Out of saddle hill climbing is.....

[shouldbeinbed]

I'm 46 (I think, born Dec 68) I'm more a sitter than a stander regardless of roadie, heavy ute or folder. But I tend to grind a lower cadence than the perceived norm and like @Drago, I tend to climb loaded less like the pros and more like a Nepalese sherpa so raising the centre of gravity and potentially rocking about a bit more amongst traffic and on one little steep stab upwards with a nasty unguarded drop on one side probably isn't my best option.

If you fancy standing, stand. If you fancy sitting, sit, if you fancy walking....... We're all different and are riding our own way and our own routes.

 

[400bhp]

Although it's a useful method to stretch alternative muscles, overall you end up wasting more energy by being out of the saddle. Unless you're racing someone and need a spurt of speed, I'd tend to stay in the saddle.

Nope

 

[totallyfixed]

As above, I rode with Steve Abraham aka "teethgrinder" today [will post up in the relevant areas] and whenever the incline went above 4% ish, he was out of the saddle, and this from the man who knows how to conserve energy.

 

[dr snuggles]

As soon as I started cycling again it was an automatic thing for me and I much prefer it on steeper sections. I also don't feel like it takes any more energy at all.

 

[velovoice]

To be honest I'd probably go for picking a cadence you like and gearing accordingly so you can ride up a hill seated.... just get up that hill whichever way you find the most comfortable

+1 And for many of us, the knees are the final arbiter.

 

[Flying Dodo]

As above, I rode with Steve Abraham aka "teethgrinder" today [will post up in the relevant areas] and whenever the incline went above 4% ish, he was out of the saddle, and this from the man who knows how to conserve energy.

I've ridden with Steve before and can't say I'd noticed him climbing out of the saddle (except for the times he was on fixed), so what Steve does or doesn't do isn't the issue.

If you're out of the saddle, then you're also having to use back and other muscles to stabilise your body, which you wouldn't be doing if you're sat in the saddle. That extra muscle exertion all uses up energy.

 

[Drago]

Alas, I'm not Steve Abraham. I'm am me with a dicky hip and degree of loss of function in one arm. What works for him simply doesn't for me. We're all different builds, ages, shapes, levels of fitness and injury, and to suggest that one method or the other is automatically more efficient or better for everyone is preposterous. A shortarse whippet 140lb pro cyclist with a resting heartbeat under 30 is clearly different from a 194cm 262lb old git with injuries heading for 50.

 

[totallyfixed]

Alas, I'm not Steve Abraham. I'm am me with a dicky hip and degree of loss of function in one arm. What works for him simply doesn't for me. We're all different builds, ages, shapes, levels of fitness and injury, and to suggest that one method or the other is automatically more efficient or better for everyone is preposterous. A shortarse whippet 140lb pro cyclist with a resting heartbeat under 30 is clearly different from a 194cm 262lb old git with injuries heading for 50.

No surprise to get this kind of response, you are of course correct, we are all different so quite obviously there will be exceptions. The statement I made about standing still, er stands. The majority of cyclists I know, and I know a lot, are reasonably fit and do not carry much excess weight, age has nothing to do with it, your comparison with a "shortarse whippet 140b pro cyclist" is something of a straw man argument, this is the extreme end of the spectrum, a long way from where you currently are and a fair way from most, and it is the majority this is aimed at. BTW, does not apply to straight bars, only drops.
Oh, and your back muscles are under considerably more tension in a typical road bike position sitting than they are standing. I have written about this subject in some detail in the past. There are more detailed posts here on CC should you wish to look.

 

[gbb]

When i was fit, I loved to get out the saddle. Most inclines here (not really hills) are short stabs of 1/4 to 1/2 mile, I like to hammer up them then gather breath once topped.
I wasnt looking for efficiency, I was looking for fitness and strength and a way of bringing down my 40 mile circuit times.
Its practice..I can stay out the saddle quite comfortably, equally I will stay seated if I feel like it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Pointless personal story: If I ride a "big hill" (for me that is >100m over 1-2km, eg Toy's Hill, Kidd's Hill, Ditchling Beacon etc) and sit down all the way then my back muscles will be hurting a lot at the top. Sometimes bad enough that I have to dismount and stretch and cool down a bit.. If I ride mainly seated and intersperse with short bursts of standing - sometimes bumping it up a gear for the duration - then I don't get the back problem.

Told you it was pointless.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

It has probably been said already, but the best way to deal with hills, is neither to stay in the saddle or get out of it, but to avoid the bloody things.

 

[400bhp]

I've ridden with Steve before and can't say I'd noticed him climbing out of the saddle (except for the times he was on fixed), so what Steve does or doesn't do isn't the issue.

If you're out of the saddle, then you're also having to use back and other muscles to stabilise your body, which you wouldn't be doing if you're sat in the saddle. That extra muscle exertion all uses up energy.

No. Using more muscles does not necessarily equate to using more energy. Your energy use per single muscle is not binary. Your power is likely to be dissipated across more muscles when standing.

Totallyfixed and Hacienda on this thread are worth listening to.

 

[KneesUp]

For me it normally means I forgot to shift down just before I got home the last time I used the bike. (I live at the bottom of a hill)

 

[Flying Dodo]

No. Using more muscles does not necessarily equate to using more energy. Your energy use per single muscle is not binary. Your power is likely to be dissipated across more muscles when standing.

Totallyfixed and Hacienda on this thread are worth listening to.

Googling doesn't seem to show up anyone saying you use less energy overall standing, compared with remaining sitting. From experience, I've found it easier to climb hills like Ditchling sitting down. However if someone says they find climbing a hill like that or Box Hill for example, easier standing the whole way, then I'm happy to let them do it!

 

[runner]

When I get out of the saddle on a climb I do a little dance......it makes me feel like Alberto