BradC

Hey guys, not sure if this is the right forum or not...if not please forgive!

Everyday I go up the same hill, not huge, but enough to make my new-to-cycling self exert enough to want to stand on the pedals.

The problem is when I do this, I feel very inefficient. I am riding a '05 Kona Jake, with toe-clips. Clipless pedals are in the future, but I need help for now. I know I don't have the best form or technique, how do I work on this...any tips? When I get out of the saddle I am much stronger on the downstroke but have no upstroke and the bike bounces around under me alot.

My question is basically what can I do to work on my technique and "smoothness". I need to learn how to spin smoothly, but don't know where to start!

Help guys!

Thanks in advance,
Brad

late

Hi,
hills, yeah. I live on the side of a mountain. Not that I'm an expert, I've just made most of the mistakes man is capable of. Naw, it's true. ANYWAY, you have a number of things going on at the same time here.

The first thing is that you could use a lower low gear.

The second thing is that you can relax your upper body, lean forward just a bit, and don't worry if you sway a bit.

The third thing is that you burn a lot of watts standing up, and
most of us run out of steam doing that. You can work on getting in better shape for climbing hills (by climbing lots of em, natch)
and you can go slow. I peddle lazily, just enough to keep a rythmn going and just fast enough to avoid eating dirt.

CPcyclist

Climbing is about using a gear that lets you keep your upper body quiet. Staying seated in lower gears is best but if you need to get out of the saddle stand up on the pedals try to hold the bike vertical under you (a little rocking is OK) and lean forward some . If you have clipless pedals you should be able to lift up on the pedal some. Use your lower gears to practice on some smaller climbs so you can get the technique down the go for it.

BradC

Since I seemed to not be doing things right standing, I have been going to a low gear and staying seated. I guess I should continue on that.

Thanks!

telenick

Nothing wrong with standing. It's a great way to get in a stretch and recruit different muscles and develop fast twitch muscle fiber.

If you've got no power on the upstroke, then I'd say that you're leaning to far forward. Try to feel the nose of your saddle hitting your bum as you pedal standing up. In that position, you'll be able to get some more power on the up stroke. If the hill you're climbing is very steep like 10+% then you'll probably not be able to feel the nose of the saddle.

Eggplant Jeff

Can you really get much upstroke power when you're standing? I always figured standing would give you a whole lot of downstroke power but you don't have anything to pull against for the upstroke. When I'm pulling up and sitting, I'm pulling my butt down against the saddle (equal and opposite reaction).

BradC

Thanks for all the advice guys. On the way home from work today I tried to see what happened when I made sure I was back when standing (just to try it, no real need) and it seemed to be better...I must have been too far front.

To Eggplant: I wouldn't think so, but I keep reading about making sure to not just push down on the pedals, so I have been trying to do that. I wasnt sure how that translated to standing...thanks for the opinion!

SpongeDad

I shift UP one or two gears when standing and reduce cadence significantly.