Mountain Biking - Climbing

• When climbing a hill, develop a strong spin when you approach the hill/mountain to keep the momentum going.


• Choose the right gear for your climb. Aim to pedal at a Cadence of between 60 and 90 revolutions a minute. Watch out not to choose a gear that is too high! And also consider that, in most cases, you have only one chainring for the whole climb. This is because changing the front gear during climbing at slow cadences does not work. It is far better to change gear at the rear whilst climbing.


• Too big a gear and you will grind to a halt. Don't go up a hill on a heavy gear and start tightening up your leg muscles in the middle of the climb. You'll want to have a controlled tempo that would last the climb.
  
  
• Remember to breath. Prevent getting a stitch by pushing the air out.


• If traction is not a problem, you can ride out of the saddle. This produces the most power but is less efficient, so you may want to mix in and out the saddle riding.


• If traction is an issue, then you need to take special care of your Weight Distribution. You need to body spread over the bike and keep your backside on the saddle. By spreading your weight over the bike, you will maintain traction on the rear wheel and stop the front wheel from coming off the floor. Use bar extenders or "cowhorns" to make climbing easier, as these will enable better weight distribution for the steeps and help you move forward on the bike.


• During long climbs, it would help to pedal off the saddle for 15 revolutions, and then pedal 15 revs on the saddle. This will help you achieve a momentum that you may keep to the rest of the climb. It also helps to alleviate the pain you may feel in the buttocks after a long stay in the saddle.


• As a last resort, if the climb is too steep, there is no shame in walking. It would probably be safer. You got to admit, some hills are just too steep to stay on the bike.


• Once you have reached the top and you want to descent, place the chain on the big ring to stop the chain flapping around and possibly bouncing off the chainring. Refer to our Gear Shifting section for more details on this.