Best way to climb a hill ..sitting down or standing up ?

[climbergirl]

I'm not a great hill climber by any means, but I, too, do a mix of standing and sitting. I read somewhere that if you stand and you're not super close to the top, that you should keep it to 8 to 10 seconds, then sit and spin, then do it again. I think this has to do with the amount of time it takes for your muscles to recognize lactate buildup or something (12 seconds?) so you're working at your LT but not for long enough to burn out immediately. I count pedal strokes (sometimes half pedal strokes, a number as each foot hits bottom of the stroke)

You know, I have to ask about all the people who say they just "spin up the hill". I get the theory. But there are plenty of hills where I'm in my biggest, lowest gear, and I'm still pushing barely 50 or 60 rpm and "spinning" as a perceive it is simply not even an option. There's one hard hill near my house that I ride pretty regularly - it's oly 140 feet of climb over just under a quarter mile. It feels brutally steep, but I think it works out to only being about 10.6% grade. And there are people around here talking about 26% grade?!?!

[Biciclista]

funny question. a lot of us do both. It really does feel good to power up a hill. but if the hill is a little too long and you run out of steam, you plunk right back down into that saddle
and spin the rest of the way up.

the fitter i am, the easier standing is.

[Crankin]

Maybe I am perpetually unfit?
I just cannot stand. On a steep climb, I doubt I could actually get my azz up off the saddle, and on smaller ones, it just hurts my leg so much, why do it? My speed goes down, too.
My core is strong, so I don't know what is wrong with me. Sometimes, I'd like to power up a small climb, but I'd be left in the dust, just going slower and slower.
I get the predicament about just "spinning" up a steep climb. On the 10-20% grades I've done, or the sustained 6-8% 10 mile climb I did in Spain, I just sat and spun away. At 3 -5 mph. My cadence was probably 50-60. It's still spinning to me.
However, I felt OK, I made it up, and I didn't walk. I guess I don't care about speed on these types of climbs, just getting up the hill.

[Biciclista]

CRankin,
it COULD be your bike. I remember when I switched from Bike A to Bike B (I don't remember which now) I was stunned that suddenly it was EASY to stand up!!
and if you are doing 20% grades, you are NOT puny. I am not doing 20% grades. or even 15%.. maybe 11 or 12 sometimes. for a few feet... eeek.

[Eden]

CRankin,
it COULD be your bike. I remember when I switched from Bike A to Bike B (I don't remember which now) I was stunned that suddenly it was EASY to stand up!!
and if you are doing 20% grades, you are NOT puny. I am not doing 20% grades. or even 15%.. maybe 11 or 12 sometimes. for a few feet... eeek.

I'll second that it could be your bike. I've had several bikes that it was near to impossible for me to stand on a climb on, mainly because of the way my weight was distributed. In any case even on a bike that fits me I'm more of a sitting climber. I'll stand to power up short, steep hill or once in a while to stretch out my butt muscles on a long one, but for the most part I'm a seated climber.

[Crankin]

Well, I've been like this ever since I started riding, through 4 road bikes. In fact, the first few times I went to a spin class, I couldn't even stand up there. Now, I could stand all day on a spin bike, although I don't spin much anymore.
I can stand when my bike is on the trainer. Perhaps this has to do with my lack of balance. I always feel like I am going to fall over/crash when I stand. Both of my bikes have been fitted, one is custom and the other went through the laser/computer fitting. The custom bike has a more relaxed geometry, but both are very light weight (14.7 and 16 lbs. without the bags, rack, etc).
I've only done very very short stretches of anything over 15% grades, mostly in Austria and the Berkshires. The 10 mile (17K) climb i did in Spain just about made me puke, but I did it; it was a cat 2 climb on the Vuelta and the markings were all over the road. I just would like to be able to power up a hill for awhile, like my DH does.

[Biciclista]

hmm sounds like a fear issue to me. imho!