Riding up hill with full suspension!!

charris366

I apologise if this has been covered, just that i have recently purchased a Trek Fuel EX 5.5 and would like some advice on how i should approx hill climbing as i have only been used to a hardtail for years. Things like how i should approach climbing, what gears and how i should have the bike set up?? This is porbably basic stuff, just i recently did a 20km ride and my friend who was riding a hardtail just left me for dust on a 250m asscent as if it was flat. I felt that i was loosing alot of energy through the suspension... Please Help what am I doing wrong????

XxxBFGxxX

sounds like ya need to set your rear shocvk up chap the ride we go out on i ride a full suss and i leave eery one behind normaly and if they push to get me riding fast i norma give them a good run.

if you look in the FAQ section of the forum there wil be a thread on setting up the rear shock chap.

hope ths helps

DVV

Never ridden a full sus, but if your suspension is bobbing and you dont have a lock-out to avoid energy loss you should, AFAIK :

A) Stay seated
Spin the pedals moderately quickly - don't 'grind' slowly with powerful strokes
c) Concentrate on giving a constant power output as you pedal - try and move the pedals in smooth circles

I imagine the worst thing you could do is get out of the saddle in a high gear and try to power the bike up the hill with forceful, slow leg-strokes.

This may require a change in technique, but if you can get the hang of doing this you should be able to climb pretty quickly. Sprinting out of the saddle will almost always be less efficient for a a full sus (I imagine). Try taking your hardtail mate up some rough rocky/rooty climbs - your suspension should give you an advantage then

Skonk

Most rear shocks have some sort of pro-pedal or lockout, if yours does then use it.

And as suggested, stay seated as you climb since you only really push down on the suspension if you stand.

Daz555

Smooth pedaling and high cadence works for me. I get very little bounce on my FSRxc unless I'm standing and mashing the pedals.

If the trail is buttery smooth then I do occasionally lock out the suss but the is very rare to be honest.

robertpb

Follow advise already given, but the easiest way to sort this out is to return to the ascent.

You then try with suspension then try locked out or propedal and see if there's a difference, after that it's up to you to get the gears and cadence right.

If your friend then next time gets to the top way in front it means he's been practising more.

saltyman

set the shock to the correct pressure for your bodyweight, i set mine up and it goes up hills a hell of a lot easier than before.

flamedude

Yeah what everyone else said.......

Stay seated as much as possible, smooth cycling, set the rear shock up correctly, get your saddle up. If your legs are really burning then a short sesh standing up can help your muscles rest whilst you use other muscles, just don't stand up all the way!

Oh and when you get to the top don't forget to switch your setup when you go back down......