Climbing standing

Anonymous

Not entirely sure this is the right room for this.

I am slightly overweight (not much) just a small pot belly and hold a relatively high level of fitness. when climbing I find sitting more comfortable, in gradients up to around 15%. I generally push a cadence of around 70-75rpm using a 34x26.

My problem lies in that when I stand out of the saddle, I lose all momentum and speed. I generally shift up a gear but still feel as if I am much slower standing that sitting. Do you have any tips on improving this, and drills, training etc?

i know I could loose some weight and that is being worked on as we speak.


Any help, thanks

markhewitt1978

There's no law which says you have to stand, if you're climbing seated then good, you can climb further that way. I generally only stand when it gets >15%. But I'm probably the worst climber in the history of cycling so ignore everything I say.

drlodge

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Your cadence will drop when standing, hence you either slow down (cos the hill got steeper and too steep for sitting) or you drop a cog or two.

I have practiced standing when climbing to the point I can now do it for quite a long time. I have learnt to climb at a sustainable pace whereas before I would always be pushing too hard when standing and I would soon blow up.

Just practice and listen to your body

I too generally have to stand at > 15% although now with a 34x29 I can go a little steeper staying seated

markhewitt1978

My friend runs a triple on his bike but he stubbornly refuses to use the granny ring, so he's climbing in 39/28 and he stands a lot of the time, and he always beats me up every climb, up some like Buttertubs by a big margin.

drlodge

markhewitt1978 wrote:

My friend runs a triple on his bike but he stubbornly refuses to use the granny ring, so he's climbing in 39/28 and he stands a lot of the time, and he always beats me up every climb, up some like Buttertubs by a big margin.

Have you been up the southwards ascent of Fleet Moss with him? It really ramps up there and I'd be impressed if he could keep out of the granny ring for that. I had to stop once on my 34x29 just cos I had nothing left in the legs, I would hope with fresher legs I could make it up in one - but its a b1tch of a climb that way.

markhewitt1978

Nah it was the first time riding in Yorkshire. We're County Durham based, so we've done the likes of Crawleyside, Peth Bank.

drlodge

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Nah it was the first time riding in Yorkshire. We're County Durham based, so we've done the likes of Crawleyside, Peth Bank.

You've done The Stang? That's a nice little lump taking you to a lovely view over County Durham.

markhewitt1978

I haven't, as it would be a 100 mile roundtrip just to get to it, but I'll put it on my list!

drlodge

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I haven't, as it would be a 100 mile roundtrip just to get to it, but I'll put it on my list!

I guess you could go to the top of Tan Hill, have a coffee and cake there, then wizz downhill and hang a left up The Stang. AsI recall, its quite steep to start with (like standing steep) then levels off into a grind-in-the-saddle incline. Wouldn't want to be up there in bad weather, its very exposed at the top.

Jules Winnfield

drlodge wrote:

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Your cadence will drop when standing

Really?

When you stand up whilst climbing, you are exerting more power on the pedals so you will spin the crank quicker. If I'm on a hill (riding seated) and the gradient ramps up then will drop down to a smaller gear on the rear cassette (let's say from a 25 to a 23) and stand on the pedals to keep the cadence the same without losing momentum.

It's all about thinking about the climb ahead and looking at the road and changing gears at the right time. It's no good grinding away until you can barely turn the pedals THEN decide to change gears or adjust your pedalling position.