Cycling up hills - which gears?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

SoulOnIce

New Member
Ok, this might be an obvious question but I've not been able to work out what is the best way to solve my query.

Mostly when I cycle up hills I stay sat in my seat, drop down to the lowest comfortable gear and pootle on up.

I've tried to do a bit of that getting out of the saddle and standing no the pedals thingy. I've not been able to work out what gears I should select. Should I go to a higher gear, or stay in my granny gears.

I know it should be obvious to me as I pedal but to be honest it isn't. What does everyone ealse do when they stand on the pedals to get up a hill?
 

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Always use the second lowest unless it's really steep and blow out on every down stroke... works for me so far!
 

Garz

Squat Member
Location
Down
This thread is itching jim to make an appearance!

Depending on how fit you are and how long the hill is, is a major factor in how I decide to tackle them.

Long hills I just gradually drop the gear till the top, short ones I now increase a gear at the start to be able to bounce standing. When your legs/energy fades go back to the saddle and drop gears. This is my style I have adapted so far, I can imagine if your very fit you can climb all of them out of saddle in a higher gear.
 
You generally need a higher gear when climbing out of the saddle (its usually called honking!) as you can exert more torque ie leverage on the cranks.

Sometimes however, you may need to honk simply because the hill has got so steep and you're already in the lowest gear. Hairpin bends are an example.

If you are going to get out of the saddle (either on hills or when accelerating) make sure you're using clipless pedals and that your bike is 100% safe, particularly handlebars/stem. Your privates may thank you for it in the future!!!
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Out the saddle ....honk it........OK JIM..... ?

It's up to you, your level of fitness, and what you are comfortable with........ the fitter you get, the less of the granny gears you will use.....
 

gf1959

Active Member
I don't want it to feel too easy to pedal,otherwise you don't get to a decent level of fitness,but you have to be sensible too. After all you want to make it to the top and
collapse with exhaustion! As the above po says,whatever feels right.
I alternate between sitting and standing,honking helps for the steeper climbs.
 

GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
Your base line riding style will effect the technique you use getting up hills, it's a personal thing & both of those impact the gears you use as the incline its self. There is no right or wrong answer as long as you reach the top & it really does come down to what feels right for you. What ever you will find using some form of foot retention will give you additional power to go up hill, I found going from flat peddles, no toe clips, to cleats gave an instant 10 to 15% ave speed increase.

I can spin very well with higher leg loads so I move forward in the saddle a bit & drive up the incline in the saddle at an elevated PPM, the steeper the incline the higher the PPM. This obviously needs a basic ability to spin the peddles, a lot of power & endurance so isn't for everyone. When taking it to the extreme on short steep inclines, bridges for instance, I didn't even bother dropping gears & just pushed up the PPM, confusing the hell out of everyone around you. I also found that I was accelerating up the steepest parts of your climb as it was less effort to spin faster for a bit than change gears twice.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
It's not so much the gears but rather using a pedalling style that lets you keep a bit in reserve for the hills.

I generally turn a wheel up hills with the emphasis on pulling up on the pedal having rested that piece of the armoury on the flat - you can do it anyway you like but you get the gist.

(see the thread on clipless pedals in beginners)
 

smeg

New Member
Location
Isle of Wight
I approach different hills in different ways, I tend to try and get a bit of speed up and momentum standing on the pedals up steeper ones in a high gear, then drop down into lower gears when it gets a bit too hard going. It depends what I feel like, how knackered I am, whether I could be late for work unless I hurry up, or how quickly I want to get home etc. I take it easier/slower going home when I've got shopping on the back obviously.

There's one hill I can fly up on my way to work because it starts at the bottom of coming down one, I shot past a bloke going slowly in a low gear on a mountain bike doing about 30mph in my highest gear recently, he must have thought what the...? :ohmy:
 

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
it's probably a matter of physiology. i prefer to sit and spin a low gear, some riders prefer to get out of the saddle and grind a higher gear. lance armstrong spun, jan ulrich ground. it's about what suits you, not what other riders do. whichever method you use, you will start using bigger gears anyway.
 
Top Bottom