# Proper technique on getting out of saddle on climbs



## uspsjj9wldcat (Mar 20, 2004)

we all know how to do it, get up and out and begin to thrash or dance on the pedals. but what is the proper motion when swaying your biek from side to side. i have heard that when the bike is swayed to the right ,the right leg should be straight. and the left leg should be up close to right angle. then its just side to side motion with your elbows slightly bent. anybody know how the pros do it? thank for the advise.


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## funknuggets (Feb 4, 2004)

*Well... my advice to you.*

the only advice I can give is to try and stand more over the pedals instead of way in front... unless, of course you are climbing a freaking wall. There are different types of climbers, mashers will not sway the bike standing nearly as much as those that are more "spinners" and maintain a higher cadence while standing. Plus, there are those that sway laterally, and there are those that sway the handlebars to where the side to side motion turns the wheel, rather than tilt the bike. There is no "right" way for every rider. My suggestion would be to watch some old videos of pro races and find a rider that has a similar style to you and watch their climbing techniques.

One thing you NEED to do is to figure out whether you have a backwards kick as you jump out of the saddle. Riders behind you HATE that. The phenomenon occurs as there is a dead moment as you stand, and you are likely standing to either keep up, or that your sitting motion is not at the speed you want to be... thus you are likely losing momentum. So, if you are not actively pressing down on the pedal, and you are not aware that this happens... as you stand you likely use your balance to move your body forward on the bike... moving the bike further back relative to your center of gravity... thus "punching" your bike backwards... often violently which is insanely dangerous to the rider directly behind you. So, I would be very wary of that both when riding behind someone on a climb and also when you stand to climb.


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## JPRider14 (Feb 9, 2004)

the funk sayeth correctly

I'd watch Heras, maybe if you can dig up last year's Vuelta final TT, or any climb where he helped Lance. That man has some dope rhythm.

I have to say that his second point, about not sending your bike back 6" in a split-second upon standing, is one of my all-time pet peeves. Every time someone does it to me I say something, because it sucks.


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## lonefrontranger (Feb 5, 2004)

*right on, funk*



funknuggets said:


> One thing you NEED to do is to figure out whether you have a backwards kick...


Was working with a couple of rookies on just this at an impromptu post-ride clinic yesterday. God how I despise "bike punters", and we had a particularly egregious example on the group ride last night. Fortunately no blood was shed. This has been my pet peeve for as long as I've been racing. Some nitwit took down a dozen riders (including yours truly) when he pulled this stunt in the pack at one of my first few road races.

The solution to the "bike punt" and which will also help your technique greatly is to do standing drills to learn how to actually balance yourself while standing. 

The standing technique of many, many riders involves shifting into an overly-large gear, then throwing their body weight forward in an effort to leverage themselves on top of the gear. (This leap for leverage is when the bike punt occurs.) Now they use the gear resistance as a "crutch" to balance on, whilst "pecking" ineffectually at the pedals in a linear motion. All this while their heartrate is shooting up due to the effort they're expending to go not much of anywhere fast due to all the speed / momentum they lost when they kicked the bike back. Riders like this are the ones who often will say things like "I prefer to sit and spin... climbing out of the saddle just kills me...", etc...

There does exist a golden key to technique which will simultaneously help you to lose the bike punt and maximise your longevity and power when climbing out of the saddle. The trick is to engage your hamstrings to create a round, smooth pedalstroke, while you hover over the nose of the saddle in a balanced equilibrium with the gear. The reason our man Heras has such a "dope rhythm" (thank you JPR) out of the saddle is that he is very balanced when he stands. His bike is his dance partner, not a wrestling opponent.

