Bicycling - Road and Mountain

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HILLS-Wait let me catch my breath....

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mlove351
mlove351 Posts: 94 Member
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I live in NJ and there are lots of rolling hills..Depending on incline I usually shift to a very low gear and just ride up...but i feel like the little engine that could and yes that stupid song plays in my head.. and lets not forget the out breath reaction as well... :explode:

So I know for you to improve on hills you have to practice riding hills for that is the only way to get better... can anybody tell me what is your technique with hills..I want to make sure Im not exerting to much energy and more efficient...

Thanks in adavance

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  • emaren
    emaren Posts: 934 Member
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    Simply slow down, easier gears, no rush, sit down and spin your way up them.....
  • beatpig
    beatpig Posts: 97 Member
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    You use bigger muscle groups by sitting down, standing uses smaller ones which tire quicker.

    There will be a point when you naturally want to stand, which is good to do, you'll feel that, but try and stay seated as long as possible.

    Spinning a lower gear helps!
  • ghost15026
    ghost15026 Posts: 80
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    Standing, fast-twitch muscles = More power, less endurance
    Sitting, slow-twitch muscles = More endurance, less power

    I try to anticipate gearing and shift slightly ahead of time - even if it means some spinning. I stand up on short hills or just the latter half of a long climb. I focus a bit more on pedal upstroke while standing (clipless pedals). Standing has the added benefit of relieving saddle soreness. I try to avoid the left-right "bike shaking" momentum since that's bad form and wasted energy.

    I'm sitting for most of the long+steep hills. I won't make it to the top in one piece, otherwise. I'm definitely not a mountain goat (used to be, western Pennsylvania).

    I prefer to hammer the gears downhill when it's adjacent to an uphill. 50+ mph of bombing momentum makes it possible to skip climbs. It also seems to be a good way to end up as a smear but so far so good. I get nervous when approaching 50 lol. Just noticed I got bike lube on my rear braking surfaces last week while going 40 downhill...
  • dirtybadgermtb
    dirtybadgermtb Posts: 140 Member
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    Here is what works for me:

    Climb lots: in the winter we do a ride called "The Tour of Chapel Hills" where we hammer every steep hill we can find around Chapel Hill, NC. It is a 10 mile ride with as much climbing as some 50 mile rides I have done. Doing this really helped my efficiency and experience.

    Stay seated most of the time taking time to alternate to standing to give the muscles used while seated the occasional rest.

    Losing weight. I am not saying this to anyone in particular but I lost 20 lbs and went to being the guy that was always dropped to being a guy that was dropping other dudes.

    Relaxed upper body: release the death grip on the handle bars and relax the upper body to conserve energy.

    Meditative breathing: I find climbing to be really zen in that on the long steady climbs, I just focus on a natural rhythm between my pedaling cadence, breathing rate, heart rate and maintaining a feeling in my legs just below a burning sensation.

    Bike fit: always important
  • lisapr123
    lisapr123 Posts: 863 Member
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    My husband and I are both pretty avid cyclists and we attack hills the opposite ways and tend to get to the top at the same time....

    I don't switch gears, leaving it instead in a moderately heavy gear and just power up it while seated for as long as I can, then I move into a standing climb.

    He puts it in a super easy gear while approaching the hill, and does a quick seated climb the whole way up.

    Admittedly, he's much more "alive" at the top of the hill, whereas I use the top of the hill as an excuse to stop and check my phone, tie back my hair, (catch my breath!), etc... So I have to think his way is better, but mine is what works for me.
  • Spatialized
    Spatialized Posts: 623 Member
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    For me it really depends...

    Short punchy hills I stand and grind them out until I count. Longer hills, sit and spin. It took me awhile to find my, "happy place" while climbing (gearing, RPM, breathing) and when I can hit it, the climbs melt away, but I'm nowhere near being able to harness that every time I climb. The reality is just time going up...you will get stronger and faster. Eventually.
  • primal_cupcakes
    primal_cupcakes Posts: 280 Member
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    I stand up and attack the short steep hills and sit down and slowly spin my way up the big hills.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    For the long hills where you aren't going to be able to charge up with a burst of energy I try to keep to my natural leg cadence by coming down the gears as speed decreases.
    For those really evil ones or when tired I'm consciously pulling up as well.

    Tend to save standing for the last resort, a bit of saddle relief, or where I've run out of gears and speed.
  • mlove351
    mlove351 Posts: 94 Member
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    Thanks all for the wonderful advise

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