To waggle or not to waggle?

[XmisterIS]

When hillclimbing, I mean, and when climbing a big ol' bad boy of a hill.

Do you prefer to get up out of the saddle and do the whole routine of standing on the pedals with the bike waggling from side to side, or do you stay sitting down, change down a few gears and just power through with your thighs?

Personally, I stay sat down and try to keep a good cadence going, without doing any waggling. I've never been sure which is the most efficient way to hillclimb though! I feel that it should be the non-waggling way because to my mind waggling just expends energy in a useless fashion.

 

[guitarpete247]

When I was younger I stood up on the pedals and waggled. Now I try to stay sitting. I don't feel as comfortable standing on the pedals as I used to.

 

[fossyant]

Out of the saddle and grunt it up ! Certainly the steep ones as I only have a 39 x 21 or 24 (depending upon bike). What's a compact/triple ?

 

[twozeronine]

I try to stay seated as much as possible and then waggle when I feel I need to give it a bit of a push.

There's some good tips here:

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFNKhNhhJQ

 

[Cyclopathic]

When I was younger and thin I'd think nothing of getting up and having a good waggle on a hill or even on a straight for a burst of speed. Since putting on wieght and comming back to cycling very gradualy I don't waggle at all. I hope though that when I get fitter and loose a few stones that I will be able to waggle once more. Having said that now I'm a bit older I do enjoy a more sedate ride these days btu I still want to have the option of being able to without collapsing like a jelly.

I don't think it is a waste of energy as it will get you up the hill faster. It allows you to use your wieght to power the bike rather thatn direct muscle power. The problem I have at the moment is that I've got rather too much wieght to comfortably be able to throw from one side to the other.

 

[ColinJ]

Americans use different words to Brits for some common things.

For example, they have to drive on the pavement and not on the sidewalk, whereas we have to have to drive on the road and not on the pavement.

Never, ever walk into a redneck bar and ask in a loud voice if there is anywhere to buy fags!

It's confusing.

I was extremely confused when one writer in the US cycling magazine Bicycling described his technique for climbing steep hills thus:

"If it gets too hard for you, self-gratifying up the hill will help until the grade eases and you can drop back down on your fanny."

Talk about 'lost in translation'!

 

[MLC]

If its a reallly big hill and hard going I will waggle when I'm seated

 

[fossyant]

UK technical term is "Honking" up a hill !

 

[potsy]

I like to take a run up to it and hope I've enough momentum to get to the top
Otherwise it's seated in as low a gear as I've got

Only time I ever 'Honk' is if I misjudge the length of the hill and can't make the top in a mid-gear and don't want to change down while under load.

 

[Mad at urage]

UK technical term is "Honking" up a hill !

Trudat!

When I got back into cycling a few months ago, I'd lost confidence to get out of the saddle. At the steepest part of my climb home, I just can't sit and spin, it's too steep, so I walked that bit.

Gradually I remounted earlier each week, until now (touches wood for this evening) I ride up the whole hill (still stopping twice ), because I have the confidence to track-stand again, so the confidence to balance out of the saddle. That section is definitely a Honking Hill!

Now I find myself honking where a quick burst is needed and I'm in a relatively high gear (spinning around 95 or so and approaching an up-slope), and sometimes because the driver-behind will recognise that as 'trying hard' and not overtake on this uphill corner (or will anyway, like last night where it got her to the Co-op around the corner literally two seconds sooner ).

 

[cyberknight]

Depends how i am feeling !

Sometimes i spin up the hill or if i feel fresh i get out of the saddle.

The waggle is a bit of a misnomer as long as you overcome the q factor ( the distance between your cranks ) any extra waggle is a waste, if i am really powering then i use upper body strength to make sure i do not over waggle.

 

[661-Pete]

In my day the word was definitely "honking". But rarely heard nowadays. Perhaps we should have a poll?

Not for me, I'm afraid, it would not be a pretty sight to see even if the old bones could take it...

 

[Zoiders]

If it's a complete monster and it's quiet enough road then the tactic of tacking left and right slighty helps things along. Not the same as a waggle.

 

[asterix]

Yes, I had to do that recently near the top of The Stang. I was nursing one knee a bit and IIRC it's 17%. Once I got over the top it defied the weather forecast and started to rain.

Tomorrow I am off out to do some more hills - it's the only way!

 

[coffeejo]

I find that a good fart whilst honking gets you up the hill in half the time.