I am very dependent on the granny gear when climbing hills. I'd like to get rid of my triple, but that would require standing up to climb in a lower gear (or moving to a flatter neck of the woods). I have tried getting out of the saddle, but I can't seem to do it for more than 20-30 seconds before I have to sit back down and spin, baby, spin. Any advice?

what's wrong with spinning?

Shift up two cogs before you stand.

No reason to get rid of your triple if it works for you. If you need to for some reason other than vanity, SRAM Apex gets you just as low gears and Shimano compact with at 28T big cog is close, but you pay for it in wider gear spacing.

Sorry, I should've been clearer with my reasons.

I am on a hybrid with a 48/38/28 in front and an 11-32 in the rear. I'm not going up the Alps or anything, but there are some local hills with sustained 10% climbs, and steep sections of 15-16%. In the granny gear (28-32), I can climb any of those without standing, and without losing much cadence.

I want to get a road bike but none on the market seem to have comparable gearing to my hybrid. I don't think the 5-7 lb. weight difference will compensate for the reduced gear ratio. Thus, if I'm going to be able to climb on a road bike, I need to be able to stand. Or do I?

Triples rule. When you can sit and spin in the middle ring on your common steep climbs, you can go to a double. Not before. And don't go to a wide range cassette trying to accomplish that. That's going backward. And even if you could, why get rid of the granny? What's it weigh? Better to have it for a bail-out. I've ridden with one (1) guy who got strong enough to abandon his granny while using the same cassette. He's on a racing team now and moving up the cats.

You won't want the low a big ring on a road bike. Get a regular triple and replace the 30T granny with a 26T. The bike shop will have to do it unless you know how to pull a BB. My climbing bike has a 26T in front and a 12-25 in back. You could use a 12-27 or 28 depending on the gruppo. Sounds like your low end gears are about perfect for you and your area. If you get stronger, you could keep the front gears and go to closer ratios in back like I have. You'll want a chain keeper to go with that 26T.

Oh, that is interesting. One thing about standing it is TOTALLY different on road handlebars with your hands on the corners or hoods, palms facing in, than on a flat bar with your palms facing your body. You may find it much easier to learn to climb standing on road style bars.

I can't stand on my MTB but I can stand on my road bike for a long time. That said, I do know a couple of people who can't stand on their road bikes, but I think it's mental, they psyched themselves out of it.

Give yourself time to practice instead of just saying "I can't" - and shift up a couple of gears (harder) - you will learn how.

The weight difference will make some difference. The 10% climbs you should be able to stay seated with a low compact gearing (look at APEX and maybe Shimano has a 30 tooth cog as well) - but those 16%-ers, you will probably need to stand.

I installed a thingie on the end of my handle bars, allowing me to climb with palms facing in. They are very comfortable, and I use them when I stand (or try to stand). Of course, they are significantly wider and higher than road handles, which might impact the mechanics.

I would borrow a properly fitted road bike and try standing on that first. Regardless of how you hold your hands, if the bike geometry/fit is not setup correctly it won't feel comfortable standing.

You need to be able to move your weight forward when standing. Typically, a hybrid is setup with the bars too far back to allow you move forward and pull up on your bars. A road bike allows for a more stretched out position while riding seems to work better when standing.

Road bike + mountain gears = touring bike. You get the benefits of drop bars, high pressure tires, and you can ride up hills. An honest 15% grade is a steep hill in anybody's book.

Thanks for all of the advice. It leads the rational side of me to say I should just stay seated and spin, even after I get a road bike.

The irrational side of me still wants to be able to climb standing up, lending credence to valygrl's suggestion that vanity might be at play. Hopefully, road-bike geometry will help. If not, I may have to revive this thread some day.

If you're handy with a screwdriver, you can always turn in the low-limit screw on the front derailleur until the granny gear is inaccessible.

I am not in great shape by any means, and have a compact crank with a 12-30 ultegra rear and have not found any hill yet (not saying they dont exist) that I cant at least spin up. I live in the sierra, so I have plenty of hills to test that theory on.

Obviously the more you use the gears, the stronger you will get. I use to find myself in that 30 a lot, now I find I only use it as a last resort...maybe next year I will take it off and just use a 11-28 cassette.

