Slipping uphill..

[sarahale]

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?

 

[mjr]

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

 

[fossyant]

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.

 

[sarahale]

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.

 

[sarahale]

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

 

[Levo-Lon]

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.

 

[sarahale]

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

 

[Lonestar]

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.

 

[ColinJ]

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.

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! )

 

[Donger]

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.

 

[ColinJ]

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.

 

[sarahale]

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?!

 

[lpretro1]

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

 

[Jody]

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.

 

[Milkfloat]

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.