Feature

Fri 24 Jul, 2:00 pm BST

Technique: Hill climbing made easy

By Phil Mosley, Triathlon Plus

It’s something we’ve all asked ourselves at the foot of yet another seemingly endless climb – should we sit or should we stand-up? And yet surprisingly few people know the answer.

You’ll have noticed that some riders prefer to keep their bottoms diligently on their saddles, churning away at the pedals, their relaxed upper bodies making it look far easier than it feels.

Other riders prefer to stand up and power their way up the slopes, their bikes leaping forward with every pedal stroke.

Knowing when to sit and when to stand could potentially propel you up our next hill more quickly and easily.

For many people, it all boils down to personal preference – however there is some logic you can apply to climbing that might prove useful next time you’re at the bottom of a big ascent.

Standing up

Pro: You work a wider range of muscle fibres, easing the pressure on any one muscle

Pro: You can ride at a higher maximum power, allowing you to battle up the steepest sections of a climb

Con: You use up more energy because you are supporting your body weight on your legs rather than your saddle

Con: You use more energy because you are working your upper body

Con: While standing you create slightly more drag, which can slow you down

Sitting down

Pro: While sitting, your upper body is relaxed, so you don’t waste any energy

Pro: You also conserve energy as the saddle takes your weight, not your legs

Pro: With your body low, you’ll create less drag than you would standing up

Con: Your legs can feel sore from repeatedly using the same muscles on the climb

Conclusion

Staying seated is generally better for climbing, because it uses less energy. If it’s a long or steep climb, you should alternate between periods of sitting and shorter bursts of standing up.

The short periods of standing will give some welcome relief to your legs and provide a much needed boost of power on the steep sections.

When you’re climbing in the saddle, focus on spinning your legs in an easy gear, keeping your upper body relaxed.

Think about maintaining a smooth, fluid pedal stroke and keep your hands resting lightly on the handle bars.

Meet the expert

Phil mosley:

Phil Mosley is a triathlete and coach, and has a degree in sports therapy from the University of Chichester.

User Comments

There are 37 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 30 of 37 comments

  • erm - talk about stating the bleedin' obvious...

  • yeah, but he's got a degree, so can say it better than we could ..

    nothing mentioned on spinning a low gear v churning a high gear.

  • Very, very poor.

  • I could have written that - but I don't have a wetsuit......

  • O.O... the revalations!..

    seriously, who doesn't allready know this?

  • You all seem to know it all. However, others don't and may appreciate an article like this.

  • oh, btw. May I add that speeding up before the hill rarely works!

  • he missed out the mental fatigue of riding uphill while people in fat suits are running with them and others are shouting "ALLEZ ALLEZ"

  • Do you really need a degree to tell us that?

    BTW Phil, when you run, it helps to put one foot in front of the other and repeat :D

  • actually, I did learn something from that - I learnt that Chichester has a university...

    sorry Phil... :)

  • Why bother posting some of the comments above if you're going to just be negative. It's like saying "Einstein, what were you doing studying gravity we all know things fall down when you drop them" - the explanation of what is happening when standing or sitting on a climb should not be ridiculed. Thankyou for an interesting article......shame about most of the comments.

  • Got to agree with keyser_soze regarding the brainless negative comments above. It's only "statin' the bleedin' obvious" to you and experienced road cyclists.

    For novice cyclists this is an informative article. And the best information is always that which seems to state the obvious ...though it's amazing how many people you'll find who had never considered it before. For instance, watching Alberto Contador climbing the mountains in the Tour De France you might start to think that dancing on the peddles is the best (and only true) way to climb a hill and then feel you are failing in some way when you personally struggle to do the same. This article makes it clear that climbing in the seated position ain't necessarily a bad thing.

    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

  • I did think it was all rather obvious and did not give any real tips from an 'expert'

    My own observations in stating the obvious.

    When I get tired on a seated climb, it can be refreshing to stand for a while using other muscle areas.

    It also seems to be more efficient to pull up on the pedals when standing.

    Most importantly, when standing I can imagine I'm Lance Armstrong leaving all my (imaginary) competitors in the dust!

    Really any need for this article??

  • "For novice cyclists this is an informative article. " - no it isn't. It falls short of a worthwhile explanation for just about every technique it touches on. I seriously doubt if a novice would be able to apply any of the content of this article in a way which would improve their climbing.

    'Climbing made easy' my ar5e. Climbing hurts - end of. A better title might have been 'Climbing - choose the right gear, STFU and get on with it'...