I can stand on a MTB just fine. But if your hybrid has the bars closer to the seat than it'd be on a road bike, that will make standing more difficult. You can try putting bar ends on the bar to make it a more road bike like position for standing.

As far as getting used to a higher gear, just try riding the climbs in a higher gear. Use the granny but shift up one cog from what you'd normally use for that climb. If youre one of those riders that automatically dumps the cassette and chainring to the lowest gear for every climb, stop doing that. Shift down as you need to, not before.

And for getting used to standing, shifting up a couple cogs is good advice as most people can't pedal as fast when standing as when sitting. Being able to stand is a very useful skill, even if you have low enough gearing to let you sit. If nothing else it lets you stretch on long climbs and use slightly different muscles.

Edit: I see that you have bar ends. Try setting them so they are nearly flat, just angled up a bit (10 degrees or so). That way they are at a natural position when you stand.

Another good trick is to practice standing on the flats. A simple technique is to stand at the start of your ride. Get is a big gear and just ride standing away from your starting point until you can't . Pick a landmark each time and try to ride past it. Each ride move to a farther landmark. This will also teach to glide standing which is also a good skill. lastly This doubles as a great warm up as it will get your heart rate up and warm the muscles up. Before you know it you'll wind up sitting from boredom not fatigue, and suddenly those hills will be a lot easier to get up out of the saddle on..

I didn't literally do this, but I did decide to do without the granny for 2 weeks and see how it goes. I went out Sunday planning on 40 miles with moderate climbing and found it surprisingly easy to do without the granny crutch. So on the way home, I detoured to a decent climb that would normally leave me in granny half way up. Not only did I refrain from using the 28T in front, but I also stayed out of the 32T in the rear until the last 100 feet or so. My lungs were burning and my legs almost fell off, but I was able to do it.

My Tuesday ride was pretty flat, but hill repeats tomorrow should be interesting.

I guess I just needed to htfu.

A big, hearty thanks to those who helped me out. The early results have been fantastic.

Instead of hill repeats, I decided to try the "hilly time trial" route I ride occasionally. It is 11.5 miles, with 3 climbs between 250 and 300 vf each. I usually use the 28T chainring for each of these climbs, sometimes in combination with the 32T in the rear (or at least I did up until now).

My first time on this route was over 4 years ago, and it took me 61 minutes or so. I slowly carved my time down to the lower 50s, but I haven't improved at all for the last year or so. My last four times, dating back to last year, were all between 50:38 and 51:05.

Today, I tried to use my gears judiciously, not totally mashing, but also not lollygagging in an easy spin. I rotated between sitting and standing, experimented with various cadences, and paid attention to my heart rate more than I usually do. It will take me a while to figure out what works best, but at least I've put my free-spinning complacency behind me.

My time today was 49:22, and I felt like I have significant room for improvement. My new goal is to get under 48 by the end of the riding season.

Thanks again -- it feels great to break through a plateau!!!!

In the book: A better way to train. coach Carl (Carl Cantrell) Talks about cyclist buying lower gears for their bikes and riding them. He states that it will seem easier for about a month or so then your muscles will atrophy back to the easier gear you are now riding and the effort will be the same as before. My advice is dont do it unless you have medical need. it seems you are on the right track with hill time trails. I went from a triple to a compact double (50-34) up front and 11-26 cassette with now problem.

Congrats, but keep listening to your knees. Pride isn't always good for them.

At least in my case, riding fixed-gear has greatly helped my hill-climbing. Approaching a steep hill and having no gears lower than 71", you figure out what to do pretty quickly.

I ride a vintage road bike and a MTB/hybrid on the same hills. On my 1987 Cannondale double, I do sometimes wish for another cog or two on the steepest bits. If (when) I get a new bike, I'll get a broader gear-spread. But that said, I NEVER use the smallest gear ring on the hybrid on the same route. It's a 22 front, with 11-28 in the rear. The middle ring is a 32 and that, plus the middle of the rear range, is as low as I go, and is essentially a gear or two lower than the lowest on the old retro road bike.