Sitting down on inclines?

joshr96

I heard this a while back on a road cycling website and it was supposedly recommended by Lance Armstrong. He said that sitting down on a climb was much better because it focuses the energy towards the full length of your legs and not wasted on places like your back, neck and arms. I tried this out for the first time today on a quick 10 mile ride along the coast and hey, it killed me.

Apart from the obvious downside of leaving you absolutely knackered and burning at the top of the accent, it has some sense behind it. I found that it was quicker to recover from tired legs than it was to recover from a full tired body. I will be using this technique in most of my rides now, apart from the ones that have major inclines, there is a cut off point where you really need to stand up otherwise you'll stop moving.

Does anyone else use this when out on the bike?

cougie

It's more efficient to climb in the saddle. Providing your gearing and cadence is right.
Climbing out of the saddle will use more energy as you are using more muscles to power the pedals round.

I think most cyclists use a combination though - it's often useful to get out of the saddle to get through a steeper section rather than drop down through the gears.

nathancom

I don't ever really stand up in my saddle unless i am looking to accelerate or build/maintain momentum. The full body effort is worth it in these circumstances but for a long climb I prefer to be sat down.

You transfer power to the pedals much more efficiently sitting than standing as your body is not moving about anywhere near as much. You will likely have a more rounded pedal action as well which maintains the momentum of the stroke instead of hammering down at the top of each stroke.

You are also engaging slow twitch muscle fibres more when sitting down, ie your endurance muscles, and these can continue working for longer than your fast twitch muscles (slow twitch generally use more fat for fuel than fast twitch which use glycogen).

Try climbing more sat down and your leg muscles will adjust - it will take 3 or 4 weeks but is the best way to climb and still have energy for the rest of the ride.

jim453

Combination of both. Standing up is good for pretending you're Marco Pantani every once in a while but is rarely actually faster (though it feels like it is).

thegreatdivide

I've posted this clip several times and IMO it contains some of the best climbing tips out there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6QvK1NXINY

nferrar

Sitting down is more efficient (although not 'much' more as someone posted) but varying it is the best idea.

Muffintop

I sit down on most of my climbs having just found my 'sweetspot' for climbs this year - I think I lost it during the winter. I'm trying a technique of doing 2/3rds of the hill in the saddle and then the last third (or couple of meters out) to build up momentum for the decent or even flat after. I read this somewhere but I'm not sure where I'm afraid. It is faster to climb out of the saddle but it wipes me out for the rest of the hill, and I'd rather go up it slower than have to get off and walk up it.

Mx

amaferanga

Climbing seated may be more efficient if you take that effort in isolation (a little more efficient, most definitely not a lot as suggested above), but over the course of a ride mixing it up definitely helps. What makes your legs burn is the power output - you should be able to generate the same power using either technique provided you practice both.

This topic comes up often on here and its always the same - folk that never climb out of the saddle saying its much less efficient, but it only seems that way to them because they never do it! Practice both, get your optimum cadence for climbing seated and standing sorted and you'll find there's approximately chuff all difference between the two techniques in the real world.

rolf_f

Muffintop wrote:

It is faster to climb out of the saddle but it wipes me out for the rest of the hill......

Have you actually timed it? I have - in my case, climbing out of the saddle certainly feels faster but definitely isn't faster! One reason it feels faster is that as soon as I stand up, I need to drop down a gear which implies an increase in speed; but in this case it just reflects a lower cadence when I'm stood up. There isn't a lot in it overall though but I'm probably more tired at the top if I have been standing.

I maybe doing it all wrong though

rick_chasey

Do whatever feels right!

pdstsp

Also - on longer alpine climbs I will often get out of the saddle for a few pedal strokes every once in a while to stretch a little and ease back muscles etc - mind you whenever I'm climbing an alp I'm normally on it for quite a while.

marcusjb

Another one for mixing it up.

I find it boils down to a difference between strength and cardiovascular fitness.

