"Destroy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:This may be a dumb post but...
I was low on energy today and tried standing up for the first time in order to try and clear a
fairly steep medium length climb and it seemed like a total waste.
Seems stepping down hard on the pedals while standing did nothing but create massive 'bob' or
bounce. Or it spun up the rear tire.
Was really amazing 'feeling' how much energy was lost in the bounce when standing. I don't notice
this at all when in the normal sitting leaned slightly forward stance. Heck, when sitting I feel
like I have traction control or something. I just pedal smoothly and hard, and I ride right up the
hill; over bumps and all.
As a general rule, is it bad to stand on a full susp mtn bike when doing steep climbs?
I think it depends on how the full sus bike is built (how it handles). When you climb standing, you
usually try to use your body weight to help your pedalling force. As a result, you create more
vertical momentum, and therefore the suspension kicks in. I think more bob will occur on bikes that
have their suspension designed to react more to vertical movements(?), for lack of a better
description. When you climb seated (assuming you don't bob your head or pull on your arms too
much), most of the pedalling force will be in a circular motion round the BB so there's less
vertical momentum.
Traction is all about where your weight is on the bike when you're climbing. When seated, more
weight is on the rear tyre (usually), so the rear wheel seldom spins out. When you climb standing,
you move your weight forward and also increase your pedalling force(supposedly), so your rear wheel
would be more likely to spin. You could move your weight more to the rear while climbing standing
but your position might be more uncomfortable and result in poorer energy efficiency (i.e. get tired
from climbing standing faster). Hope you get a better idea now.
bloocow - thesis of a rigid rider
