Help ! Cycling positions up hill and technique uphill.

sylwia

Hi I was just wanting to know peoples ideas on this one.

1. When cycling up hill what is the prefered position for you hands.

2. What sort of strategies do people use for the long 2.5 mile uphills with ref to siting and standing. I know the good club riders tend to tear up these hills very quickly.

Should hands be on the bottom of the handle bars or on the 2 top break/gear changers.
I'm not sure as i haven't been doing this long.

Obviously i'm trying to improve get quicker and be more efficient.

I have seen sprinters use the bottom of the bars.

Looking to improve my average MPH uphill can't seem to get upto 8mph on the long uphills in the Peak District stuck at 6.5mph.

Cheers
Braddles (I'm a novice)

PS I KNOW EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT AND A DIFFERENT STYLE SUITS MOST.

ride_whenever

generally use whatever feels most comfortable, at 8mph air resistance is going to be very negligible so the drops hold little advantage other than holding the front down a bit better.

I tend to use the hoods but that is on a ss/fixed gear bike.

The main way to get better at cycling up hills is to cycle up hills more. Try hill repeats, a lot, say, repeat your 2.5mile hill. Start in a gear you're comfy with, then do it again at the same cadence. Repeat until barely able to turn the cranks over.

Anonymous

Sit up, hands on top of the bars, select a lowish gear and spin up the hill. Try pushing your backside into the seat as well, and just tap out a decent rhythm up the hill. The trick is to put some sffort in but not all. Spinning up will prevent too much lactate building up, especially if you are just starting out cycling. You can stand for sections at a time, with your hands on the hoods, if you feel you need to stretch or change position.
Just keep riding up more and more often You will be selecting higher gears as you get fitter and you will tune in to what suits you best. You will get faster with time.

Bhima

Just find a way that's comfortable for you. There's no right or wrong.

Personally, above ~15% gradients, I like to get tucked into an aero position on the drops, not for any aero advantage, but because certain aspects of that position (especially keeping a right angle in my arms) tends to keep my upper body the most stable and I feel I can get the most power/leverage that way without wobbling about. Holding the top of the bars near the stem when i'm pushing hard tends to give me less control of the bike on steep bits and I'll find myself rocking about, although loads of people I ride with prefer it. I do sometimes put my hands there when spinning up a slight incline that's not too brutal though. It seems OK at higher cadences, because of the smaller pedal forces involved, hence less upper body stresses.

When out of the saddle, i'll hold on to the part of the drops right at the end, which is parallel to the ground on my bars. Again, others prefer to hold on to the shifters or the bend in the bar just before the shifters. All personal preference. Each hand position works different core and arm muscles so one position is bound to feel easier than another depending on what kind of muscle strength imperfections you have.

Flasheart

I find I'm most comfortable upright and spinning with my hands on the top of the bars on long ascents. I used to grip the bars really tightly but I find the whole method easier if I just relax a bit.
Bare in mid I don't race, I only ride for fitness, fun and the social aspect.

bobtbuilder

On a lond ascent I try and keep relaxed and ride with my hands either on the hoods or on the top of the bars. I try and keep a reasonable cadence and use the gears to maintain the cadence.

I do like riding out of the saddle, but tend to use that only if the gradient is a bit steeper.

fungus_the_muffin_man

I used to sit hands on the hoods and just span away untill I saw a hill climbing tips piece in Cycling plus. This mentioned as stated by the guys above about sitting quite upright, bum to the back of the seat, hands on the straight part of the bars. The idea is that you remain as loose and relaxed with your upper body so your not wasting energy. Sitting up straight changes your centre of gravity and also your leg stroke/ power distribution. It also mentioned to try having your heels pointing down during pedalling to utilise different muscle groups.

I found this improved my hill climbing quite dramatically. I now change position often when hill climbing depending on the gradient as I've become more accustomed to how my body copes with it.

Another things I've learnt from people on this website is to slip into a harder gear if I'm going to come out of the saddle. You then slip back into an easier gear as you sit back down. I find it feels much better on the legs than sitting down and staying in the same gear.

