# Slipping uphill..



## sarahale (24 Aug 2015)

What am I doing wrong? As much as I practice them I still can't do big long hills. I stay in the saddle, lean right forward but if its steep I feel my front wheel lifting or slipping. Any advice?


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## mjr (24 Aug 2015)

How steep? Are your hands on tops, ends or somewhere else?


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## fossyant (24 Aug 2015)

Probably a bigger gear. If you are spinning it can cause the front to lift more. Keep seated and shuffle forward if this is happening.


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## sarahale (24 Aug 2015)

Fairly steep, Hands on top (if by this you mean switching thumb from under to over?) 

Will try switching gears and do you mean shuffle forward on the saddle? If so will try that.


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## sarahale (24 Aug 2015)

I'm pretty light too wondered if that would make any difference?


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## Levo-Lon (24 Aug 2015)

Do you have hard tyres? Ie 40psi +
A 30 psi tubed tyre or a 24psi tubeless tyre will improve grip..
also do you have high mtb stem and bars?

Maybe you an adjust so you can keep the front down.


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## sarahale (24 Aug 2015)

I mainly ride on 30psi.

Ill ask my friend who knows more to see if he thinks my handlebars are too high or anything, thanks


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## Lonestar (24 Aug 2015)

sarahale said:


> What am I doing wrong? As much as I practice them I still can't do big long hills. I stay in the saddle, lean right forward but if its steep I feel my front wheel lifting or slipping. Any advice?



I did that up Ditchling,very embarrassing on the 1999 bike ride.I fell off.


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## ColinJ (24 Aug 2015)

It's a balancing act. There are lots of steep hills round here (20-25+%) where it can be tricky to keep the front wheel down but not slip the rear wheel.



fossyant said:


> Probably a bigger gear. If you are spinning it can cause the front to lift more. Keep seated and shuffle forward if this is happening.


It is true that you can get so much torque with a low gear that it is easy to wind the front of the bike off the road if you lean back. It is also easy to make the rear wheel slide if you lean forward too much. The problem is that you will probably want to use a low gear on a very steep hill!

Basically ...

If the front lifts - shift forwards on the saddle, or lean forwards.
If the rear wheel slips, shift backwards on the saddle or sit more upright.
If the rear wheel still slides after changing your weight distribution, try using a higher gear.
If the front is lifting _and_ the rear wheel is slipping at the same time _and_ you can't turn a higher gear, you need to practice more. (Or walk! )


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## Donger (24 Aug 2015)

sarahale said:


> I'm pretty light too wondered if that would make any difference?


 I doubt if weight has anything to do with it. I weigh 20st and I start kangarooing it every time the gradient gets anywhere near 20%.
I have a feeling it is probably related to the geometry of your bike and/or your riding position. My drop bar road bike definitely skips more than my flat bar one on the hills. When it happens, i just try to shift my weight a bit further forward. Grabbing the bars a bit tighter so my arms aren't straight seems to help too, but that goes against all the best climbing advice about keeping a relaxed grip of the bars.


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## ColinJ (24 Aug 2015)

Oh, and the other problem when riding offroad is that you can be on a low friction surface such as gravel, dirt or wet grass. That's why knobbly tyres were invented because they can dig into the surface and get more grip. Slick tyres can't do that so even though they roll better on tarmac and grip fine there, they are not good on loose surfaces. Semi-slicks are a compromise between the 2 extremes. If you want the best grip, you have to put up with the higher rolling resistance of knobblies.


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## sarahale (24 Aug 2015)

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I purely have this problem off road. On road on my road bike or mtb I've never experienced any lift or slipping. So its probably a combination of bad technique and nerves which perhaps means Im not keeping up such a good pace or leaning forwards as much as I should be. 

I will keep on practising and try not to scare myself too much when it happens, doing a wheelie up hill is impressive right?!


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## lpretro1 (18 Sep 2015)

If you have front suspension forks the longer the length of your forks the worse this will be as well - so a 140mm travel will be more prone to lifting than a100mm. If you have hardtail or rear suspension lock out then on the really steep parts you can get out of the saddle. Of course if you are on a raod bike then none of that is an issue - just get stood up when it is steepest - that moves your weight more over the front end of the bike


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## Jody (21 Sep 2015)

lpretro1 said:


> If you have front suspension forks the longer the length of your forks the worse this will be as well - so a 140mm travel will be more prone to lifting than a100mm.



Not so. Frame geometry is set to suit whichever forks are fitted from the factory. Your scenario is correct if you have increased the length from standard.


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## Milkfloat (21 Sep 2015)

What is your pedaling technique like? I find stamping on the pedals is more likely to unweight the front end - nice and smooth pedaling seems to keep the front down and also stops the back from spinning and slipping. Failing that - get out the saddle to climb, it will be easier to keep the weight forward.


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## OskarTennisChampion (14 Nov 2015)

I found dropping my stem helped get more weight over the wheel.
Meant I could still stay seated to have weight over the rear as well to get traction.
I know what Meta Lon is saying about tyre pressures,but I have always stuck with taking the max psi and halving it.Or as close as.As example,my tyres have 65 max,but I run them at 32.
I feel that gives me a wide enough contact area to the ground,whilst giving me enough buoyancy not to rim or buckle the tyre at the side.
Not very technical I know,and I know people will have their own theories.
But it has worked for me for years


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## Racheluk (19 Nov 2015)

I find keeping your elbows bent downwards on steep sections keeps enough weight on the front.. and try and keep your weight low on the bike.. also change gear before you need to, rather than grinding too big a gear.. if you keep the rear wheel moving steadily rather than in bursts then you should hopefully be fine..


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