Tips for making it up hills?

E

engeler1

New Member
Hi,

I'm a new rider, having gone 3 times out. Looking for any tips to get up hills. I now try to get out of my seat and stand on the pedals. If I put my weight forward sometime my rear tire slips from no traction. If I put my weight rearward I usually end up doing a wheelie and losing steerage and having to emergency stop. I've tried a higher gear than I'd like to avoid the torque wheelies but I end up running out of horsepower to make it up the hill.

I have a feeling that the right combination of technique and fitness level will make these achievable.

One other problem....the little softball/football sized rocks sticking of the trail. Unless you're going super fast these knock me all over the place. And on uphills especially bounce my front tire and I lose steerage. They're a problem everywhere for me though.

Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks

Eric
 
I would stay seated for as long as possible, sliding your butt up towards the front and try and pick a nice clean line up. Make sure you drop your gears low enough right before the climb and when yopu have to stand try and make nice even pedalstrokes.
 
Keep at it. I had the same problem I find that if I sit and spin I can go longer than when I stand. Now that I make it up more of the hills I am working on gaining the endurance to stand while climbing. As for balancing weight that comes with practice. Find a comfy spot to climb in the saddle and work with slight changes front and back as your wheel slips or front wheel lifts.
 
Well Jeremy and Chris are both correct.

1) On tech hills the key is a good line and eyes out in front..not looking over your front tire (you shouldn't see it)

2) stay out the granny that's how you die

3)On longer fire road type climbs pick a feature on the trail like a tree, big rock on the side, etc...pedal to it then pick a new target. It helps set a goal mentality. Just grind it out son

4) Lose 15lbs. It worked magic for me

5) Keep at it, most/all the hills/climbs that used to kill me are really a non factor during my ride. Just hit it and enjoy.
 
One mo thang

Whether you're in the saddle or out u may need to pull up on the handlebars, especially as u downstroke the pedal, to keep the rear wheel biting. Especially on looser surfaces, especially when standing cause when your bike is pointed uphill and u stand it naturally puts u over the handlebars, pulling up while still over the bars puts the front wheel on the ground and pulling up (not back) plants that rear tire for traction.
There's probably a bunch of climbing tech tips online at like bicycling.com and stuff too, but practice and fitness are your best friends.
 
lean forward, pull up on the bars, stick your butt out to keep the rear tire down .. that's how i do it on the SS .. on lower gears it's better to sit down and pedal fast and try to keep your center of gravity centered

it's hard at first, but gets easier as you get stronger
 
OK, thanks to all for the advice! I actually hope all this biking will lead to losing 30 lbs...we'll see!

Sounds like the #1 thing to do is keep trying and I'll figure / fitness it out.

Other than that I"ll try both staying seated, especially in lowest gears and stand if necessary, trying to pull up on the front handlebars as I go.

A long time ago I tried a throughhike of the Appalachian Trail. I used the same grind it out technique, sometimes even just counting OK, I'll go 200 steps then pause for 15 seconds or I"ll get up to that rock etc. Will try to apply that to climbing.

Thanks again to all!

Eric
 
dualfisted said:
pulling up (not back) plants that rear tire for traction.
Click to expand...

...It also helps your legs, especially if your on flats; pulling up while pushing down sort of gives your body natural leverage; when you see riders pedaling hard without clips, (like bmx racers), you'll always see them rocking the bars back and forth real fast; the same method can help when climbing, if you either have flats or a ss, only difference is it'll be at a much slower pace.
 
i'm also a beginner, the thing i notice helps me most on climbs is picking a proper line to go up, when i hit a root or a big rock due to not picking a proper line i have to stop and hike the climb, when i climb i bend my elbows lean my upper body over the handle bars for better front end control and push my butt down on the seat to keep the traction on rear tire, going clipless with shimano mp540's helped a ton on climbs as i started getting some help from the up-stroke. But most important thing to do is practice, practice and more practice, today was my 10th ride of the season since 10 years of cauch potatoing and i could already climb nearly all the uphills i hiked 5 rides ago.
 
Tried the more modest but long hill climbing out of 1st parking lot on Deer Path up to the lake. I like this hill. I may have been overthinking this, I remained seated and powered my way up (with a few breaks)!

I think getting more and more fit will be the most helpful thing, then we'll worry about the multitudes of pesky rocks in Stephens!
 
soundz said:
it's hard at first, but gets easier as you get stronger
Click to expand...
that's basically it. all the tips in the world arent going to help as much as just getting stronger. plus, the more you ride, the better "feel" you'll have on the bike, better control, etc.

just keep riding and the hills will get easier.
 
It seems like a lot of the advise here is coming from singlespeeders. If you are riding gears you will want to get in a comfortable gear as you approach the hill. Stay seated. Do NOT pull up on the bars. Crouch down, like you are trying to bite the handle bars. This will keep your front end down on very steep hills. You may have to slide forward on the saddle to find the sweet spot. As you improve, you will know where to stand and still find the sweet spot.
 
I just got into mtb last year but here's what helped me.

Mileage, mileage, mileage. The more you ride the more comfortable you'll be and the more this stuff sorts itself out. You'll also get fitter and have more confidence.

I try to stay seated as long as possible (rarely stand) and pull up on the bars as I get my fat butt on the front of the seat. You'll also learn to shift your weight quickly if you do start to spin.

Whether it's a technical line up a steep hill, or dealing with rocks you mentioned, to me what's important is picking the line and being confident. It's a lot like skiing bumps. Pick the line and stick with it. Loosen up and enjoy the ride. If you're getting too nervous and death gripping the bars then everything gets tougher.

... and remember - confidence. It really makes all the difference in the world.
 
pixychick said:
You may have to slide forward on the saddle to find the sweet spot. As you improve, you will know where to stand and still find the sweet spot.
Click to expand...

this sweet spot is a bish to find

i've found that hitting a hill with momentum helps me the most

before i was either doing wheelies or spinning the rear. now i try to go at it with speed and just finish it off with some strokes 😀
 
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