Answered How to climb a steep hill?

[Beekeeper]

Tried a steep climb tonight on a grassy hill. In granny gear 46t and turbo.
Did an unintentional wheelie while in motion, (not at the start) and nearly fell off backwards.
what am I doing wrong?

 

[Winryn]

I find I have to back the power off for steep or technical climbs so you can ride in a more controlled way

 

[salko]

Well, go study phsyics.

 

[Frankieboy]

Maybe a combo of wrong gear + too much power from the motor + too much weight towards the rear of the bike. If it was me I’d try doing it again, making one adjustment at a time, probably getting a little more weight towards the front first, but not too much or you could loose traction, then reducing motor support.

I’m sure there are many on here with much more experience than me that will suggest something different, in which case I’d listen to them. Just giving you my thoughts on why and corrective action.

 

[salko]

Grassy (dry) hills offer tons of traction so I see no problem to pedal standing up so you can move your center of gravity way towards the front wheel which will keep the wheel grounded.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Every hill is different.

Your technique will come. It takes time.

Quite often, second gear is a good option. You go in with slightly more momentum and, if you can keep the speed, more momentum to keep you going. You're also slightly less likely to spin up.

You want your weight forward, but your ass on the nose of the saddle.

Don't pull on the bars, so put your thumbs on the top of the bars (thanks Ben Deakin).

 

[speedkills]

Pretty much what others have said, but I'll say it slightly differently in case it helps.

When climbing you are limited by torque you can apply to the rear tire. You do things to help make the best use of it, for example pedaling more smoothly as spikes in power to the rear wheel can cause the front wheel to lift, or the rear wheel to spin. You balance it out as much as possible, more weight forward if the front end is lifting, less weight forward if the rear wheel is spinning. Once you have sorted that and are putting down the maximum torque you can for the traction and terrain, the only thing left to do (that I know of) is to climb the hill with less torque if you still aren't making it, which means using more momentum. So you hit the hill faster, or if there is only one section that is tricky, say a root you lose traction on, then you hit it with enough speed that you can lower your torque output just long enough to get over the root, then increase it again.

Good luck.

 

[Beekeeper]

Pretty much what others have said, but I'll say it slightly differently in case it helps.

When climbing you are limited by torque you can apply to the rear tire. You do things to help make the best use of it, for example pedaling more smoothly as spikes in power to the rear wheel can cause the front wheel to lift, or the rear wheel to spin. You balance it out as much as possible, more weight forward if the front end is lifting, less weight forward if the rear wheel is spinning. Once you have sorted that and are putting down the maximum torque you can for the traction and terrain, the only thing left to do (that I know of) is to climb the hill with less torque if you still aren't making it, which means using more momentum. So you hit the hill faster, or if there is only one section that is tricky, say a root you lose traction on, then you hit it with enough speed that you can lower your torque output just long enough to get over the root, then increase it again.

Good luck.

Thanks, useful info.
On really steep stuff when I put my weight forward, should I still be seated or should I be out of the saddle?

 

[speedkills]

Thanks, useful info.
On really steep stuff when I put my weight forward, should I still be seated or should I be out of the saddle?

That's where the practice and fun comes in, like learning to trackstand or wheelie, try it different ways to see how the bike reacts. If you have a lot of traction, you can get out of the saddle, and get your weight forward more, and have more power, at the expense of traction (which in this case we are saying you have plenty of) but if you start spinning your tire, you need to move back/down some to put more weight on the rear, which can result in you either not having enough leverage to keep moving forward, or in lightening the front too much and lifting the front. But as a rule of thumb, if I have plenty of traction I'll stand, if I struggle for traction I'll sit, sometimes in an uncomfortable position where it feels like you are attempting to violate yourself with the nose of the bike seat, and if neither works, I just hit it faster and lose speed up the hill, but if I hit it fast enough even while losing some speed as I climb, I still make it to the top. You have more traction seated in general if that helps, more power standing. It's "just" balancing those, but that's like saying a wheelie is "just" balancing on the rear tire. That doesn't really make it easy, but gives you some things to try as you get a feel for it.

 

[Darren]

If your not struggling for leg power you can drop your seatpost to lower your centre of gravity, this will help keeping the front down and the rear gripping but at the expense of pedalling efficiency /comfort.

