how to get better at climbing on the bike? (Page 2)

anyone mention climbing more hills?

I got back into MTN biking and my climbing has improved because of it.

Great climbers climb out of the saddle a lot.

But they are also usually under 130 pounds.

I'm a decent climber (well ....... really good climber by triathlete standards) and will do about 50/50 out of the saddle versus seated.  It all depends on the particular hill I'm climbing.

As already mentioned, climb lots, climb varied grades.  You will get better.  Hell, there have been times where I have been known to go specifically looking for climbing days!  And I'm by no means the prototypical shape for a climber (6'-1" and 175).  I just enjoy them!  Which is really weird because I always hated running them ......

I don't care what everyone was on, because this guy destroyed them while they were ALL doing it.

RIP Il Pirato .......





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there are several things i've picked up when riding hills, either alone or with groups of people:

1) I don't bite off more than I can chew: I often tackle the distance between telephone poles, for example, one distance at a time. I ignore the whole hill and concentrate on that little stretch. Thinking or staring up at the whole hill can be quite difficult and oftentimes overwhelms me. I also never hesitate to talk to myself as I'm climbing. The verbal encouragement helps alot ("the next telephone pole is RIGHT THERE, you got it!!").
2) I alternate between sitting and standing. Oftentimes when I'm sitting, I pull up with my hamstrings/glutes, and when standing I really push with the quads.
3) When I'm standing, it's natural for the bike to pivot left and right as you pedal. I add to that, pulling up on my handlebars with the opposite arm. For example, when I'm pushing with my left quad, I pull with my right arm. It not only helps put more power to the wheels, but you can get a pretty decent bicep workout too .
4) Make sure to enjoy the downhill sections: they make the climb totally worth it.

sorry for the double post....i was confusing myself when trying to explain.

I messed up #3--- When you push down with your left foot, pull up with the left arm as the bike pivots to the right. I find it really helps to put more power to the ground through your arms, and/or helps relieve your quads of the entire workload a little.

The pirate is also the only person I've seen go up 7-8% grades in the drops like he is sprinting.

Pirate was something else!

Come join me for some hill climbs.  I have a great little course no one uses consisting of fire road (so you need a MTB).  Not technical, but it sports 215'/mile of climbing and the climbs average a 17% grade.  You'll get better at hills in no time, I promise.

The best part?  The one big downhill is spectacular.  I have hit 39mph on the way down.  Aiming for 40.

I have eagerly been anticipating wonderful answers to this post because this is my year to overcome hills also.  The group I ride with most of the time do KOH (king of the hill) points for several hills on most rides and it is rare that I am not the last one up to the top of the hill.  Here is what I have done (not much different than the other posts, but several things that haven't been mentioned).

1.  This year I am going to tackle hills, I have told everyone I know, and they all know it and it is not hidden from anyone.  Say it outloud, tell your friends and tell the people you ride with so they can help you!

2.  I ATTACK every hill I see on most of my rides this year.  I can't do it all of the time, but most rides (I can't let it affect my ability to ride with a group if I am in one).  But mentally and physically make it a point to attack the hills. 

3.  My advantage is aero, and downhill.  I use this to my advantage to make any hill I can smaller.  The faster I am going at the bottom of the hill the less work it is to make it to the top of the hill.

4.  I stand up more (about 50% of the time).  I drop about 2 gears by standing (you have to be aware of this so you judge the right gear to be in before you stand). 

5.  The more experience I have on the hills the better I can judge when I can start sprinting to the top (not too early to wear myself out before cresting) and not too late that you still have plenty of energy once you are over the top.

6.  Ride more hills.  I go looking for the largest hills I can ride, and the most hills I can get into a single ride.  I asked my friends "what hills do you hate the most" and put a list together to ride them.

