Mountain Bikers - Tips For Mastering The Hills?

wirehead — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:41:40 -0500

I've got "climbing drills" in my commute.

There are three overpasses. For two of them, I concentrate on going up them as fast as I can on the big ring. That's the drill for short climbs.

For the other one, I concentrate on going up it on the middle ring so gently that I can look at the traffic jam beneath me and yell "All of you are part of the problem, not the solution. Even you, Prius driver!" That's the drill for long climbs.

Has done wonders for my climbing skills.

Also, for the truly long climbs, make sure you eat something like one of those goo packets partway up. I've found myself close to plonk many times... although at least some of those climbs, were I to be a truly good climber, I'd have shrugged it off before I ran out of steam....

yesiamtom — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:12:06 -0600

I dont know what triggered it in me but i see every hill as a challenge, no matter how step, rocky, long or difficult it looks i approach each one with 100% effort.

Try to get to a comfortable cruising speed when approaching the hill, pedal up it in a seated position and try to keep your cadence high but not so high you are barely moving. I only try to get out of the saddle when either my bum really hurts, my knees need a rest or the hill gets absurdly steep and i need to force the bike up it.

Just try to have fun on each hill, they are a challenge and theyre telling you your rubbish so prove them wrong.

Slow your breathing

mapk — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:57:15 -0600

I'm not in the best shape, so my breathing quickly gets out of control and I find myself panting heavily at the start of every hill.

My wife has always talked about deep, slow breathing just to help relax, so one day I tried it during a climb. It totally worked!!! I cruised up the hill quite steadily as I focused on my breathing. I felt I had more O2 filling my lungs and I didn't feel the tiredness as much.

Good advise...thanks!

jray — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:59:04 -0500

I rode today and tried the arms relaxed, elbows in approach and it worked well.

Hills seem to hurt me pretty bad. I'm in fairly good shape and have certainly improved my approach and technique but I'm usually zapped when I hit the apex, where I typically lose my momentum.

Any cross training tips? Leg/cardio exercises that could help here? I've been doing the elliptical for a few weeks now and it seems to help but I'd like to participate in a more robust program so I may be able to compete some day.

Forward does it

SingleTrackMind — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:03:35 -0500

I'm assuming you're referring to technique and not aerobic conditioning. If it's the latter, than I, at 260, am definitely not qualified to answer it.

As for technique:

Move forward on your seat so your weight is centered over/near your handlebars.

Relax your arms and make sure you don't like your elbows; tons of energy is wasted that way.

Long, slow climb without a lot of tech? I've found it helps to put my thumbs on the grip, rather than going underneath. Keeps me relaxed. Also, a good way to remember to keep your arms bent is to tuck them in closer to your sides. It feels weird at first, but you quickly get used to it.

Short, techy climbs? Attack it. Momentum is key. Actually, that's probably 90% of mountain biking.