Just got back into MTBs/bikes after long long years of driving and walking. Just got a new job, and can't afford a car anymore so I got a MTB. My work place is way up a steep hill past my new gym.
I'm just wondering if you guys have any tips on the most efficient way of cycling up a hill (i.e. burns less calories, or tires my legs less after a session of squats at the gym)? The incline varies between 10-25%.
Also is there any site out there that can show me how to make minor adjustments to my bike so I can a more efficient and comfortable ride?
Jeez-us!!! 25% incline. I'd get off and walk!!! I love riding hills, and there is a 16% grade that I ride that chews me up and spits me out. 25%, I'd die.
Now, enough whining - when I ride hills, the most important thing for me is to sit back and up straighter, to let my legs do the work. Keep the upper body still, you don't want to lose energy by rocking back and forth, unless you are Floyd or Lance, and it works for you. Stand up every now and then to switch up the muscle groups, but make sure you don't throw the bike backwards when you do stand up, that will make you lose momentum. Just ease out of the saddle. Basics of what works for me!
E
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"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Pretty similar for me. I like to stay seated until I start to crest the hill. It's all about cadence until you run out of gears. That's when the squats start to come into play.
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Today's mighty oak was once just some nut who held his ground!
Pretty similar for me. I like to stay seated until I start to crest the hill. It's all about cadence until you run out of gears. That's when the squats start to come into play.
I find that I use the higher gears more as I seem to be able to pedal more powerfully this way. With the lower gears I just feel like my legs are constantly spinning without me moving as fast.
Ahhhh the Jan way. Yes I tend to do the same for as long as I can. But the spin is where it's at if you want to be explosive. Watch tapes of Lance climbing.
I tend to be a bigger ring kind of guy myself (no granny on my road bike) but I'm learning the advantages of cadence and lower gears.
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Today's mighty oak was once just some nut who held his ground!
If I was riding up 25% grades, my legs would be spinning like 100 rpm's and I'd be going about 4 miles an hour. If you can climb 25% in a big ring, you are a monster. Keep doing it!
E
__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Not so minor, but get some road tires and get that psi up there.
I used to have two sets of identical rims (makes brake adjustments unnecessary), with two tire sets. Of course, if you have discs, they don't have to be identical.
Lots of good advice. My only addition is if I'm going to stand for awhile to climb, I make sure I have an easier gear remaining when I sit down. I ride a double, so no granny gear here.
Yeah, agreed ^^ I usually click it down a gear or two in the back before I get out of the saddle.
E
__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Not so minor, but get some road tires and get that psi up there.
I used to have two sets of identical rims (makes brake adjustments unnecessary), with two tire sets. Of course, if you have discs, they don't have to be identical.
I would have gotten road tires, but I've developed a couple of shortcuts that cuts me straight through some some grassy bits, which in this place can get real wet at times
Lots of good advice. My only addition is if I'm going to stand for awhile to climb, I make sure I have an easier gear remaining when I sit down. I ride a double, so no granny gear here.
Narh no where near San Fran man. I live on a little island between Ireland and England called the Isle of Man.
Anything you can do to lighten the weight on your MTB will help. If you need knobby tires, perhaps there is a type with less weight? I don't know, I'm primarily a roadie. Others may have some ideas...
Anything you can do to lighten the weight on your MTB will help. If you need knobby tires, perhaps there is a type with less weight? I don't know, I'm primarily a roadie. Others may have some ideas...
Lighten my bike? Can't think of anything I would dare to leave behind. All I have are front and back lights, an emergency hand pump and a speed computer (for motivational purposes)....
Worse bit is that I have to carry my gym gear on my back as well. This isn't too after lifting, 'cause I'd have finish a liter and a half of water. So I'm a little lighter.
Keep your upper body loose. Don't tense up your arms or try to squeeze water out of the handle bars. Stay loose. Focus on form. Practice. Conditioning. And remember the pain will stop when you get to the top.
Riding advice for a Newbie MTB commuter
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