in or out of the saddle????

daludo

Hi people,i am relatively new to the sport(last september)and have recently started to head out with a local group,really enjoying it and sorry i didnt take it up years ago.just wondering if its good to stay in the saddle when climbing or to get my ass out of it??will i burn more energy??i think im more comfortable in it but il take yer advice on this one anyway.thanks

TheBlaaMan

Mostly personal opinion follows, but general opinion tends say that on a climb you stay seated for as long as possible and spin away in a low gear. That said, you'll need to get out of the saddle to provide extra force/momentum on the harder climbs, if even only for a short while to get up a bit of pace, and then sit down again and back to spinning. You need to mix it up to stretch your muscles, rest some/exert other.

You cannot stay upright on the pedals much above a cadence of about 70rpm (IMO), so as your rpm drops, maybe choose a point to get up and work harder, then sit down when you pick up pace. Depending on your fitness, you may find it difficult to stay out of the seat for more than 15-20 sec, but as you build strength, that will improve.

On wet/rough/gravelly hills you will probably need to keep your weight over the rear wheel (ie stay seated) to avoid wheelspin and possibly coming to a stop - not good!

If you want inspiration on climbing out of the seat, check out how ould fellas like Chris Horner do it,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-xtm3rN8LE

Encrypted Pigeon

Its whatever your comfortable with, I prefer to stay in the saddle and grind away, if I get out of saddle I can climb a bit faster but usually end up gassing myself fairly quickly and having endure the rest of the climb in the saddle cursing myself for my effort (me being overweight and unfit has nothing to do with it btw )

daludo

thanks 4 dat,makes a lot of sense,hittin the corkscrew hill near ballyvaughan co clare next weekend,ill put that advice to good use.:)

funnights74

daludo wrote: »

thanks 4 dat,makes a lot of sense,hittin the corkscrew hill near ballyvaughan co clare next weekend,ill put that advice to good use.:)

I did that climb last year on the Tour de burren and found it ok , despite all of the warnings of how tough it is beforehand and it's a nice smooth surface. The method i use when climbing is at the bottom of any tough climb just slip into the easiest spinning gear get into a regular breathing/pedalling tempo.
A lot of people start off climbing in too big a gear and half way up are out of breath and their legs seize up, in the tour of waterford last year i saw a lot of this, guys were going past me on the bottom of the climbs pushing a big gear and half way up i could see them seizing up and struggling.
I don't consider myself a great climber but this method gets me over the hills without killing myself.
Hope this works for you and enjoy.

Captain Havoc

If you're in a group don't get out of the saddle as you lose momentum momentarily and can cause the guy behind you to go into the back of you. Also don't get out of the saddle if the wind is against you (not really applicable on most climbs, I know).

Raam

Captain Havoc wrote: »

If you're in a group don't get out of the saddle as you lose momentum momentarily and can cause the guy behind you to go into the back of you. Also don't get out of the saddle if the wind is against you (not really applicable on most climbs, I know).

It's possible to do it without shunting the bike back, just don't throw your body forward. Standing as your strong leg reaches the top of the pedal stroke can help. Essentially, keep the bike at the same speed as your body.

kumate_champ07

out of the saddle for a quick acceleration or to stretch out the legs every so often.

monument

Do a lot of people get off the saddle for little or no reason when commuting?

Was going along the quays at rush hour one day last week and this guy kept getting out of the saddle in what seemed like a failed bid to go faster. I was keeping up with him with out trying too hard to go fast (I was in a hurry, but I wasn't pushing the hardest I could or anything).

What made it even stranger was him in gear (helmet, cycling jacket, somekind of cycling shorts or pants) and me in normal clothes with a big heavy coat on.

smacl

monument wrote: »

Do a lot of people get off the saddle for little or no reason when commuting?

Nothing to to with commuting, but on a longer spin (e.g. > 4 hours), I'd get out of the saddle occasionally to give my rear end a rest and to stretch my legs and back.

I tend to spin in low gears going uphill, but occasionally push a higher gear just to get a different type of workout. I'd very rarely get out of the saddle even on the steeper climbs, though having a low geared triple makes this much easier.

seamus

Very rare I'd be out of the saddle during a climb. On a very long climb (like Slieve Maan) I might get up just to take some pressure off my arse and stretch my legs, but other times I stay seated.

On a very short climb (~100m) I might sprint all the way up it, especially if I have a good momentum at the bottom.

Lumen

monument wrote: »

Do a lot of people get off the saddle for little or no reason when commuting?

Was going along the quays at rush hour one day last week and this guy kept getting out of the saddle in what seemed like a failed bid to go faster.

Analyzing drivetrain creaks? Itchy plums? Stretching out a niggle? Could be anything.

Never attempt to get inside the mind of a roadie. Thar be dragons.

ashleey

Good discussion. Went out with our club with some Sunday spins (when it wasn't raining) and was advised to drop 2 gears if you get up from the saddle to stop your pace dropping and wrecking the lads behind. Apparently it's standard practice for the pros, who try to stay in the saddle as long as feasible

Lumen

ashleey wrote: »

Good discussion. Went out with our club with some Sunday spins (when it wasn't raining) and was advised to drop 2 gears if you get up from the saddle to stop your pace dropping

It's not a really drop in pace. Your body moves forward, your bike moves backwards, your centre of mass stays in the same place. Doing it slowly and carefully allows you to maintain position relative to the wheel in front.

When you sit back down the bike moves forward again.

seamus

Lumen wrote: »

It's not a really drop in pace. Your body moves forward, your bike moves backwards, your centre of mass stays in the same place. Doing it slowly and carefully allows you to maintain position relative to the wheel in front.

When you sit back down the bike moves forward again.

It was a drop in pace yesterday when I was sitting behind a guy who slowed once when standing up and again when sitting down. I'm not sure if standing helped him at all.

The problem is that most people pause for a second and stop pedalling when standing or sitting. If you're going uphill, any pause in cadence will cause a noticeable drop in pace for the guy on your wheel.

For me anyway, maintaining cadence when standing and sitting was a skill I had to acquire, it's not something I ever did naturally.

Lumen

seamus wrote: »

The problem is that most people pause for a second and stop pedalling when standing or sitting

I don't think I have ever seen anyone stop pedalling on a climb. Are you cycling with triathletes?

manwithaplan

Going up a couple of gears when getting out of the saddle is good advice. You can't spin as quickly and need the extra resistance, unless you are on a godawful steep bit and the extra resistance is supplied by the kick up in gradient.

I prefer to sit and spin but for racing you need to cultivate your out of the saddle skillz too. It's required to attack on a climb and to cope with attacks from others. It also helps you power over short steep bits.