So as I’ve said before I’ve run my entire life, but just started biking / swimming.
My bike rides have so far been 10-15 miles and I ride hard every time so far. Hard for me is 20-21 on the road bike. I have no power meter and only a stop watch to gauge pace. Tri bike is coming soon I hope. I hope to put on more easier miles as I get deeper into things here.
A few hopefully very basic questions. First when biking up hill is it common to either to sit or stand (based on the effort you want to put out)? Can I assume while standing you want to be in a bigger gear to use the power of your legs more effectively? It seems while standing and pedaling at high cadence my legs hurt WAY worse.
Is it also accepted that while ascending (seated) or decending that you still want to gear to maintain proper cadence in that 90ish range?
Thank you.
Yes you should be at a much slower cadence when out of the saddle climbing, unless you’re attacking (but obviously you’re not road racing). As for cadence uphills, on flats, etc., you really just need to ride more and use what feels best. I typically ride around 90-95 on flats, but it might be 80-85 if I’m climbing seated. I don’t usually pay attention to it though, it’s just what feels right.
Exactly what I was looking for thank you!
turn the crankes at what gets you the highest speed. For the last few minutes of your bike leg switch to a cadence of about 90-100 rpm, which will be closer to your run cadence.
As far as gearing standing vs sitting, I usually shift down a cog right before I stand. As my climbing gears are 3 tooth jumps between cogs this is more of a difference than it sounds like. Cadence is slower for the same effort level.
Whether to climb standing or seated is a matter of preference. Seated is more efficient since you don’t have to support your body weight and move the bike uphill standing allows access to different muscle groups (and usually for a bit a bit more power). The lighter you are the less inefficient standing will be.
Cadence is mostly preference, although it can be dictated by the terrain if you run out of gears (either uphill or down).
So as I’ve said before I’ve run my entire life, but just started biking / swimming.
My bike rides have so far been 10-15 miles and I ride hard every time so far. Hard for me is 20-21 on the road bike. I have no power meter and only a stop watch to gauge pace. Tri bike is coming soon I hope. I hope to put on more easier miles as I get deeper into things here.
A few hopefully very basic questions. First when biking up hill is it common to either to sit or stand (based on the effort you want to put out)? Can I assume while standing you want to be in a bigger gear to use the power of your legs more effectively? It seems while standing and pedaling at high cadence my legs hurt WAY worse.
Is it also accepted that while ascending (seated) or decending that you still want to gear to maintain proper cadence in that 90ish range?
Thank you.
As a cyclist, when i climb a hill I try to be seated at all times, reason being is that when you start to stand your going to use up more energy to climb that hill also you will be using muscles that you don’t barely use and your body is going to react like “where is this comming from”, I notice this when I go one on one w/ a cyclist i stay seated while he stands to tackle that hill by the time we get to the top he used more effort and engery unlike my lazy seated postion I have reserved my energy and in the end when it is time to go down hill I just keep pedaling while some will keep up and do the same but others figured when i get to the top and head down hill i’ll recover and stop pedaling and cost, that’s time you use your reserve and drop him. It is best you stay seated unless the climb is so steep then that’s the time you stand, if the angle is 60 to 55.
Only climb the hill using the big chainring if there is a good amount of play, what you are doing is using energy when your using force and effort to rotate the cranks, you should be spinning up that hill not using power were your pushing to get to the top. Do your knees a favor, use the 39 chainring and climb that hill, reserve that power and energy for last leg of the Tri, which is running. That’s why your legs are hurting.
No, you don’t have to, at some point around 50 plus miles your going to slow down and after climbing that hill you may want to just chill down hill, remember your doing triathlons, depending of the distance your aiming for unless it’s 70.3 or a full IM, the name of the game is to pace yourself.
As a cyclist, when i climb a hill I try to be seated at all times, reason being is that when you start to stand your going to use up more energy to climb that hill also you will be using muscles that you don’t barely use and your body is going to react like “where is this comming from”, I notice this when I go one on one w/ a cyclist i stay seated while he stands to tackle that hill by the time we get to the top he used more effort and engery unlike my lazy seated postion I have reserved my energy and in the end when it is time to go down hill I just keep pedaling while some will keep up and do the same but others figured when i get to the top and head down hill i’ll recover and stop pedaling and cost, that’s time you use your reserve and drop him. It is best you stay seated unless the climb is so steep then that’s the time you stand, if the angle is 60 to 55.
Er, if your looking to climb something that’s 60% (or degrees, not going to make a huge difference) grade you’d best be reaching for hiking boots or rock climbing shoes, not a bicycle. The steepest road in the world is only 35%.
At 60 degrees, I get the ice tools out.
My run cadence is about 80-85 so I do not have fast turnover. I do notice when getting off the bike my legs actually want to turn over FASTER than normal…which I assume is better than the opposite.