madprofessor100

I second that. I don't see any advantage in climbing out of the saddle over climbing properly in a seated position. Climbing out of the saddle is a huge waste of energy, and I've found that it doesn't make me go any faster. Experiment and find out what gear and seated position works best for you. I've found that shifting my weight to the back, shifting gears, and pedaling at a high cadence is much more effective.

valygrl

I disagree - speed is not the only consideration. I find it very useful to climb out of the saddle, it varies the muscles used, is sometimes required if the hill is steep enough, and protects the knees from too much hard mashing, if you don't have a low enough gear to spin up the hill.

umd

I disagree. For me personally, I climb much more effectively out of the saddle for short to medium climbs (< 30 min). I read somewhere that the "breakeven point" depends on your weight vs. height. I did the calculation for me and my result fell on the side of standing. Sorry don't remember where I saw the article...

AaronDavidson

I also agree that on short climbs I can 'power' through them even when I feel exhausted standing much better than sitting.

daredevil

Absolutely, and you can even conserve energy standing. Find the right gear and technique and anyone can climb out of the saddle. Whether you try to go fast or not is up to you.

The OP agreed he should give some other gears a try.

DataJunkie

Well put.

Plus, sitting in one position for hours wrecks havoc on my lower back. Climbing while out of the saddle gives it a nice break. On centuries I frequently am out of the saddle for a minute or two. On my commute the occasional hill reminds me to do the same.

vicjane

Practice on gentle hills first. Get use to the feeling and then try some short hills. Work on your technique and balance. Practice the transition from sitting to standing and reverse. Be careful NOT to throw the bike back when you stand or you may cause a fall. On long climbs that require pacing you may decide to stay seated and instead of looking at speed, concentrate on keeping a steady spinning cadence. When doing a longer rides I will only stand if I need stay with an established group, if the hill is short or to stretch my legs. If you give up too much, too soon, you will limp home!

chele519

Climbing out of the saddle is for when I can't go any further seated, not an issue of speed, more because I'm going so slow, I feel like I'll just fall over and I'm in the easiest gear already. Also it helps sometimes to loosen my back if I change positions. I know that is just getting stronger but even when I wasn't tired, I found it hard to ride out of the saddle. I figured out recently that I was in too easy a gear so I was spinning too fast, once I played with the gears a little, I did better.

okpik

lighter riders have a much easier time out of the saddle, guys over 200lbs and up typically have a very hard time with it, and it does take practice, then again, some of us lightweights find it almost impossible to redline our HR's while in the saddle

fuzzthebee

Really, I want to know. There is nothing in the original post that suggests a need to get out of the saddle. Are you not able to keep up? Are you in discomfort? Are you wanting to stand because the other people in the group are?

okpik

more power

fuzzthebee

The OP didn't say more power was needed. Besides, if you are sitting and climbing at 20 km/h and spinning 100 rpm, you are generating more power than someone standing, at 80 rpm, climbing at 19.9 km/h, all else being equal.

okpik

but all else isn't equal

fuzzthebee

I could have said, if you are sitting and climbing at 20 km/h and spinning 100 rpm, you are generating more power than if you are standing, at 80 rpm, climbing at 19.9 km/h.

It wasn't a rhetorical question, so nobody but the OP can answer.

okpik

making same mistake over again

it isn't so much about the power needed to go X mph up Y% grade, its about the difference in power tween seated and standing, some of us can climb out of the saddle quite well and for many minutes at a time and its often more comfortable to do so rather than sit, so if you can do it then you do it that way

the other thing here is, those of us that can ride out of the saddle often climb much better than those that can't ride out of the saddle very well, its just another tool in the toolbox so to speak

fuzzthebee

There is no "difference in power between seated and standing", only a possible difference in the ability to produce power.

Bob Dopolina 

There are several reasons to get out of the saddle on a climb. Giving your lower back a break is enough of a reason for me. You can sustain a tempo over a pitch change on a longer climb or pop over a small hill or power climb. You can accelerate a larger gear if you want to put the pressure on someone, you can stand as you crest or to smooth out changes in pitches.

A higher cadence also requires a higher HR. I sometimes stand a small section to bring my HR down (I know this seems counterintuitive). I'm sure others can add to my short list.

fuzzthebee

I wasn't asking reasons why one might climb out of the saddle, I was asking the OP what his/her specific issues were, because the post didn't go into detail.

umd

a) It doesn't really matter why the want to, since they only asked how to get better at it.

b) They are obviously not going to answer you, so you may as well give up bashing everyone else that tries to contribute.

ZXiMan

Nothing helps strengthening your out of the saddle efficiency more than doing more out of the saddle riding. The key here is to continue to push down and pull up on the pedals. I ride alot out of the saddle, even on the flats to keep these muscle groups strong. Every 8-10 minutes I'll rise out the saddle and pedal over at a decent cadence for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Funny thing is, unless the hills or mountains are really really steep, I prefer to climb seated, but then again I rely on sheer power to climb (I don't have a great power to weight ratio). This is for long sustained climbs not short hills...

RelevantCycling

I agree that you need to practice until we get used to climbing out of the saddle. I usually stay seated unless the grade gets over 11 or 12%, then I usually climb out of the saddle (steep enough and you have no choice!). On long climbs I do like to stand every so often just to stretch and use slightly different muscles.

Key to using out of the saddle climbing effectively is to learn how to stand and not accelerate your heart rate. There is a real tendancy to start cranking it and tire yourself quickly. Unless you are sprinting for KOM points, learn to stand and keep your heart rate constant.

vic32amg

for me personally I find out of the saddle climbing easier to control the tempo and power output. Also I can control my breathing and keep my heart rate from fluttering like a hummingbird. The one problem I do have is on the lower gradients/ shorter distance climbs where non-climber types can keep the pace very high , I then tend to suffer more because it forces me to stay seated and have very random power outputs which eventually bring a higher heart rate and out of tempo / bad rythm. I like climbs that are long and steep not short and fast. It took me a while but I prefer out of the saddle climbing to staying seated. which one is more efficient? I would say that I suffer much less out of the saddle and I feel like I stay at a better constant. often times out of the saddle nets me a lower heart rate but higher power output. Lactic burn will creep but much easier to sustain and " control " the effort.

RideCO

I was recently working on this same problem, I found that instead of shifting up, I just coasted my speed down a little then stood up in the same gear, that way I could stay standing for longer periods of time. This pretty quickly built the strength I was lacking and it wasn't long before I was up shifting when I wanted to stand, first 1 then 2 cogs. Now it is common for me to shift up 2 when I stand, depending on the hill.

Just another note, on some hills I can actually make it up faster standing, even on long hills, but it uses more energy and I don't think its worth it to stand for too long. My best time on a local hill (3.5 miles, 1100ft) was done standing nearly the whole way in a high gear, but its very costly.

I personally feel better standing, for some reason I feel less fatigue, but that's probably due to my background more than anything; trail running with lots of big ascents, which are often done walking with long strides on steep stuff (lower cadence but faster) on the bike I feel its best to stay sitting when you can, tho I find that hard to do.

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umd

I used to prefer standing on climbs but have found that as my power increases, I am more comfortable sitting on steeper and steeper grades. As long as I can still keep turning an even pedalstroke I'm much faster sitting. Once it either gets too steep or I am too tired to keep my cadence up then I will stand. Of course, if I need a burst of power I will stand, efficiency be dammed.