Ok I recently figured out how to stand up while riding (I could stand up without clipless pedals, but since getting them I had been having trouble) either way what I do is shift up a gear (so it becomes harder to pedal) then stand up and lean a bit forward. I grab the hoods which help to balance and also provide some power.

Then just go for it. But it takes some practise - go find a hill and try it out - you may need a different technique but only you can find out what works for you.

So all you're guys riding road bikes and using Quill pedals or platform type pedals. HA-HA
Well I thought I'm at road bike forum, but I guess it's commute forum.

I like your BikeForums Posting Style......

Important thing about standing up (in all seriousness).

Most riders push their bike back about 6-12 inches when they stand up. This is because there's a moment, when you stand, that most riders stop pedaling for a brief time while they shift their body forward. This is when the bike goes "backwards".

(Think of this as a reverse bike throw - the rider leans forward about 1-2 inches, and since the rider is 10x the weight of the bike, the bike goes back 10+ inches).

To avoid this (and potentially taking out a tired, distracted, etc rider on your wheel), you have to keep pedaling when you stand up. No pauses. It takes more energy but until you're at your limit, you should have the 1/4 second of extra energy to keep the bike rolling when you stand up.

The other way to keep from crashing when people in front of you start standing, you stand too. It's instinctive in many riders, even if they don't realize it. So when riders start to stand, everyone stands. It's like the group is doing the Wave.

Riding out of the saddle is a different thing. Basically focus on torso going in a straight line. Bike will wiggle, torso won't, generally speaking.

cdr

In order to learn what it feels like to not throw the bike backward when standing I just stand while drafting someone. As long as the distance to the rider in front stays the same, then I'm good. I have found the technique is pretty much what CDR said, keep pedaling.

When I am alone, I just do the lazy version.

Well, I agree that I 'should' have learnt as a kid but even at 45, its better late than never. I lived in a big city and there was no chance of parents letting us cycle to school considering the distances, as well as the chaotic Indian traffic.

I tool along at 20-25kmph, spin up hills and never have found the need to stand and pedal, but obviously I should learn it for longer climbs or just to get over shorter climbs without shifting gears.

Just starting that too. I guess everyone has to start sometime?

A big thanks to all the suggestions. Will start tomorrow. The videos look amaxing.

When you are out of the saddle you do not have the cadence comfort range you do when sitting. Sitting you may have a 15-20 RPM comfort range, when standing, maybe only 5-10. You must shift more often as the slope changes to stay in that smaller comfort zone, especially if you are going to be standing for a longer time.

Learn to keep your heart rate at a level you can maintain for as long as you need to, based on the climb.

+1

Or two.

I find that getting out of the saddle and pedaling periodically is a good way to keep the blood flowing around the sitbones, resulting in a lot more comfort. Since I ride in a hilly area, steep hills are when I usually choose to do it. Plus, it requires more cardio than leg strength, which I usually seem to have more of (the cardio). So it makes climbing easier for me.

I find it confusing when people say shift down. It can mean down as in a car, to a lower gear OR down the cassette to a higher gear.

I hate that mixed-up terminology, too. On every other vehicle, a "downshift" is to an easier gear that uses more engine RPM for the same speed. I don't like saying it when discussing bike shifting. I usually end up calling an upshift a "taller gear", which both relates to other vehicles' transmissions and literally feels "taller" as you're pedaling, like you're climbing up stairs with taller steps.

Yeah I either use the standard conventions or I specifically say "shift down the cassette".

Either way when you want to stand out of the saddle you will want to increase the effort it takes to push the pedal - no matter how you refer to it! This is the part I was doing wrong when I first started trying and couldn't do it!

Heh... with the body weight hammering on the pedals, it sure spins up fast when standing on a short gear. Zing-ing-ing-ing... ;)

Like I said recently in another similar thread, it's easiest to manage when I shift to a gear that requires about as much effort as walking up stairs.

+2 on the shifting - using whatever terminology makes sense - increase the difficulty it takes to turn the crank.

I've just started riding again after a 15+ year break so take this with a grain of salt BUT - I rarely stand. I pop up every now and then to shift in the saddle, or to pick up speed when taking off uphill from a stop light, and maybe at the peak of a brutal climb but I'd say I spend a good 90% if not more of my time in the saddle. I have better control of my heart rate; I've got a triple so I can drop it in the granny gear and spin fast even on big hills, and I've been discovering that keeping a consistent cadence (way easier to do seated) is more energy efficient and results in a higher avg mph speed on my rides.

But maybe I'm not doing this right. Like I said, I'm new too. Perhaps I should be standing more?

There is no "should" or "should not". Standing is a skill that many find beneficial, but it's not a prerequisite for climbing fast or being a great rider. I happen to like to stand and do so a lot (I also bum around on a buddies fixie a fair amount, and climbing on those sometimes requires standing), but many people just sit and spin up the biggest hills and have no problems.

YMMV.

Regarding getting out of the saddle. W/o clipless, I'd never stand... Yet, standing is vital to successful , climbing.

To be honest with you.. I have under me ~4500 miles of Boston commute...

Average 18.9mph..

And I STILL don't know how to stand out-of-saddle. :p

What is it with everyone vehemently exclaiming everyone must ride with clipless pedals or you will die!!!!!! Majority of the people cycling on a daily basis around town are not using clipless pedals, not even toe clips and straps! If you can't ride a bike with regular platform pedals, you don't belong on the bike! I'm no serious cyclist by any means, but I know a ridiculous point-of-view when I see one.

All this whole thread needs is this:

http://circleh.files.wordpress.com/2...-facepalm1.jpg

To the OP, here are some pointers:

1. At the moment you stand up, ensure that one of your feet is about to go on the downward stroke. Then as you stand up, this downward stroke provides you with the first push to ensure your bike keeps moving, since as someone mentioned, there's a moment when standing up where the bike slows down a notch. As you get more practice, you'll notice you'll be preferring one leg over the other to start this motion.

2. Once you get going, lean forward a little, and stand tall. Mentally picture yourself walking or running up the hill without the bike under you, holding on to the hoods for balance, pushing and pulling on them but without force. The bike should rock side to side, but not the rider. When you walk or run uphill, you don't rock from side to side, it's the same standing on the bike.

3. Keep the front wheel centered. You want to be going up in a straight line, and not wiggling all over the road. The bike will indeed rock from side to side, but should not wiggle.

When you hit it just right, you'll know it. Then you'll appreciate the term "dancing up the hill".

The whole past three weeks that this thread has been dead I've been hoping someone would bump it to say exactly this!!!!!

I can see the confusion--on paper. But in actual practice, it's pretty obvious which way to shift. Call it whatever you want.

... and is that a downshift or an upshift?... ;)

Shifting to a more difficult gear. Smaller rear gear/cog. Down the cassette.

Maybe there's something wrong with me, but shifting to an easier gear before pedaling out of the saddle doesn't work very well or feel right. So for me, it's an obvious choice. Whatever you call it; you won't make the same mistake twice--was my point.

That's the confusion.. :D The "more difficult gear" is like upshifting on any other vehicle, and "down"shifting is switching to a gear that's easier to push.

OR, "upshifting" to the bigger front chainring is shifting to the more difficult gear... which is like "upshifting" on any other vehicle.

Pretty much the only place the terminology matters, though, is in discussion forums and Cycling For Newbies-style books. Because, like you say, the right way is suddenly obvious out on the road.

Exactly. You need to put as little upper body pressure on the bars as possible. The best way to do this is to get your weight as far back on the bike as possible.