Steps to Success

By Abby Brunner

Climbing Steep Hills

There are a few factors to consider which will help in climbing hills on a mountain bike: The first is conditioning (the strength which comes with training). Heart rate and leg strength play an important role in the ability to climb. Practice, practice, practice> The more hills you climb the easier they will become. Start small, work your way up to longer accents. Another factor to consider is your gearing. Beginning the climb in the appropriate gear will make an enormous difference. The skill here is to realize shifting while mashing up a steep hill is a no-no. Begin in the easiest gear right from the bottom. The last factor is body positioning. Practice finding the balance point (which keeps the front wheel on the ground, while putting enough weight on the rear wheel for traction) as you climb.

A key point to positioning is to jump straight into a crunched forward climbing position (you will feel a strain on your stomach muscles) while giving it all you have. Allow momentum to pull you as far up the surface as possible.

Before even heading to the steep hills there are methods to practice close to home: Attempt front and rear hops by riding up onto a curb without touching slapping either wheel onto the curb’s lip. You can also hop the front wheel up and over steps. The key is to leave the bike in a low gear and to spin the pedals furiously. The goal of such exercises is to learn to rely on momentum, while finding the balance point as you climb (which should move you forward on the bike the steeper you go). Therefore as you ascend, you should pull your body forward. If the climb is particularly steep, leaning your body forward will put enough of your weight forward on the bike to allow you to power up it before the rear wheel can slip. Sometimes climbing up a steep portion of a hill may seem unbearable but if you stay scrunched up towards the bar and keep up a fast rhythm of smooth pedaling you will succeed. If you run into rough terrain on the climb, you can pull your handle bars up as if you were doing a wheelie to easily glide over obstructions. On a long steep climb, you must exercise smooth pedaling to prevent the back wheel from breaking free.

Learning to ride up hills is an interesting process. Just remember to move your weight forward and to pedal at a quick rhythm. Don't hit the slope too hard or you may lose you balance. Conserving energy on the down hills will allow you to hammer the climbs.

Starting on a steep hill can be a difficult and often intimidating process but with essential climbing tips, is something to work toward.