember a time when derailleur tech would not, and I mean literally would not, successfully execute most shifts under load. It was a long time back so I can't recall which or when specifically, so maybe my memory misleads me!

The difference between before and after is the cut down teeth, or shift gates, which make shifting so much easier. The trade off is that that easier shifting comes at the cost of added twisting and side stress on the chains. That was addressed with the peened plates, which is why it's no longer reliable to push back rivets when cutting and splicing chains.

It's one of those "swallowed a fly....." deals, where solving one problem causes another, which is then solved, causing yet another and so on....

All I know is that my 105 groupset shifts like buttah on a hot day when operated under light load. And like buttah on a warm day under load, which I do only by accident or because of unforeseen circumstances, and that under protest.

Of course, I'm mostly comparing it to department store gear of 30-50 years ago, but still...!

I don't know why, but I had it in my head that getting out of the saddle was the proper technique to climb a hill, but it sounds like sitting on my backside is also proper. This is good, as it's my preferred method, but I'll still learn how to mash, as it seems like it may be a useful skill. Thanks again, guys, you're the best!

Thank you for that explanation. I'm glad I asked.

There's no single best method. It depends on the hill and the rider's strength and endurance.

I divide hills into two categories. Regular and "bite size".

By bite size, I mean hills that one can top in a single concerted effort, usually with minimal downshifting. These are hills where standing and mashing can get you over the top, while others are losing speed. With any luck you'll be fresh enough to pull away and resume normal speed and cadence once iy's topped.

Of course bite size is different for everyone, but whatever it means to you these hills are best attacked aggressively, almost like a sprint, and topped without getting bogged down in a longish climb. However, miscalculating means running our of power and momentum before cresting, or finding yourself in a gear that you can't sustain. So the secret is in knowing what you can handle and and what you can't.

Hills that are longer, or taller than bite size require finding a level of effort and gearing that you can sustain for the climb. Generally standing on these won't help, and you'll find yourself out of gas with a long climb ahead. On these you might stand and mash for a final attack as you near the end, but there's no way it makes sense for the whole climb.

What is the length and grade of said hill?

On long climbs I will stand a few times to engage different muscles and hopefully slow my heart before it explodes.

Does this really work? The 'old muscles' still need lots of oxygen to recuperate and now the new muscles starts to need more oxygen. I do it, but not to reduce heart rate (which doesn't happen for me) but to rest fatigued muscles.

Ditto.

I find that standing makes me run out of gas real quick.

It does make sense - you are (generally? always?) going to be going faster standing than sitting*. That means you are putting out more watts, and watts only come from your cardiovascular system.

*if you can ride at the same pace both ways, more "power" to you (pun intended), but I sure can't. With my 11-32 105 groupset, I find I generally need to go up three gears to stand and even at reduced cadence that still ends up being faster. However, I'm also a novice, so maybe I need experience.

IME yes, but it depends on what we're talking about. On a long (10 minutes+) climb, I'll stand from time to time just to break things up. I don't work that much harder, if at all, but changing the position and muscles used is a bit refreshing and seems to make the climb easier. Even if it doesn't actually make a difference, it seems to, and that's enough to make me feel better.

On very long climbs, I'll also alternate long intervals of grinding along with intervals of launching an attack, say to the phone pole up the road, then settle in again. Like with standing, I don't know if it makes a difference, but it does help get me to the top sooner, and there's a bit of psychological boost and it makes it seem that I'm getting someplace faster.

Part of the psychological part of it for me is that, the faster I go, the sooner it will be over. However, for me it is generally related to holding a higher gear as opposed to getting out of the saddle.

I Think, that I put a Little less demand on my heart when standing, because my cadence slows ... I am still demanding huge volumes of blood to my biggest muscle groups, and still expecting to oxygenate that blood through wheezing ....

The simple change to slightly different parts of my measly guads might be enough. combined with the thought that I am taking action to make the pain stop, might be sufficient to create a placebo effect for a short time ... But part of the whole Placebo Effect is that it can be effective.

I hate to fool myself, but I am pretty much lying every time I tell myself, "I can make it up this hill ...." so I lie to myself further, saying "This will make it easier," to help realize the first lie.

For me climbing is pretty dishonest from the first incline ... I lie to myself when I say "This is what I want to be doing."