What's the consensus -- downshift and keep up cadence? Or stand on the pedals? I see many more people standing on their pedals, but i'm of the downshift school. (Keeps with my general approach to riding, start slow and then taper off ;-)
Downshift and SPIN like mad. Takes too much out of me to mash the pedals especially if its a lengthy uphill section.
I try to maintain a constant effort while climbing. I stay seated, downshift, and spin at whatever it takes to keep moving. If I run out low gears, I'll slow the cadence. The only time I stand is when the bike threatens to stall in the lowest gear, or if the hill is so steep that I have to shift weight forward to keep the front wheel from lifting up.
I'd rather stand and mash, but I've been making more of an effort to downshift and raise my cadence since talking to a friend about this very subject. I took some hills today downshifting and my breathing was fine, even with the dry weather we've been having.
I would rather suggest stand on pedals and keep up cadence but, it depends on the type of hill and the steepness of the slope. I have tried this on smaller hills but not on larger ones as I have not gained perfectness till now. Timing matters a lot.
I was told years ago to down shift until you run out of gears then stand or stand if the front wheel is lifting to transfer weight. The reason I was told to downshift was due to the pressure put on the chain,sprockets and overall rear end of the bike. To stay in a high gear and muscle it could damage components or pull the tire out of line, or torque parts causing damage.
down shift or else I make sure that I have one lower gear to shift down to if I can't quite make it up the hill. I have been told it is acutely more work for you to push the bike up the hill than it is to ride it. I like running triples in the front. Looking down on those little gears gives me some solace. I have some seriously low gears on my bikes on my road bike I have a 22-32 and on my curser I have a 26-32. on my old touring bike I have a 24-30. I don't use them very much, but its nice to know that they are around when I need them to "bailout"