Riding in the saddle takes more strength (you're not using your body weight as much to push down on the pedals) and riding out of the saddle requires more cardiovascular fitness (I will be breathing much harder out of the saddle I find).

I prefer to climb seated these days, but will still get out of the saddle for a bit of most climbs - just to vary things and keep all the muscles working as well as to give my bum a bit of a break during a long ride.

As others have said, there will of course be hills that can't be climbed seated (unless you have mountain bike style gearing!).

I think everyone will have their own preferences - I prefer to use strength over lungs (having had a lump of lung chopped out a few years ago, I can no longer throw myself up hills like I used to!), but mixing it up will keep everything going better.

Gizmo_

If you're sat down and you've run out of gears and puff, you might as well stand up and 'walk' on the pedals.

I've never been one for getting up too much... I prefer to pick a gear, settle into it and effandblind myself to the top.

ShutUpLegs

Josh Harfoot wrote:

I heard this a while back on a road cycling website and it was supposedly recommended by Lance Armstrong.

I'd take anything recommended by Lance with a pinch of salt (or anything else to hand)

waynobfc

Gizmo_ wrote:

If you're sat down and you've run out of gears and puff, you might as well stand up and 'walk' on the pedals.

I've never been one for getting up too much... I prefer to pick a gear, settle into it and effandblind myself to the top.

This is me all over, get some strange looks!

dartmoorscottydog

What's the best technique for those hills where the incline is so steep the front end is coming up and jerking all over the place? I tried sitting and my weight was obviously too far back and the hill too long for reliably getting up and crunching the pedals.

Monty Dog

I disagree that you can generate the same power seated as out the saddle - the reason that people tire more quickly out the saddle is that it engages more muscles and consumes more energy and likewise you can generate more power. The same could be said for sprinters - ever seen a sprinter stay seated?

MartinB2444

I have 2 kinds of standing, one when I'm going over a ramp or trying to speed up towards the end of a climb, bumping up the gear and maintaining my cadence, my heart rate goes up pretty rapidly when I do this so I generally avoid doing early in the climb. The second is the walking on the pedals type which seems a pretty efficient way to go up a really steep gradient, I go slowly and have a slow cadence and probably look like a right wally but if it gets me up the really steep stuff or gives me a bit of a rest on a long climb I don't mind that. Otherwise I'm sitting, twiddling my fingers and trying to do that diagphragmatic breathing thing

cyco2

Using an out of saddle technique for climbing can generate more speed than being seated, if you want to. It does make you want more oxygen and so is an excellent cardio work out and if used regularly will increase fitness. It is the only way to keep up with riders climbing in a race when some of them are trying to make you suffer. I very often used it on inclines to drop the opposition to open up a gap and discourage wheel sitting and to create the gap for a break. Of course seated is okay but to progress to racing you really need to get a more aggressive approach to hill climbing.

Bozman

After Twenty years in the saddle i find that staying seated and spinning just drains me, i'm fine on inclines but as soon as that percentage increases I'm out of the saddle.
We're all different, I think that you've just got to find out what works for you, maybe it's because I never had the choice of a compact or triple when I started, your granny ring was 39 or 42 and that was that.

Phill B

Rick Chasey wrote:

Do whatever feels right!

+1

rolf_f

Rick Chasey wrote:

Do whatever feels right!

This is not necessarily good advice! If you get into a bad habit, doing what feels right will probably be doing the bad habit. It's only good to do whatever feels right if whatever feels right is a good habit!

rick_chasey

Rolf F wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Do whatever feels right!

This is not necessarily good advice! If you get into a bad habit, doing what feels right will probably be doing the bad habit. It's only good to do whatever feels right if whatever feels right is a good habit!

Even with standing/sitting?

You can feel if it's knackering or not...?

amaferanga

Rick Chasey wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Do whatever feels right!

