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Climbing Hills

3K views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  retromike3 
#1 ·
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 ;-)
 
#3 ·
Downshift and SPIN like mad. Takes too much out of me to mash the pedals especially if its a lengthy uphill section.
 
#7 ·
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.
 
#8 ·
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.
 
#10 ·
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.
 
#11 ·
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"
 
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