Sit or spin?

[gambatte]

Suppose theres other bits of the forum I could ask this, but my cyclings nearly all commuting....

My rides a drop barred roady. Theres plenty of advice on here about cycling technique as regards roadcraft etc. Thought I'd ask about the mechanics of cycling, figure theres some more experienced guys on here.

Specifically hills.

Best way of tackling them.

1. Stay sat, drop right down the gears, TRY to keep a high cadence?
2. Get up off the saddle, use your weight to help keep the wheels spinning?

I tend to the former. Just wondering if there are specific benefits to either?

 

[MontyVeda]

depends on the size of the hill... if it's short then I'll stand up and go for it, if it's long then I'll use my gears.

 

[aberal]

It's either/or.....If you want to maintain your speed or are in a rush - stand up. If you're not in a rush - maintain the cadence. Except it's not as simple as that.

Here's my experience. Half way up a hill in Tasmania with fully loaded touring bike, and as an ex-mountain biker used to hills - I was working the cadence, keeping it up. But the gradient was ridiculous and the heat oppressive, absolutely baking - and I reached a point where I thought my eyeballs were going to pop, my neck veins going to burst and I nearly got off. Except I didn't - instead, reduced my cadence to half my normal speed and surprisingly...kept on going. All the way to the top of the hill. I used that technique thereafter. Every big hill - drop the cadence and plod my way up.

Fast forward a couple of years, now unfit and overweight - my normal training ride took me up a short steep incline. At first I dropped the gears to the granny gear. As I got fitter, I kept the high gearing, but using my Tasmanian experience, dropped the cadence. As I got fitter still - I started to take the same rise in the high gearing but stood up to power my way up. And reckoned I was fit again - but strangely, got even fitter and found that I could power my way up the same hill, with a high gear, high cadence and sitting down.

Does that answer your question? Probably not - but the point is, it all depends.

 

[the_mikey]

Again, depends on the hill..


Short but steep incline I'll get out of the saddle in a middle of the range gear.
Long and steep incline then I'll spin up in low gear, low speed.
Long but not steep I'll spin in a higher gear.

Ideally you should practice or test yourself to find out quite how hard you can work/how fast you can go up a hill without becoming anaerobic. The problems start when you use more oxygen than your lungs and heart can supply, heavy breathing is normal!

 

[John90]

i am in no way an expert but I did Devil's Dyke and Ditchling Beacon respectively last year and this on London to Brighton rides. The Dyke half killed me because I didn't drop into a low enough gear and tried to hammer up it. The more 'challenging' Beacon was much easier because I went low from the start and kept a steady cadence. I didn't attack it. So if the objective is to get to the top - low gear and steady cadence. If you want to beat your best time, then out of the saddle.

 

[gaz]

Mix of both really. They each use different muscles so mix it up to help keep fresh.

 

[MontyVeda]

It's either/or.....If you want to maintain your speed or are in a rush - stand up. If you're not in a rush - maintain the cadence. Except it's not as simple as that.

Here's my experience. Half way up a hill in Tasmania with fully loaded touring bike, and as an ex-mountain biker used to hills - I was working the cadence, keeping it up. But the gradient was ridiculous and the heat oppressive, absolutely baking - and I reached a point where I thought my eyeballs were going to pop, my neck veins going to burst and I nearly got off. Except I didn't - instead, reduced my cadence to half my normal speed and surprisingly...kept on going. All the way to the top of the hill. I used that technique thereafter. Every big hill - drop the cadence and plod my way up.

Fast forward a couple of years, now unfit and overweight - my normal training ride took me up a short steep incline. At first I dropped the gears to the granny gear. As I got fitter, I kept the high gearing, but using my Tasmanian experience, dropped the cadence. As I got fitter still - I started to take the same rise in the high gearing but stood up to power my way up. And reckoned I was fit again - but strangely, got even fitter and found that I could power my way up the same hill, with a high gear, high cadence and sitting down.

Does that answer your question? Probably not - but the point is, it all depends.

Back in the day when i had a longish hilly commute, I also found that over time, the lowest gears i once relied on became obsolete... the more you do it, the less you need to select a lower gear, all part of the fun/fitness.

...although my current gearing has reverted back to the lowest of the low

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

depends on the size of the hill... if it's short then I'll stand up and go for it, if it's long then I'll use my gears.

..and if it's really long, spin for a while, then shift up and stand for a while, then sit and spin again - repeat as needed

 

[DrSquirrel]

I attack it flat for as long as I can and then out the saddle to finish. For longer undulating hills I will sit for the flatter parts and stand for the steeper sections.

On the fixed though - I sometimes have no choice

 

[Moodyman]

Worth pointing out that standing up and mashing the pedals also puts a lot of strain on the bike and drivetrain.

 

[Simba]

depends on the size of the hill... if it's short then I'll stand up and go for it, if it's long then I'll use my gears.

+1 same here.

 

[MontyVeda]

..and if it's really long, spin for a while, then shift up and stand for a while, then sit and spin again - repeat as needed

Do a u-turn

 

[gambatte]

Ta guys,
Sounds like I'm doing the right thing then Just got to not feel too guilty about standing up on the pedals

 

[ianrauk]

you shouldn't feel guilty at what ever method you use. It's your choice and what works for you.

 

[XmisterIS]

I used to get out of the saddle to get up hills, but I always ran out of puff half way up, plus I find it a completely exhausting way of hill climbing! Nowadays, I find that if I select the correct gear and cadence, I can pedal my way up any hill without stopping.