Cadence and pedaling style up a long hill!

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
you use this same climbing technique for SS as geared?

i am out of the saddle a lot on my SS roadie. the only time i sit on a climb is when i can't handle life anymore and i am in need of something that doesn't hurt as much as standing (sitting never really works). i'll go from sitting to standing sometimes every 30 seconds if the climb sucks out loud looking for relief. anyway on the road i'm usually standing on uphills.

on the geared bike which is my mountain bike (which is SS right now, but i change it back to geared often enough), i sit a lot more than stand since i can spin, especially when the grade gets crazy or when it gets technical. i probably would ride the same if i had gears on the roadie.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
thanks for the responses - it certainly helps - putting words/images to it.

i like to sit, fingertips on the bars close to the center, on the road climbs - i tried it on the mtb today too, since there was a road incline - it worked well.
on the trail climbs, i'm on the nose of the seat, trying to keep my weight just in front of the axle, wrists rotated down - traction, and no wheelie. if it is small
climb that can be done with a little momentum, i'm up and hammering.

had to stand on fiddlers, and it was a pedal over pedal struggle for me. i believe that is 30% at the wall. but not on some of the jugtown mt climbs

good stuff.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
had to stand on fiddlers, and it was a pedal over pedal struggle for me. i believe that is 30% at the wall. but not on some of the jugtown mt climbs

good stuff.

Steep like fiddlers is a definite stand for me but don't kid yourself, that is 20% at the steep part. I don't think there are too many people just spinning over 20%.
 

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
to you use this same climbing technique for SS as geared?

for long climbs, I'll drop to a lower gear, sit back further and pull on the bars as I chug along
this allows use of different muscles, but can't remember if it's all quads

A lot more standing on the SS.
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If you watch the classic Armstrong vs Ullrich races, you will see that they have a very different style of riding. Armstrong is constantly out of the saddle at a higher cadence and Ullrich is more seated and grind it out style. Althugh Ullrich compared to us mortal is probably still a fast cadence. Just when you see them side by side, you can see the stark contrast.

So there is really no right answer. Personally, I like to switch things up.
 

Arwen's Mom

Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains
This has been interesting. In my previous bike life I stood and mashed almost every hill road or trail. Now I find I sit and spin almost all the hills. I dont feel as comfortable standing and pedaling as I used to. Balance issue? feel like I am gonna fall over. This thread has inspired me to try a few of these techniques though so...cool.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
On the road I like to stand and mash for the final few 100 feet, but on the trails the rear tire slips a lot. Is the weight shift different when climbing on a MTB?
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
On the road I like to stand and mash for the final few 100 feet, but on the trails the rear tire slips a lot. Is the weight shift different when climbing on a MTB?

You can stand, but lean forward and stick your butt back. Like really exaggerate sticking your butt back part. Either that or you can kinda stand upright and pull on your handlebars and your whole body back, but I like the first technique. Watch how the good single speed guys do it.
 

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
On the road I like to stand and mash for the final few 100 feet, but on the trails the rear tire slips a lot. Is the weight shift different when climbing on a MTB?


Bottom line, to keep your rear wheel from slipping you need to put more weight over the rear wheel. [not unlike guys who put stuff in the beds of their pickup trucks]

I don't think you need to really exaggerate sticking your butt out. I find that rather minor adjustments to your center of gravity can make a big difference.

So like everything in mtb'ing you need to find out what works for you. In this case it's figuring out how far back you need to shift your weight back to keep traction.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
coach ben just demo'd it today at the clinic, hover over the nose with elbows bent and lean forward
really helped with maintaining cadence along a loose stretch
 

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
coach ben just demo'd it today at the clinic, hover over the nose with elbows bent and lean forward
really helped with maintaining cadence along a loose stretch

I assume that advice is when you're sitting.

My comment (and I assume soundz') was when you out da saddle
 

Blair

Well-Known Member
coach ben just demo'd it today at the clinic, hover over the nose with elbows bent and lean forward
really helped with maintaining cadence along a loose stretch

The fun thing about ss mtb is there is no right answer or perfect gear because it all depends on the conditions and climbing technique. It's about maintaining efficiency and cadence especially on hills. If you've got a good seated rhythm it takes one bad line, wheel spin or big bump to bring you to a near stop.
 
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