Lastly I break the hill down into managable segments to keep pushing myself mentally to the top.

solsurf

all depends on the length and the gradient, my biggest tip for short hills is to get out of the saddle, stay in the same gear and keep the momentum up. And for long hills try and get the gear right and relax sounds strange but it works, for me

However I think everyone is different you only need to watch the pros, very few have the same technique.

bobtbuilder

This mentioned as stated by the guys above about sitting quite upright, bum to the back of the seat, hands on the straight part of the bars. The idea is that you remain as loose and relaxed with your upper body so your not wasting energy.

This also maximises your ability to breathe deeply and evenly, taking in enough oxygen.

spursn17

Swear!

Curse the hill, your legs, the traffic, the gradient, your feeble lungs, the weather, your bike.

In fact, swear at everything, the filthier the better. Works for me

eh

Long hills fast - hoods
Long hill relaxed - tops
Short, steep hill - hoods or drops (depending on handlebar height as much as anything)

Anonymous

Bhima wrote:

Just find a way that's comfortable for you. There's no right or wrong.

Personally, above ~15% gradients, I like to get tucked into an aero position on the drops, not for any aero advantage, but because certain aspects of that position (especially keeping a right angle in my arms) tends to keep my upper body the most stable and I feel I can get the most power/leverage that way without wobbling about. Holding the top of the bars near the stem when i'm pushing hard tends to give me less control of the bike on steep bits and I'll find myself rocking about, although loads of people I ride with prefer it. I do sometimes put my hands there when spinning up a slight incline that's not too brutal though. It seems OK at higher cadences, because of the smaller pedal forces involved, hence less upper body stresses.

When out of the saddle, i'll hold on to the part of the drops right at the end, which is parallel to the ground on my bars. Again, others prefer to hold on to the shifters or the bend in the bar just before the shifters. All personal preference. Each hand position works different core and arm muscles so one position is bound to feel easier than another depending on what kind of muscle strength imperfections you have.

Sage advice!

teagar

NapoleonD wrote:

Bhima wrote:

Just find a way that's comfortable for you. There's no right or wrong.

.

Sage advice!

Agreed.

What comes naturally is usually most comfortable anyway.

Only other advice i saw elsewhere on here is that if you're out of the saddle climbing, keep your arse in, and bring your knees forward on the upstroke.

Pross

Tops when seated and hoods when out of the saddle for me. I try to stay seated whenever possible. Can't imagine climbing any hill on the drops but I suppose if that's how you feel most comfortable, would find it harder to get the air in my lungs but then again I very rarely use the drops at any time.

teagar

Pross wrote:

Tops when seated and hoods when out of the saddle for me. I try to stay seated whenever possible. Can't imagine climbing any hill on the drops but I suppose if that's how you feel most comfortable, would find it harder to get the air in my lungs but then again I very rarely use the drops at any time.

Depends if you're trying emulate someone or not....

Pross

I don't think he rode like that when he wasn't making a break though

teagar

Pross wrote:

I don't think he rode like that when he wasn't making a break though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FsaN9uMo10

@ 1.19,

I beg to differ .

But yeah, he's certainly the exception to the rule. Stay on the hoods, it's much more comfortable.

Didn't pantani ride like that because if the injury he had earlier in his career?

Pross

I looked on Google images after making my bold statement and virtually every photo showed him out of the saddle on the drops. Assumed it's because he's Pantani and was always attacking. Still can't imagine trying it though - my knees hit my get on the drops at the best of times.

teagar

Pross wrote:

I looked on Google images after making my bold statement and virtually every photo showed him out of the saddle on the drops. Assumed it's because he's Pantani and was always attacking. Still can't imagine trying it though - my knees hit my get on the drops at the best of times.

If you look at his heel you see he puts a lot of effort jerking the pedal upwards, rather than unweighting it.


Certainly a very odd style.

Love it to pieces though.

