I was out riding my TT bike and decided to hit my normal hill route. It got me thinking about the best way to attack the hills. Should I stay in my aero bars or hands on the bars when it times to go up a hill?
I tried different way and I noticed that the small to med hills I have no problem staying aero, but then I hit the bigger hills and I have to put my hands on my bars.
I was just curious to see opinions on the best way to go
Thanks in advance!!!
With a 40x25 low end, I only sit up when I have run out of gear and it looks like the hill is going to last for a while. I figure that sitting up at that point is not going to make that much difference aerodynamically. However, if there is a wind that creates a higher relative wind speed then I will make sure to stay in the aerobars. The longer the race, the more I would take advantage of the opportunities to sit up on the hills to give myself a break from the aero position.
Chad
depends on what kind of hill your talking about… hills around me are about 1,000 feet of climbing, and some have 15%grade. but heres a rule of thumb, stay in the aerobars unless you go under 17mph. If you go under 17mph because theres a high wind but your on the flat you stay in the aerobar. check out this chart:
17+mph stay in aerobars
16-13mph stay in the brake extensions (tt bike) or drops (road bike), or hoods with bent elbows
12-0mph go where ever you want
That is a pretty simple rule to go by. Thanks!
i believe there is an article on the main page about this very thing. when climbing aero, its not so much about aerodynamics, but more about power generating.
heres the article; http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/ascending.html#Anchor-Ascending-49813
if you’re riding steep, stay aero until you’re ready to climb standing.
I try to stay aero as much as possible, but do feel like I can generate a bit more power standing and really appreciate the chance to stretch out and change muscle groups a bit. My biggest problem is that standing while on the tri bike hurts my back if I do it too much - I think it’s from the strain while being bent so far over. Seems to put extra stress on my back when it’s in a less supported position compared to sitting. But I know that over the course of a long ride I’m going to take some breaks from the aero position and the uphills are the best time to do it to maximize the aero benefit.
Figure it out yourself. Your aero position is different to everyone else’s, so it may work differently too.
Ride hills in the aero & upright positions. Check RPE, HR, watts, time, speed and see which is better.
Try different types of hill too. Then you’ll know yourself, rather than just accepting someone’s word for it.
This was an interesting article but I guess I’m a little skeptical about the conclusion that one should stay aero as long as they can keep their cadence up, regardless of speed. Roadies will always stay on their tops on a sustained climb, or maybe their hoods if it’s a power climb. According to this article they should stay in their drops and slide forward on the saddle as this generates the most peak power (standing excluded). But you’re using different muscles when climbing due to the incline so is this still optimum position for climbing? And even if the aero position does generate more power, does it come at an increased cost in energy and comfort? I see many triathletes on group rides struggling to stay aero on little hills. They always look much more strained and uncomfortable than the roadies around them climbing upright. My rule of thumb on the TT bike is big chain ring aero, small chain ring upright. Works pretty well for me. I did the local rolling 10.2 mile club TT last night which has lots of little rollers that I can maintain 20+ mph over and stayed aero the whole time. Any time I’m in a situation where I need to pop it in the small ring and settle into a rhythm it’s upright.
If you train with a power meter this becomes a no-brainer. You ride hills in any manner that meets your power goals. Plain and simple. If you’re on a hill and you power output is exceeding your goal race wattage then you find a way to get those watts down. Be that sitting up on your saddle, staying aero, moving to the nose of the saddle, getting a compact crank, etc. Esp. for IM and HIM type events.
And this points directly to the difference between a triathlete and a roadie – a TT-like effort strives for constant power output, while the roadie will let it vary all over the map.
Interestingly not one response talks about the real reason to sit up when climbing (and why pros are often climbing with their hands on the flats instead of the hoods)…opening up the lungs to get more air.
Hence, footnote of “Esp. for IM and HIM type events”. Oh I see you are saying the same thing I was saying just in a different way?
I don’t have scientific data to support my assumptions but I don’t necessarily agree with that.