When riding a bike uphill, you have to use all the skills of cycling. The key to a successful lift is to maintain good balance, both forward and backward as well as laterally. It should also be noted that the technique of climbing uphill on a road bike is different from the technique of climbing uphill on a mountain bike. The main difference lies in the presence or absence of sufficient adhesive force.

Climbing uphill on a road bike.

If the lifting takes place in good conditions, that is, with sufficient traction, then the most important thing is to use the energy of your muscles with maximum benefit. Every novice cyclist usually tries to get up from the saddle and in such a position to reach the top, of course, if he has enough strength. But with the use of special equipment, it is not necessary to bring yourself to exhaustion.

Stay seated.

Always stay in the saddle whenever possible and try to maintain a high cadence, as these conditions provide maximum efficiency. Want to get to the top faster? Then, while pressing the pedal, try to move a little back along the saddle, and also lean forward. In this case, the arms should remain slightly bent. When pedaling, try to pull the steering wheel towards you from the same side from which you press the pedal. Using this technique, you additionally engage the gluteal muscles.

Overcoming lifting while standing.

Some climbs are so steep that it is impossible to climb them while sitting in the saddle. Pedaling while standing in the lowest position of the pedal stroke is too energy inefficient, but at least you will be able to ride the bike to the limit, and not to lead it in your hands.

If you've ever worked out in the gym on a ski or elliptical trainer, then you've used a technique that will help you climb a mountain in a standing position. On the ski simulator, you alternately load one or the other leg, while the body weight always falls on the loaded leg. But since the pedals spin in an oval, with proper care you may notice that even with vigorous pedaling, the hips and shoulders move quite a bit from side to side.

Now imagine the same on a bike. To achieve a full revolution of the pedal, on a bicycle have to move more vigorously from side to side. And unfortunately this means that when the body moves from side to side, too much energy is wasted. So it’s better not to move from side to side yourself, but move your bike.

As soon as the pedal starts to go down, lean the bike in the opposite direction. Keep your body straight in relation to that leg. For even more power, lean forward towards the handlebars while keeping your arms slightly bent. After completing the movement with one leg, immediately transfer your weight to the other leg. To make it easier to transfer weight from one foot to the other, use the bike as a lever. That is, the bike should be tilted towards the unloaded leg, and you yourself should be kept level with respect to the loaded leg. Pay close attention to your pedaling technique.

Practice: Try to pedal with only one foot and be as smooth as possible throughout the cycle. Do this a hundred times with both feet. Once you feel that you can pedal correctly with each individual foot, try climbing uphill with two feet.

psychological component.

After you have mastered the technique of climbing a bike uphill, you should pay attention to the psychological component of this process. Most cyclists who have mastered the technique of climbing uphill not only know when to stay in the saddle and when to get off the saddle, but also how to force themselves to stay in the saddle if necessary, or vice versa to stand on the pedals longer.

Most professional cyclists try to focus on the little things while keeping the big picture in mind. They think about every turn of the pedal and ask themselves questions. “Did I press the pedal correctly that time?” "How did my body behave?" "Was it upright?" Such thoughts help to distract from the grueling climb and relentlessly pedal.

But what if the climb is too long? Along with asking themselves questions, professional cyclists mentally divide the hill into sections and build an internal dialogue with this in mind. “All I have to do now is get to those rocks over there. Excellent! Now I will be able to ride so that the bike computer has exactly 56 km ... Only 23 meters? It's quite easy." Then imagine that you have already reached the top. The main thing is not to try to divide the distance into too large segments. After reaching each mark, praise yourself as if you just won the Tour de France. Each completed section brings you closer to the top, and therefore to an exciting downhill.

Climbing uphill on a mountain bike.

Halfway up the mountain, the rear tire begins to slip and slip. Sitting in the saddle will not achieve a result, but pedaling while standing is also of little use. And you have to guide the bike in your hands - you again failed to take the top.

In order to climb uphill on a mountain bike, you first need to provide normal traction. On a road bike (read about climbing a road bike above), traction problems can occur when the weather worsens. When going uphill on a mountain bike, traction is almost always poor. Because of the stones, roots, mud and sand, even the simplest hill will be extremely difficult to climb.

To learn how to take climbs on a mountain bike, you have to learn how to transfer power to the rear wheel and prevent it from slipping.

Increasing grip strength.

During cold and snowy winters, motorists put a few sandbags or a few tires in the trunk to increase the load on the rear wheels. This is the first thing to do on a bike if the tire starts to spin due to low traction. To do this, simply shift your weight to the back of the saddle.

Simple and effective! Well, maybe not quite...

Maintaining balance.

Shifting weight to the back of the saddle while climbing has the problem of reducing the load on the front wheel, which can suddenly come off the ground and you will do a somersault. The bottom line is to shift your weight back and still keep the load on the front wheel. To do this:

Tilt your body forward.
Press into your thighs.
Pull your elbows towards you and do not strain your arms.
Keep your head upright.
This will lower your center of gravity and evenly distribute your weight throughout the bike. How far you need to lean forward depends on the angle of inclination and the amount of grip on the track. The more slippery and steeper the slope, the lower you should lean.

Although it is inconvenient, but you can try to position your chin almost over the handlebars, keep your back straight, and leave your backside hanging in the air. It looks ridiculous, but it's effective. Climbing uphill starts with determining how far back you need to go and how far you need to lean forward. This takes practice. Over time, you will see how simple nimble movements forward and backward will help you overcome obstacles and climb steep hills.

Practice: Find a nice long stretch with different conditions. Select a low gear (but not too low) that will allow you to climb. Experiment. First, shift your weight back without leaning forward. Then lean forward. Practice on different lifts with different conditions.

pedaling technique.

As you approach the hill, you want to shift into the lowest gear and start aggressively attacking the hill. But it doesn't work. It's like skidding a car on ice. You will have trouble keeping your balance on the bike and the tires will slip. Instead, try to find a gear low enough that you don't have to maintain a high cadence or pedal. It is possible to determine the optimal transmission only in practice. From there, simply maintain a steady and even pace of pedaling. Pay attention to your pedaling technique.

Gear shift.

It is advisable to change the gear on the bike even before the start of the ascent. In any case, for a beginner, this is the best approach. Once you learn to shift your weight to improve your balance and traction, you will be able to change gears even while climbing and still not slow down.

If you have determined a comfortable climb rate for yourself, then try not to change gear until you begin to feel that a little more and you will have to get out of the saddle. In this case, just shift to a lower gear, which will help maintain speed, and the climb will not seem so exhausting and long.

The choice of the optimal trajectory of motion.

The selection of the best trajectory of movement will also help to overcome the rise faster. As a rule, beginner cyclists usually choose a direction so that most obstacles can be avoided. It seems logical, but this does not always work, since when turning the steering wheel while driving around an obstacle, it is more difficult to maintain balance than if you simply drive over this obstacle.

Of course, you will have to understand in practice which obstacles you can move over and which ones are better to bypass. Obviously, huge stones and large wet roots cannot be overcome and it is better to go around them. But with small obstacles you will be able to cope in most cases.

Once you have