Did virtually the same climbs one day as the stage in that youtube clip, but only could manage the last 50m of the Peyrsourde on the drops - in an attempt at a hommage to the guy. Everyone was far too tired to notice. Was wearing the replica jersey and everything!

sagalout

Everyone has their own 'comfort' sysetm. Mine is to never look up if its a long, long climb! I focus just a few meters in front of the bike and try and just relax.

I've found some really good high resistance turbo sessions have increased my ability to climb dramatically the past month, especially out of the saddle. I used to tire really quickly out of the saddle after just a minute or so, but can happily spend 5-10 mins in that position now.

amaferanga

Climbing out of the saddle takes practice. If you don't do it often then you'll find it hard when you do try it.

Monty Dog

FWIW Pantani had his frames specifically built with a longer headtube to allow him to ride that way - riding out the saddle on the drops is the most 'powerful' position but it needs strong core muscles - you'll need plenty of practise to sustain it for long durations.

teagar

Monty Dog wrote:

FWIW Pantani had his frames specifically built with a longer headtube to allow him to ride that way - riding out the saddle on the drops is the most 'powerful' position but it needs strong core muscles - you'll need plenty of practise to sustain it for long durations.

Really!

Wow.

Legend.

rake

where is your core muscles.my backs as strong as an ox if thats em.

ride_whenever

it is a tube of muscles that surround and support your spine, transverse abdominals and obliques mostly. It is unlikely you have strong ones if you don't know what they are as they tend to be pretty underdeveloped due to sedentary lifestyles.

Pokerface

sylwia wrote:

Looking to improve my average MPH uphill can't seem to get upto 8mph on the long uphills in the Peak District stuck at 6.5mph.

Which hills? For some of the hills in the Peak, 6.5MPH average would be pretty good!

rake

ride_whenever wrote:

it is a tube of muscles that surround and support your spine, transverse abdominals and obliques mostly. It is unlikely you have strong ones if you don't know what they are as they tend to be pretty underdeveloped due to sedentary lifestyles.

interesting to know. i agree they must be difficult to work on easily. its hard to work your whole body effectively. my job in manufacturing used to involve draging 80-100kg weight behind me at hip level with body twisting motions i be surprised if they were not well developed. im not trying to be a clever ar5e these muscles seem to be more useful than they appear.

eh

Its actually a really good way of powering up climbs, especially if you do use lots of uplift on the opposite pedal as Pantani is in that photo (Simoni is behind as well),since it lowers your Cof G and helps prevent loss of traction on the rear wheel.

Give it a try, it is aggressive, but a great attacking position on any gradient.

Pross

eh wrote:

Its actually a really good way of powering up climbs, especially if you do use lots of uplift on the opposite pedal as Pantani is in that photo (Simoni is behind as well),since it lowers your Cof G and helps prevent loss of traction on the rear wheel.

Give it a try, it is aggressive, but a great attacking position on any gradient.

I think that's the key though, most of us would struggle to maintain it.

teagar

Pross wrote:

eh wrote:

Its actually a really good way of powering up climbs, especially if you do use lots of uplift on the opposite pedal as Pantani is in that photo (Simoni is behind as well),since it lowers your Cof G and helps prevent loss of traction on the rear wheel.

Give it a try, it is aggressive, but a great attacking position on any gradient.

I think that's the key though, most of us would struggle to maintain it.

Definitely.

It's a lot of weight on your arms for a long time too if you're trying to stonk it up a mountain.

I've tried it and found it's not that comfortable to breathe hard either. Just doesn't open up the chest.

I'll stick to the regular boring style. I tried the cool Pantanti style, but found it jut too horrible to contemplate.

DubaiNeil

spursn17 wrote:

Swear!

Curse the hill, your legs, the traffic, the gradient, your feeble lungs, the weather, your bike.

In fact, swear at everything, the filthier the better. Works for me

I get the advantage of this, but on longer climbs I don't have enough "hate" to last Conversely when you go round a hairpin, already shredded, and find another b*tch of a section, I find smiling at it actually relaxes me and helps me get through :shock:

I read that years ago as a tip from a XC MTB racer - and it works for me! He was using it as a psychological edge over other riders however, but now we have QuadPower tm and "the look" to use when "racing" instead

Neil