Getting up THAT hill....

JonnyN
JonnyN Posts: 181
edited June 2010 in MTB general
Are you a stand up and mash the pedals sort of rider, or are you more at home sitting back and getting your granny in on the act??
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Comments

  • jay12
    jay12 Posts: 6,306
    depends. if i'm tired, slow and easy and mostly in the saddle. if i'm not tired or catching up with someone, fast and standing up
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  • sparrowlegs78
    sparrowlegs78 Posts: 2,583
    I'm a slow and steady spinner, gotta save the engery for the downhills :D
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  • mrfmilo
    mrfmilo Posts: 2,250
    Both
    Marin
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,715
    Depends on the hill... I'll often start by standing and accelerating hard, get the leg speed high enough to sit and spin at a decent pace, and if it's a long hill, stand up occasionally for a bit of a break.

    Yes, I'm a roadie.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Normally slowly off road.
    On road, stand and push if the hill is relatively short or very steep, slowly and spin if it's long and gentle.
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  • fletch8928
    fletch8928 Posts: 794
    As I set off from my back gate, I face 1.4miles and 850ish ft of climbing before I lose it all and face it again to get to my moors, it is definitly sit down and get the warm up done with ease. i have blown up before i get to my moors too often to push on harder. Although the times are still coming down.

    If its in a ride and the slope is say 500metres with a 100m ascent, then its build up and then power up, hovering and honking. Less distance and ascent then often just go mental and...... breath. More distance then I tend to settle into a nice gear and motion, hum my fav tune of the moment and wait to crest it.
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  • woodnut
    woodnut Posts: 562
    stand up and mash on a short one, long climbs I tend to gradually change down, till i'm weeping like a baby. (i sort of hate Granny)...but as long as I don't stop I think I'm great.... :)
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  • woodnut
    woodnut Posts: 562
    stand up and mash on a short one, long climbs I tend to gradually change down, till i'm weeping like a baby. (i sort of hate Granny)...but as long as I don't stop I think I'm great.... :)
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    depends how long te hill is.
  • Luke-Dob
    Luke-Dob Posts: 121
    What about an option for pushing?
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  • TheKrikkitWars
    TheKrikkitWars Posts: 178
    Bit of both, I'll mash for short or very steep climbs, but go slow and steady for long ones.

    Whilst I prefer to mash it, there are plenty of climbs for which I simply can't imagine there being a person with the muscular endurance to mash it all the way to the top, much less me being able to do it.
  • Buckled_Rims
    Buckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
    On my single speed MTB I ain't got no choice :wink:

    On my 27 speeder, only if absolutely essential will I go into the granny gear. I find if I spin too fast seated down I wobble all over the place. I prefer to try and stay in the middle ring and get out of the seat and mash.
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  • captainfly
    captainfly Posts: 1,001
    Short climbs stand up and mash, but anything steep or long I get off and push to save my knees, I have hurt both of them spinning in the past.
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  • popstar
    popstar Posts: 1,392
    I kind of scan uphill for sections, some of sections add power and speed and some of them just relax and climb. Some people actually do enjoy climbs lol. It's all about continuos flow baby!
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  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    popstar wrote:
    I kind of scan uphill for sections, some of sections add power and speed and some of them just relax and climb. Some people actually do enjoy climbs lol. It's all about continuos flow baby!

    Finally you admit it!

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  • bartimaeus
    bartimaeus Posts: 1,812
    I hope I'm not too slow and it definitely isn't always easy... but definitely not a pedal masher. I prefer to think of myself as an uphill 'rouler', poised on the edge of oxygen debt... but then I get dropped and reality returns :D

    Actually I am now two gears better at climbing than I was two months ago... so by my reckoning by next year I'll be climbing on the big ring - and then I'll need a singlespeed for a new challenge :roll:
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  • popstar
    popstar Posts: 1,392
    That picture is mad, ... after nice flowy uphill there is always waiting a nice trail flowing down! I happen to infect riding buddies with uphills, they can be dressed up as a pleasure but in fact they can be same as that weird picture for some.
    What could have been (Video)

    I'll choose not put too much stake into someone's opinion who is admittingly terrible though
  • chedabob
    chedabob Posts: 1,133
    Mash all the time!!
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 61,408
    I prefer standing up and mashing it usually - feels like I'm going faster even if I'm not. Also if legs are aching being able to use your body weight to push down can help form me.
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  • Mccraque
    Mccraque Posts: 819
    I tend to find that a combination of both works quite well.....I stand up and mash it when I feel like I need to recover from sitting down and vice versa.

    That may sound weird but I think because one is strength orientated and one more cardio, it allows you a nice little break from either.

    also though, the terrain dictated the position a lot of the time. Some of my local hills on the south downs - certainly the more direct "ups" rather than the meandering ones require you to keep arse on saddle or rear will spin out.

    My favourite climb is Whites Level at Afan though - you can throw in a mixture of in and out of the saddle, technical bits keep it interesting and you don't even notice the 30mins it takes to get to the top. :lol:
  • projectsome
    projectsome Posts: 4,478
    i start of mashing and sprint past everyone get knackered and have to pedal slow then those same people cruise past me :lol:
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  • blister pus
    blister pus Posts: 5,780
    I never stand but i pedal mash sat down but will use the granny ring when it's sensible, like to get over steep rough stuff, more for control than anything else.
  • Mickey Eye
    Mickey Eye Posts: 590
    Sit and spin works pretty well for me :P
  • alexj2233
    alexj2233 Posts: 381
    I don't generally stand climbing unless its a short and steep one. I prefer to perch on the nose of the saddle and pedal a reasonable gear, I barely use the granny unless it's a big and quite steep hill.
  • miss notax
    miss notax Posts: 2,572
    Mickey Eye wrote:
    Sit and spin works pretty well for me :P

    Ditto :D

    I may be slow but I get there eventually!
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  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    Did a test once climbing a shortish (1/4 mile) track sat and span it to the top took me 5 mins and felt okay could have done it again without a thought.

    Had a breather a drink and whizzed down then tried it again I absolutely mashed it grunting and groaning going as hard as I could. Got to the top in 4 min 30 secs but I was fooked my head was spinning and I could barely breathe.

    Sit and spin for me it doesnt matter how fast I get there as long as I can enjoy the downhill bit.
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  • Oxygen Thief
    Oxygen Thief Posts: 649
    Climbing is whack. Hate it, hate anythign too strenuous really. Not been on th bike for a week before today. Then I rode to work, 5mins in there is a hill, it's a nightmare! The heart rate is not yet up and happy so it's just murder! 15mins in the next hill isn't too bad. But still, climbing is grim! Thank god for the granny. I don't care if it takes me four days to get up a 20metre hill, it's like running, a CHORE!
  • dunker
    dunker Posts: 1,503
    if it's a long climb then i'll usually sit and spin but sometimes stand. if it's short and i want to keep my speed i'll stand and annihilate it! :P
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  • bike-a-swan
    bike-a-swan Posts: 1,235
    It usually depends on who I'm riding with and how competitive we get.
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  • asdfhjkl
    asdfhjkl Posts: 333
    yeehaamcgee wrote:
    depends how long te hill is.

    ^ This.

    Also depends on how technical the climb is. If there's step ups or I'm climbing up really loose terrain, I'll stay in the saddle and take it easy, just to keep my weight over the back wheel for traction.

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