# Tecnique Issues



## david1701 (21 Apr 2011)

Climbing off road is really hard, I added a beautiful coast path section to my ride home today (to test to see if its suitable for my niece - not yet ) and I had a lot of trouble keeping the front wheel down on the steep tight uphill sections, is there a knack to getting the weight forwards? (I will admit I had panniers on )

My (lower) back really really hurts now I'm home guessing I wrenched it somehow are there any knacks to staying relaxed?

sorry for being noobish but most of my riding is on easy farmtracks/roads

riding hardtailed mtb (commuterised with rack and guards)


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## LosingFocus (21 Apr 2011)

I found that adding barends to my bike really helped me move forward over the handlebars and get more weight forwards on offroad climbs.


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## david1701 (21 Apr 2011)

k, I've been meaning to get some for a while


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## Muddy Ground (21 Apr 2011)

Move your bum forward so that you are sitting right on the nose of the saddle. Try and crouch down as well - kind of like trying to put your chin on the handlebar stem. Pedal in circles - sounds daft but a lot of people just mash the padals on the downstroke, where to find grip and stop the front end lifting you need to apply torque in a reasonably constant manner. Bar ends allow you to move your mass forward towards the front axle a bit, so do help but they're a bit anti-fashion these days for some reason. And what gear are you in? Sounds like you're a torque monster so could try a harder gear.

Some bikes do kind of wander and lift when faced with a steep bit, so you have to use body English to counteract this. Also if you have a lot of spacers under the stem, swop things around in an effort to lower the front end a bit.

A lot of this is nothing more than forward planning. You'd be surprised how many people kind of go "oh a hill" and go all wibbly. 

And remove the panniers!

www.muddyground.com


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## david1701 (21 Apr 2011)

Panniers stay - I was on my way home with a laptop and all kindsa crap in them (though I ditch it if I'm riding for pleasure)

I do have some spacers I think so I'll kill those, bike has different cranks each side (though the same length) so style is not its strong point anyway.

So smoother and maybe a higher gear if possible smoothly.

I can work with that.


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## david1701 (22 Apr 2011)

I am definitely not a torque monster  couldn't get the pedals to turn (while staying on the bike) so had to push for a section 

tried the same route but going the other way (and cutting off the rolling grass section by going via road - late) and my back is twinging again, I wonder if its just not used to the abuse?


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## david1701 (22 Apr 2011)

did it again today (going home so exactly the same as yesterday) and did it in an hour instead of an hour and a half, which can't just be losing 1 pannier with the laptop. Also while my back hurts a bit its a lot better.

I reckon both are down to experience/technique of having done it a few times now


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## lukesdad (23 Apr 2011)

Longer stem flat bars Bar ends


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## ThePainInSpain (23 Apr 2011)

Nearly all of my riding is off road, albeit rough tracks. Climbing is a lot 'easier' since I fitted bar-ends. 

The biggest problem I get is not getting weight onto the front to keep it down, it's how to stop wheel spin on loose surfaces when standing up in the pedals.


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## lukesdad (23 Apr 2011)

ThePainInSpain said:


> Nearly all of my riding is off road, albeit rough tracks. Climbing is a lot 'easier' since I fitted bar-ends.
> 
> The biggest problem I get is not getting weight onto the front to keep it down, it's how to stop wheel spin on loose surfaces when standing up in the pedals.



Higher cadence lower gear


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## david1701 (23 Apr 2011)

got a heavy run tomorrow but after that I might have a crack at losing a few spacers, again working on bar ends for the future


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## palinurus (24 Apr 2011)

If you don't already do it try doing a few simple core-strengthening exercises a few times a week. My back and shoulders would hurt after taking up cyclocross, just a couple of quick- and pretty easy- sessions a week and I started feeling better.


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## david1701 (25 Apr 2011)

My sister does Yoga and I asked her to show me some as a way to improve flexibility to avoid hurting myself any more, what kind of core strengthening were you thinking of doing? I have a set of dumbells but thats it for fitness specific equipment


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## david1701 (25 Apr 2011)

google is my friend this looks like a good shout with its quick workout of 7 exercises I'll do it a few times a week with maybe some upper body stuff thrown in to balance out my fitness a little so I don't just have massive legs


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## deaksie (25 Apr 2011)

your back pain might just be down to you being a bit tense and stiffening up? I know it sounds rubbish to say this when all your focus is on getting up the hill, but try to just chill out and enjoy it? 
Regarding keeping the front wheel down, I definitely agree with the others about getting your weight over the front as much as possible. Also, sometimes slowing down just by 5 or 10% can give you that bit more time/space to stay on the bike and finish the hill rather than getting off and walking. 
Good luck with it -you'll get there


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## Globalti (26 Apr 2011)

The back pain is due to the fact that those muscles are transmitting all of the force between your legs and pelvis and the rest of your body. They will get stronger as you stress them and they will stop hurting.


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## ColinJ (26 Apr 2011)

I'd agree with the suggestion that you use bar-ends for the front-lifting problem. There is often quite a difficult trade-off on steep off-road climbs between losing traction on the rear and lifting the front of the bike. I find that the long bar-ends on my MTB allow me to stretch out and find the right balance.



Globalti said:


> The back pain is due to the fact that those muscles are transmitting all of the force between your legs and pelvis and the rest of your body. They will get stronger as you stress them and they will stop hurting.


It's true that hard pedalling tends to rock the pelvis and the core and back muscles are having to resist that. Cycling alone may not make those muscles strong enough though - I've been cycling as an adult for 22 years and my back still aches on every ride! 

Part of my problem is a lack of flexibility and cycling actually makes that worse because so much of the time is spent in an unnatural bent-over position. I keep meaning to try yoga to improve my flexibility. Several of my cycling friends swear by it.

Lack of core strength is another issue and I haven't found that cycling completely solves that problem either, though admittedly I haven't been cycling consistently enough over the past 3 or 4 years to really build up that strength. My back problem wasn't as bad when I was riding 500+ miles a month. More riding, yoga, Pilates or some other exercise to strengthen the core would help.

Carrying excessive weight doesn't help because it's an extra strain on the body. When I was 3 stone lighter, riding felt so much easier. If you can reduce the weight you are carrying on you, the bike itself or as luggage, that would help.

The other possible factor (which applies in my case and is probably the cause of 75% of my back problem) is that you might have a significant leg-length difference. My right leg is significantly longer than my left and it causes my pelvis to rock as I pedal because my left leg is struggling to reach down to the bottom of the pedal stroke. Lowering the saddle makes it feel too low for my right leg! 

I'm currently experimenting with using a shorter left crank to see if that helps. When I used Look pedals, I put shims under the left cleat but that's not something that would suit the SPD cleats and mountain bike shoes that I currently use.

Low climbing gears are kinder on my back. A lot of the time I can't actually use the strength my legs have because of aches and pains elsewhere so I use very low gears and spin my way up the steep stuff. If you go too low though, it is easy to spin the back wheel so you have to pedal smoothly and not 'mash' the pedals round.


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## david1701 (27 Apr 2011)

cheers guys, I'm doing some gentle riding with my sister (she's new to it) for fitness so I'm building some core muscle work into those sessions pre ride, it should help.


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