Tip for Hills

[ny biker]

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.

Linda

I sit up and put my hands on top of the handlebars rather than the hoods. You're right, this does allow you to open up your lungs better. I only stand sometimes on very short hills. Otherwise I shift into an easy gear and spin, slowing my cadence if needed to avoid triggering an asthma attack.

I learned to like hills by doing a few pancake-flat centuries and metrics. They were so boring. And you can never stop pedaling no matter how tired your legs might get.

Then I did a crazy hilly century that made me cry. But I finished. And I no longer fear hills because I know I can handle it.

[Ritamarie]

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

Do enough hills and they lose their power over you.

[Bike Writer]

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.

[OakLeaf]

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.

[Catrin]

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.

[ny biker]

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.

[OakLeaf]

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.