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| *Vultures Knob>>>Road Bike |
How can I climb uphill better on my bike? |
I enjoy road biking, but I want to improve my climbing abilities for the rides through the hills. Do you guys have any helpful hints to improve my technique? Climb more often, and hit some of the longer climbs. Relax your upper body. Make sure your bike fits properly, and that you're well hydrated. Shift into a gear that you can do the ENTIRE climb in, even if it's really slow; you can try a harder gear next time. Pull up on the upstroke of each pedal revolution. If you can't pull hard, at least pull enough to lift that leg so the pushing leg doesn't work harder. Shift your weight back and forth in the saddle from time to time; forward allows a better spin, whereas sitting back lets you "leg press" your way up a hill. Stand up sometimes. Bottom line is that only climbing a lot will make you a better climber. When you go from "I hate climbing" to "I can do this hill" to "This isn't so bad!", you'll understand. I have been riding and racing for about 8 years. I have found that on hills it is easiest if you position yourself into a crouch and place a little more weight on the back tire, and then just go at the hill. Just make sure you find your ideal gear combination first though If you have clips which I'm sure you do, I learned to not only push down when you pedal but also "pull" your pedal after you push down. This way, you are constantly applying pressure to your pedals and help rest your leg muscles since everyone has tendency to keep pushing instead of pulling. Also, I would get off my saddle sometimes and pedal to work different muscles and rest. For a long grunt, find a good gear, sit back in the saddle, keep your body more upright (hands on the top of the bars) to allow for greater oxygen intake, and go with the flow. Think happy thoughts. For short rollers, keep a big gear if you can, and stand up and sprint them. When I was training, it sounds corny but true, I found good climbs where dogs resided. Two or three dogs is even better. When they give chase, it is a merry time. You won't even remember the hill! lol Maybe I'm just wacked...but that's what I did! I hate hills but anyone can go fast downhill so I tackle them at every chance. I actually curse to myself when climbing a ***** of a hill. I've come up with a great bundle of curse word sequences. I'd type one out but yahoo would censor it anyway. By the time I get to the top, I'm laughing myself silly but hey, it works. Do exercises like squats, and leg presses. That will increase your endurance, that and lift weights; It helps if your upper body is strong to. Try 20-40s , what you do is sprint for 20 sec. than reg. pace for 40sec. keep repeating for three times 3 sets , at first youll be lucky to get through one set. assuming your riding at least 3 days a week? SOURCE my husband pro mountain bike rider. |
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