Cycling - Hill Climbing Tips

Whether you ride in the mountain West or in the flat Great Plains there will always be a some kind of hill climbing on your ride route. cyclists climb hills because it challenges their endurance, ability, and skill, so they'll go out of their way to look for hills to climb. In flat areas, city riders will climb in multi-level parking structures. New riders will ask: What is the best way to climb hills?

The best advice I was ever given when it comes to climbing hills is to "do whatever feels comfortable to help make your climb feel as effortless as possible".

You'll likely have to shift into a lower gear when climbing a reasonably sized hill. Riding in a lower gear will help you pedal with less effort, so your feet will spin with more ease. You may not have to shift at all, if it's a smaller hill.

If you are an off road trail rider, or mountain biker you may want to install bar ends mounted into the ends of your handlebars. Bar ends will give you an additional hand position forward or beyond the handlebar. Allowing you to shift your weight forward which will keep your front wheel down.

Body position is another consideration for comfort while climbing. A seated climb can be easier for some cyclists because the seat will support you body weight. If you stand, your legs support your weight which means you'll use more energy. However some cyclists find a seated climb with their bottom back in the seat and their arms extended to be an uncomfortable position. So they'll prefer a standing climb to get their weight forward.

A standing climb will also allow you to rock your bike and use your body weight to pedal. You'll use different muscles for a standing climb verses a seated climb. So in a standing climb you'll be giving the muscles you used in a seated ride a rest.

If you're riding off road it helps to put a little bounce in you pedal with each downward stroke as you climb in a standing position. This will push the rear tire into the ground and give you more traction and help you get up the hill.

Hill climbing is one of the primary areas where the leaders break from the pack during a race. Those who can climb quickly may have been born with good genes, just as it helps for a basketball player to be tall, or a jockey to be short. All good athletes do a lot of training. The best way to increase your hill climbing speed is to practice, practice, practice training on hills.

If there aren't many hills in your area, layout out your ride route so you ride the same hill multiple times. Look for other structures in your area to practice hill climbing on including: tall bridges, freeway sidewalk overpasses, long truck loading ramps, and other elevating structures. Another form of training is resistance riding. No, we don't mean dragging a cinder block behind you as you ride. Once you've warmed up, riding against a strong hard wind is great resistance training.

Repetitive and resistance training on these short elevations will help form your muscles and lungs to be faster on the hills with less effort.