Here's a simple drill that has provided great "eureka!" mojo to every student I've used it on: 

On a moderate slope (say about 6%) where there's no traffic (there's a good one in our office park), shift into your easiest cog at 5 or 6 mph. Now, try to get (and stay) out of the saddle without shifting to a harder gear or speeding up. This isn't easy. My teammate calls it "bike yoga", as in "harder than it looks". When you go to get out of the saddle, rather than leaping forward, just lift your bum a couple cm off the saddle and hover there. If the saddle nose doesn't brush your thighs, you're not far enough back. Now, instead of "chasing" the gear, relax and try to achieve equilibrium with it so that you can balance on the gear without increasing your cadence, speed or HR. Similar balance concept to doing a trackstand at a light, except that now you're moving forward and there's no gear resistance to serve as a "crutch". If you work on developing the balance to do this correctly, your out of the saddle balance, power and technique on real climbs will vastly increase. You will suddenly discover that you can use lower gears and a higher cadence while standing, stand for far longer periods without blowing up, and that in any case your HR won't skyrocket the moment you get out of the saddle.

If you've ever ridden a MTB up a steep, loose climb where you have to simultaneously get out of the saddle AND keep the rear wheel engaged, this technique will come naturally to you.


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## funknuggets (Feb 4, 2004)

*ooooohhh, good analogy on the mtn bike climbing!!!*

Heras might be a tough one though. That dude is so slight and has a fantastic ability to spin like that. I think that is really effective for really skinny, efficient riders. But for some typically larger riders, the proficient use of the sartorius to actually lift the leg up and over after the hamstring pulls the bottom of the stroke is the key. These can really become exposed in the single leg drills Im sure we are so fond of doing in those winter months, but really really really really help in climbing. 

Heras seems to have a fantastic upward pull, meaning when he climbs the pressure is not always down, which facilitates a fast, efficient spin. Plus, he is so light on his bike... a much different climber than Ullrich, Mayo, or Lance which rely more on horsepower than technique. 

If Heras doesn't work... I would take a look at Jaja, who seemed to have a infinite amount of seated power. The dude was amazing. Despite not being reknown for being a prolific climber, he still had mad skills and was insanely effective at utilizing that lateral bike leverage to generate power. I just pick him because during his years with ONCE, he won so many races, it would be really easy for him to find lots of video coverage focusing almost primarily on him. 

But, just do lots of hill intervals and do what you can to hang with the faster kids on the hills. 

Best of luck.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*No Kickback!*



uspsjj9wldcat said:


> we all know how to do it, get up and out and begin to thrash or dance on the pedals...


No we all do not know how to do it. The dreaded kickback must be avoided. Now I am typing this advice from my desk rather than my bike so adjust as necessary. It has been a while since I taught someone not to kickback and I hope it comes naturally for me so I do not always think about it.

Shift to your gear of choice for standing. Perhaps one gear harder than you were spinning while in the saddle. As your dominate foot comes over the top and reaches the one o'clock position you rise from your saddle and in effect stand on the pedal, thus propelling your bike forward. With this momentary acceleration on the first stomp on the pedal you should avoid kicking back. When you are standing on this first power thrust do not pull back on your bars, remember your goal is to keep your bike moving forward at a consistent pace when your first stand.

Practice by riding beside another rider on a climb. Have your partner continue forward at a steady pace while seated. Test your ability to stand without kicking back by measuring your position during the initial jump from the saddle by comparing your position to the rider next to you.

The riders behind you will thank you for not kicking back.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

I agree with what you all say.
I haven't been drop kicked in quite some time. Maybe it's just knowing who to ride behind. One thing that I always tell riders, is that they should always shift up a gear or two before they raise off their seat.(for example, from the 19 to the 17 or 16) They should push firmly down as they come completely off the seat.


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## litespeedchick (Sep 9, 2003)

question for you out-of-the-saddle experts:

I recently got a new bike. Went from a Carbon 19 lb older Giant to a LS Ghisallo 16 lber. I now have the urge to climb out of the saddle more. Why do you think that is?


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## funknuggets (Feb 4, 2004)

*Could be....*

Did you get the corresponding upgrade to wheelset as well? Im thinking the bike just feels more nimble, and that goes a long way when climbing. It is much easier to toss around a light bike than a big one. Of course, you could just be faster or getting faster and are more interested in sustaining speed or attacking. But I have heard people more than once say that if they are in a training plateau or in a lull... then get a new bike. Not sure why that is, but in my experience the last two times it has worked!!!...


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