Sycling Snippets
by Bobby Nefdt1. Standing on a Climb
One of the biggest frustrations when riding closely up a climb happens when the rider in front of you stands and in doing so ‘throws his bike backwards.’ Immediately there is a shout from behind and a swerve to avoid touching the rear wheel ahead, and falling.
To add to the frustration, the rider in front invariably doesn’t even know what he has done.
This happens when the rider in front gets out the saddle to accelerate, or even maintain his pace on a climb. As he does so he puts pressure on his ‘standing’ leg and pulls back on the handlebars (bars), causing his bike to ‘stop.’
The secret in avoiding this is:
- Before you stand, select a gear in which to stand, generally a harder gear (drop a sprocket at the back);
- As you stand, don’t pull on the handlebars during the first pedal stroke (so the bike does not slow down);
- On the second pedal stroke you can pull on the bars giving you the extra power required.
Sitting on a climb, after standing, can also be problematic. Standing generally uses more muscles, therefore the body tires more easily. Many riders ‘collapse’ in exhaustion onto their saddles after standing, causing the bike to slow down, again, causing pandemonium behind them.
To avoid this:
- Give a little ‘kick’ (acceleration) before sitting and keep pedalling after sitting.