on 7/7/09 7:30 PM, GeorgeS at chobur...@gmail.com wrote: > > I should preface this question by saying that most of my bike riding > has been in pretty flat and/or rolling hill sort of country. I have > little experience on steep, long climbs. In Vermont I'm seeing quite > a few challenging (for me) hills. On the road I'm doing OK so long as > I don't talk myself into trying to "crush" the hill. Usually I can > get on my middle chain ring and one of the big sprockets and get off > the saddle after a bit and I'm getting to the top though I doubt that > Rabobank is going to be calling me anytime soon. The problem is on > gravel roads where I'm, out of necessity, riding substantially slower > so that I usually lack much momentum when I approach the hills. This > means I'm sometimes in the granny gear from the word go. But when I > try to break things up and rest my back a little by getting out of the > seat, I can't do it. My pedals are just falling away from me and I > immediately loose even more speed and have to unclip in a hurry to > save a ignominious fall. I'm afraid to try to upshift to the middle > chain ring while I'm climbing. What am I doing wrong? I guess I > should also say that I'm on the wrong side of 65.
So, if I've got this right - You are seated and pedaling. When you stand and pedal, there's no resistance against your feet? Since you can't "push" the pedals, you lose momentum and balance. Is that it? If so, I'd suspect a couple things: First, when you stand, you're probably dramatically increasing the amount of mass on your pedals by adding body weight. This briefly shoots you forward, which then has you moving too fast for your gearing, so you are pedaling "air" so to speak. Second, when you stand on the pedals, your cadence probably slows. Or, more precisely, you are less able to maintain a high enough cadence, which is why the pedals "fall away" from you. If that sounds more or less right, I'd pay attention to the following: - Your transition from seated to standing. If possible, try making the movement slower - if you've ever ridden horses, it's kind of like "posting". This will prevent the sudden weight shift onto the pedals. - Your gearing. If you can do it, try shifting a gear or two down before you stand. This will let you keep a lower cadence, which will be easier to handle while standing. Hope that helps, - J PS - Oh, and if you are enjoying the riding, it sounds like you are on the _right_ side of 65. -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com Current Classics - Cross Bikes Singlespeed - Working Bikes Your Photos are needed! - Send them here - http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines "I threw one leg over my battle-scarred all-terrain stump-jumper and rode several miles to work. I'd sprayed it with some cheap gold paint so it wouldn't look nice. Locked my bike to a radiator, because you never knew, and went in." -- Neal Stephenson, "Zodiac" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