 

[KenX]

Definitely on the nose of the saddle

 

[#lazy]

Thanks, useful info.
On really steep stuff when I put my weight forward, should I still be seated or should I be out of the saddle?

If you’re using turbo in 1/2 gear there’s no need to be out of the saddle , maybe just to hop a rock or root . The motor power should get you up if your cadence is high and even ! On the spesh kenevo you pretty much just got to turn the cranks and you’ll get up most hills by just shifting your weight back and forth to maximise your traction !

 

[maynard]

Don't forget to harness that power with the brakes.
Yeab crazy right. Using brakes going uphill . And get that chest on the bars

 

[steve_sordy]

Three things I remember from a skills course I went on years ago.

• Drop your wrists!. This helps to keep you lower.
• Remain seated for anything other than a very short and very steep surge. Keeping your bum on the saddle means that the only work your legs are doing is to power your ride; they are not also supporting your weight. This conserves your energy for later.
• Move your weight about to maintain the balance between front wheel steering control and rear wheel traction.

Another thing I learned years ago that helped climbing was to have lower tyre pressure. But that is a different learning journey. You can have the lower tyre pressure and still not be able to get up the hill. For me, the low pressure thing came much later. (Why is low pressure never told to beginners?).

 

[urastus]

I ride two steep technical hills, about 500m each, about 2-3x a week. When I started I'd get caught out in a few places. Now, I generally get through without a hiccup. These are also my downhill runs. They are hard clay with baby head size sharp loose rock and some embedded rock, big washouts etc. Lots of good advice above, of course. I'll go over what I know.

1. you don't need turbo. I have shimano and use trail on the lowest setting for these climbs. Have confidence that it is enough power.
2. rear tyre pressure; if you have this dialled it should be bagging out so that you're using the side knobs too when you're in the steep part of the climb (more weight is on the rear).
3. seat forward - I'm mostly climbing or dropping so I have moved my seat forward. Dropping, I'm standing up with my bum behind the seat. I do get some undulating country where I can sit, but it's not long before I have to stand for something. The seat forward suits me for what I ride. I still sit forward on the seat as well when needed.
4. you might think you're low over the bar, but you're probably not
5. as already said, smooth pedalling, look forwards for your line - you have to steer it; this means getting weight over the front wheel.
6. probably my biggest help. I was in the ball park with everything and doing OK, but what really helped was riding skinnies ?. I get some road time (800m) climbing up to the start of my tracks. When I'm on the road, and not the footpath, I practice riding on the verge of the gutter while I'm climbing very steep, but not technical on sealed road. This has really helped me a lot. I try to incorporate some of this practice (riding a narrow ledge, or along the edge of a washout etc) wherever I can. When you're in a technical climb that practice helps you to stay on the line you want. It isn't something I'm great at, but I have improved since practising.
7. another biggy that took me time; relax and focus. The biggest thing here are your hands and pedalling. Try to keep your hands loose - all the time really, but especially on a technical climb. And don't panic with your pedalling. There are times when you'll need a burst to get over an even steeper rock. And times where you'll need to slow down to navigate between rocks.
7. already mentioned - seat height. Generally I have my dropper fully extended. If I do lose it on a climb, dropping down the dropper to get started again is essential - as is smooth pedalling. Once I'm under way I raise the post again. Of course sometimes I have to position the bike somewhere that I can get a start too - like across the face of the climb, or on an angle.

Just re reading comments above: maynard has also given an awesome tip which I forgot about, but I do. I'm not sure if this is what he means, but it's a slow manoeuvring trick; you can keep force on the pedals and use some rear brake to help manoeuvre slowly but with great control between rocks etc. It's great on flat ground or anywhere that involves slow manoeuvres. Also helps with balance.

I love it - the climb for me is as good, or technically more rewarding, than the descents.

 

[Jeffsy29]

Tried a steep climb tonight on a grassy hill. In granny gear 46t and turbo.
Did an unintentional wheelie while in motion, (not at the start) and nearly fell off backwards.
what am I doing wrong?

In addition to all the helpful suggestions here, I'd add point your toes down a bit. This will add weight to the front of up to 10 lbs and shift your CG forward. You essentially want your CG over the BB in all circumstances (up/down/flat). Generally, your CG will closely correlate w/ your hips.

This is an excellent starters guide to positioning if you've not seen it:

 

[steve_sordy]

It's probably my hearing, but "as soon as her bum feels better"!