This is not necessarily good advice! If you get into a bad habit, doing what feels right will probably be doing the bad habit. It's only good to do whatever feels right if whatever feels right is a good habit!

Even with standing/sitting?

You can feel if it's knackering or not...?

If someone always climbs seated, but then tries climbing out of the saddle they'll likely be gasping for breath very quickly. By your reasoning they should never try it again.

You need to practice both and then choose which suits best.

rolf_f

Rick Chasey wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Do whatever feels right!

This is not necessarily good advice! If you get into a bad habit, doing what feels right will probably be doing the bad habit. It's only good to do whatever feels right if whatever feels right is a good habit!

Even with standing/sitting?

You can feel if it's knackering or not...?

My guess is that you should have both in your armoury! I do tend to sit most of the time - I pretend to know something about sport science by thinking that if, on a long ride, I stay seated on the climbs as long as possible, then I'll still have the fast twitch left to help me up a killer climb towards the end of the ride. But what that tends to mean is that often I don't actually end up standing at all as I'm always saving it for later - so I practice standing less than I need so that when I do need it I won't have as much left in me as I should.

Someone who actually knows something is going to tell me the above is all crap now but I think it sort of makes sense!

Sunderland Supporter

I went to a specific hill tonight to do hill repeats . The hill selected was chosen because id estimated it to be in 8 % range and I wanted to try varying climb techniques. I tried it 1st by selecting lower gearing , 34 front cog and spinning at higher cadence , to be honest I found that my heartrate rose rapidly and I did not like climbing that way. The ascent took me 2 min 55 to the crest. I went back to the start and waited for 2 mins then set off again, this time I used the 50 front cog and set my ar$e back on the saddle and concentrated on pulling my leg back in a dragging it along the kitchen floor type motion and this time my heartrate was noticable lower and the ascent was completed in 2 min 50. 3rd time I approached the hill similarly to the first attempt and with a 3rd to go, switched to 50 front cog and got out of the saddle. The ascent took 2 mins 55 again . It was an interesting comparison and I definitely preferred the 2nd method for that particular hill,but varying hills will be suited to particular techniques or combination, still a worthwhile thing to try though.

kingrollo

in terms of efficency sitting every time for me. It takes some discipline getting used - but you can then just chug up hills.

have to get out of the saddle more now - due to ass nerve pain - but i think seated is more efficient.

humpyg

Up until a month ago I always sat when climbing and felt I could go on forever, and if I needed to stand on very steep inclines, I'd tire quickly and wouldn't be able to last long. I've now started to mix it up a bit more and any short/medium or steep hills I'll stand and power up, and I'll sit for any long climbs. For me, I'm now getting up the hills quicker although I do feel pretty tired at the end of rides, but it's all training, and I'd like to think if I keep mixing it up, I'll get stronger and won't tire so easily.

oldwelshman

Horses for courses.
If on a lone ride and taking it easy,ride in saddle and twiddle, if doing high intensity intervals, out of saddle or mixture.
Long alpine type climbs low gradient, in saddle.
Short sharp UK climbs,out of saddle every time. I mean the ones that are mayve 150m to 400m long where you get a bit of a run up to them so build up speed and sprint them. If you roll up to these in the saddle they end up seeming like a long climb and feel awful
For races, I have never managed to stay in saddle for any climb as you normally get pelple attacking or putting on pressure and younmay try to stay seated but most people would get dropped doing this.

Squillinossett

Don't forget if you climb with your jersey unzipped you instantly look Pro and women with throw themselves in front of you....

On a serious note, I find I just do what suits me on the day & the hill. on longer climbs I find it better to sit, hands on the flats and spin. On short, steep hills I stand and attack as this leaves me less out of breath than taking it steady.

rolf_f

Squillinossett wrote:

Don't forget if you climb with your jersey unzipped you instantly look Pro and women with throw themselves in front of you....

I get that all the time. It's why I'm thinking of getting a full suss mountain bike.....