Out of saddle hill climbing is.....

[Citius]

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.

You use those muscles regardless of whether you are standing or not - maybe just differently. Seated or standing - if you are going up hill, you will use more energy anyway - compared to if you are riding on the flat. You may use fractionally more if you are out of the saddle, but it's not going to kill you and it's not going to shorten your endurance by a significant amount. Unless you are out on an all-day ride and are regularly honking out of the saddle, then it's probably not going to make any difference to you at all.

 

[Boon 51]

I prefer to get out of the saddle now but it wasn't like that at the start. Here's my quick story if you wish to read it..

When I started biking about 2 years ago I got into some trouble with loss of weight and found the standard road bike 50/34 and 11/28 too hard for climbing..

I began to sort my weight loss out and got a 11/32 cassette and things got a bit easier but no way could I get out of the saddle going up hill's.
I asked on here what to do and a few wise owl's said' Get fitter and you will find it better all round to ride a bike'
So I got my weight back to 10st 7lbs again and then started to build my calf muscles up too and it made a load of difference.
I then got a 7 kilo bike instead of the 9 kilo bike I had before, climbing up hill's became faster and riding out of the saddle up hill's became easier so much easier in fact I upgraded the chainring from 50/34 to a 52/36 and left the 11/28 cassette as it was..
Now I can do an 8% 4/5 klm climb still on the 52 front and out of the saddle as well.
So its out of the saddle for me even if I'm just riding at a steady rate.
So thanks for the wise words on here just over year ago..

 

[S.Giles]

I used to tackle Trundlegate (a hill in the Yorkshire Wolds) almost daily last year, and would usually stand up out of the saddle and be in a comparatively high gear. Using this method I could get up the hill fairly quickly, but would not have wanted to try it again straight away, due to the level of exertion required.

One day in the spirit of experimentation, I decided to try the same climb sat down, in a very low gear, and not worrying at all about how quickly I reached the top. By comparison with the standing method, my speed was very slow, but I managed the climb five times in a row, the only break being the downhill run in between. I even felt I could have done it again several more times, but was getting bored after five.

The above convinced me that (slow) hill climbing needn't be any more difficult than riding (quickly) on the flat, given the right choice of gears. The main hurdle is psychological rather than physical. Going fast on the flat feels better than going slowly up a hill, so there's a tendency to try to speed-up on the hill, and hence use more power than is comfortable.

Steve

 

[JasonHolder]

May be good for your buttocks but not good for your goolies when the chain snaps mid climb as I can testify!
(Half way up Birdlip Hill on the outskirts of Gloucester).

Strava?

On topic if you dont need to stand. Its not a steep hill. 20%+ and you'll be standing no matter.

 

[compo]

Strava?

Not from the mid 1960's!

 

[jowwy]

i climb seated no matter what the gradient whethers its 2% 3% or 25%..............i just make sure i am in the right gear, how fast i get up that hill is no care to me at all

 

[Citius]

i climb seated no matter what the gradient whethers its 2% 3% or 25%..............i just make sure i am in the right gear, how fast i get up that hill is no care to me at all

What about a hilly TT ?

 

[jowwy]

What about a hilly TT ?

I believe the post was called " out of the saddle climbing" not time trialling..............a hilly time trial wouldnt suite me and it would be posted in a different section of the forum

 

[nickyboy]

My understanding is that in climbing out of the saddle, the pelvis is forced to move vertically with every pedal stroke. Obviously that is not the case when seated. It is this vertical movement that results in climbing out of the saddle being less efficient.
I guess with sufficient training you could minimise this inefficiency. I certainly see folk climbing out of the saddle "bobbing" up and down and that's inefficient.

 

[slowmotion]

I would love to climb out of the saddle. Alas, I just can't get my mitts on the drugs.

[media]
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdMdJAdzpYQ
[/media]

 

[T4tomo]

Wrong clip, Pantani was the master at out of saddle hands in the drops power climbing.

In general if you have a long ride then seated will arguably expend the least energy to get up the hill, however standing will probably get you up faster, as you can push a higher gear for similar cadence.

On a long alpine climb, a bit of a mix of standing and seated generally works best for me.

 

[Citius]

Seated or standing - what gets gets you up hills faster is how much power you can generate - and for how long.

 

[Boon 51]

Some people find standing hard on a hill because they attack the hill too hard at the start of the climb.

 

[2IT]

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.

Agree with you with some observations.

As a generalization, it seems like out of saddle climbing favors shorter and powerful riders over taller and thinner riders. Quintana versus Froome for example.

From what I have seen on group rides and in spin class is that the shorter riders find it less awkward to be out of the saddle. Perhaps it's their shorter levers, like gymnasts do well with gymnastics. Heavier riders also seem to enjoy using their full weight on a pedal stroke to punch the pedal down compared to a lighter rider. (Perhaps heavier riders also want to give their rear ends a break too.)

In a spin class there was a short (under 5'6"), powerful, climber that could/did the entire hour without a saddle because there was a bike without one. He was doing it at various cadences while getting in a good workout. He's known to do well on hill climbs.

On the road, I've noticed the same pattern. At 6', I feel uncoordinated out of the saddle like a center in basketball trying to dribble and play like a guard. I do get out of the saddle occasionally while climbing to try to develop some skill and power; yet, for long periods my average speed is better if I stay seated. Since it seems this way, I've been working on being more comfortable and efficient while changing seated positions which trends me towards staying seated even longer.

Climbing out the saddle well is impressive if done well. I wish I could do it well as pictures of the pros climbing out of saddle are used more than pros sitting in the saddle while climbing. It's like the public thinks that those seated are not working as hard or too tired to get out of the saddle. On the other hand, using watts seems to have changed perception of climbing effort and practices among the pros.

In closing, I wish I could get it up more often in spin class with the ladies or on the road with my mates to impress everyone. However, it's so difficult that I usually stay seated as I age and lose coordination and power.

 

[vickster]

In closing, I wish I could get it up more often in spin class with the ladies or on the road with my mates to impress everyone. However, it's so difficult that I usually stay seated as I age and lose coordination and power.

@Fnaar