7.  Signed up for a LONG, HILLY, ride later this summer.  Just to make sure that I push myself to get better at hills.

8.  Ride more.

Michael

Yup, ride more

Here's the list.
1.  lose weight.  I love the posts above,,,,,  165?  195?  try 230
Ideally from the body, but you notice a couple pounds even off the bike or lighter wheels.
2.  Increase strength.  This means ride more.  Then ride some more.   Start with one big hill per ride.   Eventually add another.   Climb long climbs if you can, an hour or more.  
3.  Technique.  
-Keep your cadence up if you can, but at my weight and a 27, sometimes 50 rpms is the best I can do
 - Others will disagree, but the BEST climber I know (wins local MTB races outright) taught me to stay seated during training unless I simply run outof gears, or I need to switch up for a few seconds and engage some different muscles.   
- Slide your rear to the back of your seat.
-Keep your chest open so you can breathe - hands on tops of bars.
- Maintain your power.  Don't hammer the bottom and struuggle over the top.  You should be strongest at the top - why?  cuz everyone else will be hammering the bottom and dead at the top
-And, most important, be patient.  Settle in, keep spining.  The longer you climb, the better

Edited by ChrisM 2009-06-08 11:57 PM

Uh, I believe that 215'/mile is only an average of 4%, not 17%, or is it a series of short steep climbs?

In any event, the OP has some paved roads with grades between 15 & 20%.  They don't build them like that today, but many roads in PA were layed out long before there were cars, so there are some downright ugly climbs around here.  That's probably a big reason why he's saying the hills are kicking his butt.

I'm going to bet it's 17% for some of the climbs, a sustained 17% climb without the traction of pavement is going to mean an eventual walk up the hill for most mortal human beings. 

Now it's a good list.

This user's post has been ignored.

I'm one who disagrees (with caveats). MTB racers must stay seated more because they lose traction out of the saddle as their weight shifts forward. They also have far lower gears so "spinning" helps with their balance/stability at low speed from the gyro effect.

Climbing out of the saddle is a movement that a rider can train and ride effciently. Pro riders are out of the saddle a lot when climbing so they must believe it's faster, uses less energy, or both, for them. However, if a rider hasn't trained and become efficient at climbing out of the saddle, they probably should stay in the saddle because if they don't they're going to use more energy.

Short steep little hills (1/3 of the riding is flat).  Biggest hill is just a bit over 200' climbing.  The surface isn't very loose, so traction is pretty decent - though not good enough to stand the whole way up.  Granny gears are necessary (for me, anyway).  Great workout for climbing. 

The OP is actually pretty lucky to have some steep roads like that.  Once those can be climbed he should be able to tackle most things pretty well.  On the other end of the scale I have a couple buddies that live in New Orleans.  Those guys are hosed if they ever want to tackle some hilly stuff - there just isn't anything there to help them practice.

I'm a climber who has nothing to climb. It sucks.

I'm really lucky then.  We have the best of both worlds around here.  Within a 20-30 minute drive of my house, I can ride endless miles of hills (up to about 3 or 4 miles long and peaking @ 18%), rollers, or flats.  It's great to have the option of going out for a long tempo ride on the flats or climbing hills until I want to vomit. 

 

Build the muscles that turn the cranks.

That's my project right now. And dropping a pound or two off my A$$.

By riding lots.

Because any other way is not going to help you climb any better for more than 10 seconds or so .......

Knew I shouldn't have put the MTB reference inthere.    He wins local races (and series), and there are lots of very good MTBs out here.  But his advice was strictly re; road riding, and was talking about training.   MTB riding technique had nothing to do with the conversation.    He is an incredible road climber as well

Of course he's 5'5" and 130.   

It has worked for me (or did last season where my climbing got very strong).  I incur a HR penalty when I get out of the saddle so I tend not to do it much except to stretch the legs (or if the workout calls for it)

Edited by ChrisM 2009-06-09 8:49 PM

The only way to get better at climbing is increasing your power to weight ratio. When I quit triathlon to focus on road cycling about a year or so ago I was 6'1 and weighed about 155. Now a year later, and 10 pounds lighter my climbing has improved (even if my time trialing has suffered a bit.)

If you want to climb better without losing weight, focus on riding at a cadence of 95-100rpm and stay relaxed. Also, while training don't stand. This will force you to put more power into the pedals, and make it easier to stand up and accelerate when it really matters. On long climbs, standing up should only be done when accelerating. Think about staying light on your feet, and "dancing" on the pedals.

This from the person who will be doing the Mt. Washington Auto Road Race (both bike and run): there is Only One Hill!

I ride with pro MTB riders here fairly often in early summer as they're on road bikes until our good trails melt out. I've noticed that they appear to always be in the saddle while climbing even on the little mini-pitches that most road riders I know just power up out of the saddle. I've asked a couple of them why and what I wrote above is what I came away with. They're awesome climbers on the road too so it obviously works great for them.


That's all that matters. Everybody's different.