Steep technical climb - how you tackle them?

[medoramas]

Yeah, I managed to do it tonite!!! :-D It took me 13 attempts with failures around the middle part, then the success came. It was nice dry, which helped. In 80% I had to do it out of the saddle, I couldn't use too light gear due to the rear slipping, but in places very big power was needed to move forward. And the pair of Panaracer Trail Blasters 1.95 was a good choice ;-)

 

[saulus]

Yeah, I managed to do it tonite!!! :-D It took me 13 attempts with failures around the middle part, then the success came. It was nice dry, which helped. In 80% I had to do it out of the saddle, I couldn't use too light gear due to the rear slipping, but in places very big power was needed to move forward. And the pair of Panaracer Trail Blasters 1.95 was a good choice ;-)

Awesome!

This thread has placed a desire within me to revisit a couple of steep technical trail sections (which have made me utter endless profanities in sheer annoyance & frustration) and master them.

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Best way to get better at something and see real improvement is to single out and work on the weak areas

 

[T'boo Ted]

Awesome. In the old days that would be, depending how knackered I was when I got there, middle ring and mash till I blew up, or little ring and stay out of the smallest cog and spin... till I blew up.
These days it would be ride to the bottom, check it out... then walk


...till i blew up.

 

[Matthews]

I work on the principle of is it faster to ride or walk, if it's faster to walk then get off and push, no point killing youreself for the rest of the ride just to take an age to get up the hill, if it involves getting off and avin a tab then do it , just means your mates don't have to wait for you to ave a tab at the top.

 

[JamesM]

Hit it flat out on a SS then keep going full gas until you're legs explode and you're phisically sick or until you get to the top, whichever is first

 

[medoramas]

Hit it flat out on a SS then keep going full gas until you're legs explode and you're phisically sick or until you get to the top, whichever is first

I don't think it is possible to hit it full speed. First, the climb starts about 20 meters off the busy A road that you have to cross, second - the whole 20 meters is just loose rocks (also uphill, but not so extreme).
The main thing was to walk it up and down few times to find the "easiest" line. There is a lot of about 25-30cm steps, most of them are spaced exactly as my wheelbase is, so often I had both wheels blocked by the rocks...
Looking on Strava (are you using it?) I'm third there! First two times are something like 2:00, mine is... 32 minutes! I forgot to pause the tacking when I was making all the attempts. :roll:

 

[feetabix]

There was an article in mbuk in about 1990 entitled power climbing.....pics of Paul Hinton demonstrating.....the basis of it was sitting on nose of saddle, elbows low, and pulling toward the knee making the downstroke on the pedals......does anyone have a copy to scan?.....

 

[feetabix]

He has a video of it that is somewhere in the depths of YouTube.....

 

[medoramas]

He has a video of it that is somewhere in the depths of YouTube.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYu4M2PsWkI

That's a climb...

 

[konatime]

pick a steep but non technical climb to practise on, work it so your reps are added to. This one below was an old fave of mine.....especially when the cobbles had wet on them. Once you can keep your heartbeat low then you forget your even on a climb.