Some really good advise from several posters.

One thing I would add is to consider (as was suggested in the previous post) is what you are calling a hill. Duration as well as grade of the climb make a big difference regarding how you might want to approach it. What is a mountain to some is a molehill to others because of the type of terrain the see every day. Big extended climbs require you to pace yourself a lot more than big rollers do especially if you're a bigger guy.

Also remember that climbing with constant power will typically be faster on long climbs. Don't go too hard or surge, then back off for a breather then repeat. Whether you spin, mash, or stand strive to maintain a constant power (effort).

More saddle setback= less efficient transition from sitting to standing. Not to get into a bike fit discussion,

but haven't you experienced riding behind someone who loses 1 1/2 mph just getting out of the saddle for a short rise?

That's my experience too. Standing makes my HR shoot through the roof. Does being heavy have something to do with this?

Lighter riders stand more easily, certainly. I'm about 5'6" now, and ~160 lbs. Never was a great climber - I just like it.

If you're climbing a long grade, it's a good idea to switch up between standing and sitting. If you sit and spin all the way up a long climb, your muscles will fatigue and you will be slower.

I like to stand about every 5 minutes or so: click up a gear or two, stand and pedal 30 revolutions at about a 60 cadence, sit back down and gear down. Your bottom will be happier, too.

For what it's worth, this is really the only reason recumbents can't climb. Standing doesn't provide more power, but it does change up what muscles are being used and helps give them a break. On some bents, you can get some of this by changing your position, but nothing as drastic (in a good way) as standing. On the plus side, your bottom is always happy on a recumbent. :)

Except it's wrong. When you climb standing, you're going to raise your HR because you're supporting your body weight.

And you give your legs a break when you stand because you're recruiting different muscles.

As Terry Morse alluded to, standing is good to break things up, and use different muscles.

It's also good to put out power in short bursts.

But standing doesn't rest your heart.

am i the only person who's leg hurts when they stand and sit**********??? i thought thats how cycling works? your legs hurt during intense efforts.

here the simple gist op, most likely you arnen't contador (hell none of us are), which means that you climb big grades at 10-20 kph, this means you're in your smallest gear no matter what (really any time im just climbing climbing im in my 39/25, unless im racing up a hill im not in a 39/19-16). So just sit back work hard and focus on finishing. Climbing isnt rocket science.

+1. I think they were talking about the case where you stand without shifting and let your cadence and speed naturally drop. In that case you would be giving your heart a break, albeit at a slower pace.

And the group you were with just disappeared around the next hairpin. Can't get up the mountain like that. I accelerate a bit when I stand in a big gear. If I'm with a group, it puts the hurt on them a hair. Every 5 or 10 minutes and it adds up. But it gives my legs a little rest and enables me to keep a nice tight chain and a smooth pedal stroke while I'm up. I don't pull up - I'm trying to rest. I'm always riding with at least a 10 year and 10 pound disadvantage so I do every treacherous thing I can think of. When I sit back down in my seated gear it's easy spinning for about 50 feet, then it gets hard again.

Now if I were way overgeared (for me) and turning more like a 60 cadence while seated, it'd be a different story. Maybe that's one reason we are hearing different things from different folks.

I once read a "how to climb" story by a top finisher of the Mt. Washington climb. He said, "Pedal fast in a big gear." Pedal seated in a big gear until your cadence starts to drop, then stand and pick it back up again, no shifting. As soon as it's up, sit and grind again. I've tried that - doesn't work for me. Legs go out too quickly.

Any one remember watching the Tour d'France last year?

Thomas Voeckler won the king of the mountain with his funny climbing style of popping out of the saddle, leaping ahead, and then losing ground when he sat. As soon as the ones behind caught him, he'd pop up again, and leap ahead.

But then the pack would pass, and the big names would be at the front. If you watched the mammoth, tour winning climbs of Froome and Wiggins, they never seemed to leave the saddle. Steady, slamming effort that ate up the uphill finishes.

Not saying that one is more valid than others. Just saying different things seem to work well for different folks.

HI,

But you're not just using different muscles, you're pedaling at a much lower cadence. And this does rest your cardiovascular system.

Since I ride a recumbent, I can't stand while riding. But certainly after a big, hard ride, I'll get up and walk around while I cool down. So I go from sitting in an Easyboy recliner to standing. And even though I'm now standing, sure enough my heart rate drops.

I am sure that you can stand and pedal in such a way that your heart rate doesn't drop (e.g., if you don't down shift and keep the same cadence, but are now standing). But that's not how most people climb.

Cheers,
Charles

I don't think I've ever had my heart rate drop when I get out of the saddle. I get out of the saddle to put some power down and get my momentum going. I find it a lot easier to put out a bunch of power out of the saddle, but at a large cost in heart rate, so it is saved for the steep sections or to mix it up.

If you are maintaining the same power, standing uses more energy than sitting.

All this talk about 'resting the legs' doesn't ring true. On a real, sustained climb, you're not going to be able to hide from the hurt if you're pushing it. Stand, sit, you're still putting out power, and the 'save the legs' thing isn't going to be a factor on sustained hills that aren't the length of a Florida overpass. I'm aware of the mashing -> lower cardio demands but in reality that's for short bursts,and in most cases, the moment you pass your lactate threshold of your quads, your speed will drop precipitously, regardless of cardio.

I'm a sit-only climber for the most part - I'll only get out if I have to really haul rear to catch an attack on the hill, but I'd better get a recovery soon after, or else I'm dropping off the back.

I don't think it matters, whichever one gets you up in the most efficient way possible. I found out that grinding tall gears tired me out really quickly versus spinning with constant effort with a lower gear. With taller gears, I was more focused on applying as much downstroke as possible just to continue rotating the cranks.

I've never found standing to be more efficient than remaining seated. But, it does allow me to engage some different muscles for a while. It also allows greater total power to be applied, but, only for short periods.

When training I will choose one or the other to work on and stick with that for the duration of the hill, forcing some adaptation along the way.

However, if riding in an event or out on a group ride, it has been my consistant observation that I am most efficient while seated. Until those muscleds fatigue or I am met by a steep section in excess of what I can spin up in my lowest gear, at which point, I will stand in order to give those muscles a break or crest the steep section.

If standing was in any way more efficient that remaining seated, we would see a lot more pro's riding around as though they were sprinting for the finish.

It does for me.

The studies and statistics are all over the place, but one facet argued that it standing is more efficient for lighter/smaller riders then heavier riders, who are more efficient while sitting. Sounds like solid reasoning to me.

Wear a heart rate monitor and check out what happens when you stand - your heart rate WILL go up. Merlin is completely correct, standing does not rest your heart. It can relieve tired muscles a bit by changing up which ones you're recruiting and when, but it's not taking a break unless you actually slow down. The only way you can rest anything on a climb is by going slower.

Florida?!?!

What hill?

Well not as in Cali or Utah but yes we have "hills". Granted in South Florida it's pretty flat but once you get up north whole different topography. We do not have any mountains, however.

I appreciate all the advice i have received on this thread.

Funny, i used to dread "the hill". Now i sort of look forward to the challenge. Does this mean i am hooked on road biking ?

you're a fat guy. hills hurt you more.

He is not fat... he just need to train like 100000 times more :D

Incorrect. Watch any uphill sprint finish.