  • Are we not mentioning the fact that you should push back against the bars either. Can't remember which cycling training book I read that in, but it is solid advice.

  • "don't forget to pedal" is the best climbing advice i have heard, i am an ardent advocate of peddling uphill, i know some may scorn this crazy statement but i've seen it done & it works. if you do it with you're eyes open it helps to avoid crashes also, crazy but true.

    i obtained my degree in blindingly obvious bollocks with honours also

  • Been climbing hills successfully and in all styles for many years so although this article scored only mildly interesting for me, it was in no way pointless.

    Give the author / editor a break, they're only trying to make a decent site.

    anyway what's this "peddling uphill" lark ... gas lighters 3 for a pound ?

  • LOOOOOOL!!!! The best way to climb? Any bleedin way possible, as long as you get over the hill! I did a sportive over the bealach na ba in scotland and some riders were even walking!!

  • hey i never said i could spell, i'm all about the peddling, "come & get your black bin bags" that reminds me, next weeks article is how to fit one without ripping it.

  • I found it very useful and it confirms what i felt I was moving towards....Well written and succinct...

    Sorry to you Alpha gods (Hill experts) who wizz up hills but at least I dont look like Mr Bean. Anyhow the banking crisis has shown there are no experts.

  • Succinct and informative....?

    Editors of the cycling press need to take note that it takes more than a sports science degree and a coaching qualification to write good coaching articles.

    They have a responsibility to their readership to ensure that articles are accurate and useful. As it is not the former... It cannot possibly be the latter!

    Good writing is backed up by good evidence! It is a disgrace for an editor to let such piffle be published!

  • 'Staying seated is generally better for climbing, because it uses less energy'

    I'm never quite sure how this one is true.

  • For those of you thinking the article is stating the 'bleeding obvious' why don't you write an article of the not 'bleeding obvious' if you know so much, or are you not knowledgeable to share?

  • Bit of trivia - I read somewhere that in the heydays of Lance Armstrong, while training for the TDF, Johan or CarMichael (dont know which) used to stop him standing on the pedals while riding uphill and always shouted down the radio ' sit down and spin'.

    In this tour, he has stood to bridge gaps and looks to have stood more than in his previous tours (although l never saw him ride the previous 7 he won, so l may be misinformed).

    Meanwhile, Contador seemed to ride all the mountains standing and did very little sitting, even when sucking wheels. Does this mean he is low beater or just Superhuman considering he matched tempos and out-TTed them all in the final TT?

  • Ok, I can understand the salient points, and not wishing to be negative, does 'drag' really come into the equation whilst climbing? I appreciate that it does 'a bit', but every time I jump, I disturb earth's orbit 'a bit'...

  • lets get this into perspective shall we, getting out of the saddle during a climb is an instinctive action learned from an early age, for god sake can't anyone remember cycling as a child & hitting a hill on their budgie/stryker/grifter/burner/chopper etc. what do you do when your gear ran out or your legs were burning? you stood up & mashed em, got a little more momentum & sat down again, if anyone needs to have this explained to them by an 'academic'?? you shouldn't be riding alone, & for god sake wipe that drool off your mouth.

  • don't need a degree to state the obvious but you do to get the job that allows you to state the obvious! If people have nothiing good to say keep it quiet!

  • One key aspect of this article is that it is written for trialthetes, who, in my experience, would benefit from anything that helps them to ride a bike better.

  • Gosh this site and many other cycling forums seem to now be crawling with sanctimonious 'know-it-alls'. Has it occurred that some of us may be keen but not expert? We just want to keep on learning about the most efficient ways to take part in this lovely activity. And we appreciate advice that is straight forward and to the point.

    No overwhelming techno jargon here, just simple explanations. If it seems to be confirming the obvious in some parts, then that re-enforces some things that I suspected but appreciate confirmation from a peer.

    These 'know-it-alls' are the kind of people who give cyclists a bad name and discourage new participants.

  • Sitting and spinning tends to require higher heart rates, great if you've got lots of red blood cells. Climbers always used to be skinny guys who'd climb out of the saddle in the tour until a few years ago when the much more muscular guys could suddenly climb with them sitting down.

    To see guys climbing out of the saddle again may be we're seeing cleaner cycling.

    The drag thing I don't think it adds up to much, but when I see climbers sitting they usually sit up with their backs fairly straight. Out of the saddle, riders tend to move forward more in line with the top tube,which may be more aerodynamic ;-)

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