Well, unless you’re a wee pencil-weight, and you LOVE climbing those hills, most of us are pretty intimidated by (if not, just downright despise) any incline on our bikes. Cycling is a real power-to-weight game – the more power you have, for the amount you weigh, the more efficient you are. And no more so that when going up hill, as gravity takes effect on every extra gram that you weigh! (hence why the little whippets, literally whip up the hill!)
For most of us, we’re not going to look at any form of body-type change to improve our hill climbing, so here are a few tips on other ways to improve your ascending form so when you need see Hatepe Hill loooooooooming in the distance at Taupo, you can look forward to it, rather than freaking out!
Q Should I be in my seat or out of my seat?
A A combo of both really. But mainly in your seat. When you are standing on your pedals, you actually use more energy, and it requires more power (more muscles involved). Therefore it is less efficient. Get out of your seat when you need more power to get over a real steep part of the climb, or when you’re climbing a long hill and just need to change position to give your seated muscles a bit of a breather. But you want to stay in your seat for the longer climbs – you actually use your biggest muscle group by being in the seat (your Glute – ie, your BUTT!), so the more you can use this the more efficient you’ll be.
Q I find it hard to get out of my seat – any tips on coordination?!
A When you’re first trying to get out of your seat, maybe try it on the flat in a big (hard) gear first, until you develop more confidence. Then progress to up hills.
Technique:
· Your hands should be on the handlebars on top of the brake hoods...or if you have a flat bar use the bar ends.
· Change into a bigger (harder) gear before you get out of your seat (this allows for the increase in power that you’re going to produce when you get out of your seat)
· Your bike may still move backwards slightly when you get out of your seat – so you might want to call out “Standing”, or “Getting up” to the person behind you – this will have them ready for your rear wheel coming back towards their front wheel! Also, make your last pedal stroke before standing a little harder so your bike moves forwards a little.
· Let the bike move as it wants to under you – don’t force it! Your bike should move about 10cm side to side as you pedal (just as a guide!). Then use your body weight to push down with your right leg.
· Your body weight should be slightly forward – you want the tip of your seat to be just touching the back of your legs when you’re out of the seat. If you have a wiggle around, you’ll find where your weight should be, and where it feels right.
· Change back into a gear that is comfortable (lower/easier) once you’ve got your rhythm.
Q What gear should I be in?
A Well, it depends on the hill. But say you’re doing a long climb of over 3 mins. On these climbs, you want to get into a good rhythm and consistent pace. Your gear will depend on your level of fitness, but you want to try and maintain a cadence of between 80 – 90 rpm. So adjust your gear to where you can comfortably sit within this pedal speed.
Make sure you change down (easier) in gear before you get to the climb – gears don’t like to be shifted under big load!
Only when you’re getting out of your seat, do you want to change into a higher gear (harder) – as mentioned earlier.
Q What are some intervals that will improve my climbing?
A Just riding more hills will alone improve your hill climbing (wonder why you’re not getting better up hills when you avoid them at ALL costs?!