Tip for Hills

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but the "boobs to the tube" method doesn't seem to work for me. When I lean too far forward on a climb, my diaphragm feels like it's getting smooshed and I can't breathe well. I have to do the exact opposite, and sit very tall and upright with totally relaxed shoulders and light hands on the bars. This opens up my chest and lungs so that I can take in nice deep breaths. With all that being said, I still suck at climbs. :o

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Linda,

I agree completely. I don't get the "boobs to the tube" advice at all. If you watch good climbers, they sit up and back with shoulders down and relaxed, and hands light the handlebars, sometimes with fingers open. The position opens the lungs, keeps you from expending energy in the arms/hands which is useless, and allows you to use the big muscles in the back of your legs/butt, which are much stronger than those in the front. It's not an aerodynamic position but you don't need that on a climb generally.

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Originally Posted by ny biker

And I no longer fear hills because I know I can handle it.

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Do enough hills and they lose their power over you.

Regarding the boobs to the tube and breathing, agreed that for most of the climb I am upright and breathing in gulps of air. About mid hill I did the self talk of "power it up" followed by telling my legs to shut up. In the last leg of this I lowered myself down, attempting to make myself "small" (no small feat by any means) and for some reason got an additional boost of power to the top. I am thinking this is more of a mental boost than anything else. But whatever it takes ;)

Plus I have been riding this same hill for several days.

Well I know anyone in the TdF is a whole lot stronger than I am, but I think anyone who can keep a light touch on the bars while climbing is either a whole lot stronger than I am, or has much lower gearing. I have to pull up hard on the bars to get enough leverage to pedal a steep hill.

And +1 on not closing off the airway. Getting out of the drops is probably the first thing I do at the bottom of a hill - before I downshift, even, often. The hoods give me the best grip and the widest open chest (I don't really like bars wide enough for me to use the tops).

Sticking out your tongue really opens the airway - they do it for a reason when they climb and sprint - but I haven't needed to do that on the bike since I took up running. :)

My riding position is quite upright all of the time, but I have found on harder climbs that it does help for that last bit if I lower my body a bit - closer to the boobs to the tube position. My bike doesn't have road bars, so I probably do this different than others. I have noted that for some reason when I do this if my legs were burning that it decreases and my breathing gets a little easier.

I am unsure what causes this - but as tall as I normally sit in the saddle it may be that this moderates things just enough to give me a LITTLE more aero position without restricting my airways.

The decreased quad burning is of most interest - I can't explain it, but it works for me.

If you're more upright at the start of the climb and then lean forward part way up, it's probably shifting the effort so your muscles are working differently, and this might give you a feeling of more energy/less burning.

On steeper climbs I am more comfortable with my hands on the hoods. Probably because I need to shift my weight forward to keep from feeling like I'm going to fall backwards. :eek:

I find myself with my weight too far forward a lot of the time while climbing. I'm not sure whether it's a fit issue or what. But you need most of your weight over the drive wheel, or the tire is just going to slip.

It so depends on the hill...but for a very steep climb I find that an upright position with my hands actually close to the stem (on either side) seems to be helpful. On longer slower climbs I've had more luck being a bit less upright, or even in the drops (which allows me to focus on charging up the hill vs. how long, boring and uphill it is going up the hill).

I do have a tip for descents....

Even if you're sucking in air from the hill you just busted up...keep your darned mouth closed! (she says from experience)

So, I was on a bike tour and we were riding from Paso Robles to San Simeon, CA (over a REALLY BIG MOUNTAIN). I am the last person. I kept singing in my head 'I am climbing the ridiculous mountain' to the tune of 'the bear went over the mountain'. I did make it to the top.

I started riding almost 3 years ago, and belong to a club where most of the people have been riding their whole lives. I am getting to the point where I can keep up on the flats and most of the downhill, but they lose me on the uphill. However, lately, I am getting up grades that were hard before easily, and only struggling on the really steep ones. One problem is that there are hills everywhere and I have a compact double and not a triple. I put a larger rear cassette on the back and that helps some. But I don't have enough gears for the really steep ones.

What has been helping is doing intervals on my bike trainer, and being able to spin more without running out of breadth. I find that I am no longer last all the time! This feels great. You have to just keep at it. I also try to get the most out of the downhill momentum. When I see a hill in front of me, I start pedaling really fast - because the hill is my brake.

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but the "boobs to the tube" method doesn't seem to work for me.

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My personal interpretation/execution of BttT is to relax my hands, unlock my elbows, and then lean slightly forward, while keeping my back pretty much straight (no hunching). I find this position opens up my lungs, and it feels like I am engaging an ever-so-slightly different set of muscles, which seems to give me a bit more power. (Plus the "boobs-to-the-tube" mantra makes me laugh. :D )

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Originally Posted by wackyjacky1

...and then lean slightly forward.. )

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I only lean slightly forward also, some of us don't have to lean very far to get to the tube :D:eek::D

You know, I wonder if we need to clarify the type of bike we're riding. If you're upright, on a hybrid or mountain bike, you might want to lean forward, whereas on a road bike, even with your hands on top of the handlebar you're still leaning forward, but your shoulders will be back relative to being on the hoods.

In general, if you lean forward from your hips with a straight back, you use your glutes more.