How long do your ride standing?

[700 x 23c]

What is the longest you ride or can ride standing at one time? I'll bet I don't stand while climbing or stretching for more than a minute or two very often (and usually a lot less than a minute).

[Jeff N.]

I'm assuming you mean "out-of-the-saddle-pedaling".Never measured how long, but it's usually reserved for rather steep hills of short to medium duration. Jeff N.

[Ray]

On how I'm feeling and how steep the hill is. On really steep climbs (except for very short ones), I generally sit and just stand for a few seconds here and there to stretch my muscles. But standing on really steep hills really takes it out of me, because generally I've got to work pretty hard just to keep it moving. On moderate hills that I can climb in a comfortable rhythm, I'll sometimes stay out of the saddle for a couple of minutes at a time, but that's when I'm going EASY out of the saddle. That was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn when I was first into this stuff - it's possible to ride out of the saddle without going hard - even going fairly easy, just as an alternative position. Going hard, I'm not good for more than 20-30 seconds, and that's on a good day.

But I'm not much of a climber anyway, so take with a grain of salt.

-Ray

[H.Frank Beshear]

One of our club members never sits down. He can't he had a bike designed and built without a seatpost. He rides several centuries a year. Since its a mountain bike he rides in the ditch on the shoulder or whever he wants. Kinda wierd to be on a club ride and see him vear of the road to the fence to see whats in the field. I'll get a picture of him and post it sometime. Frank

[coylifut]

I rarely stand for much more than 5 minutes on a hill. there's couple around here that force me to stand more.

[JohnS]

The only time I stand is when I sprint short (.1-.2mi) hills.

[Kevan]

when I stand balanced on my bike's saddle.

The guys in the paceline don't see the humor.

[Sandy]

when I stand balanced on my bike's saddle.

The guys in the paceline don't see the humor.

You, my friend, have never been balanced. Ever. Never will be. :banana:


Your Bud

[weisan]

I purposefully dedicate at least half my training time on hill intervals to climbing while standing. It builds a different set of muscles, specifically the lower back. Personally, I think it's important not to classify my climbing style as "I like to stay seated while climbing" or "I like to stand up and sprint up the hill."...certainly I can have my preferences, heck I can even pedal backwards, sideways whatever as long as it gets me up the hill...but I look at stand climbing as another skillset in my arsenal that needs to be cultivated rather than shun away. When you first do it for a substantial amount of time, it hurts like crazy...but after a while, it becomes second nature...that's when you take a step further and work on your cadence. Lance pedals at 105-110 rpm while standing. My guess here is that it's more efficient, and even though standing keeps the heartrate higher but it transfers most of the workload to the aerobic engine rather than tiring out the muscles prematurely. If you look at Pantani, he will stand and pedal for a while, sit back down for like 3 seconds, get up the saddle and go at it again.

[Sandy]

I seldom stand for any length of time, usually less than a minute, like you. If I am climbing significant hill, it really hurts my thighs if I stand, and hence I do very little of it then. Interestingly, in spin classes that I have done, I find it much easier to stand than when on the road, and stand sometimes for 5 minutes. It seems so much easier on a spin cycle, even with a high work load.


Standing Sandy

[Onno]

I purposefully dedicate at least half my training time on hill intervals to climbing while standing. It builds a different set of muscles, specifically the lower back..

This is an excellent point. I've been doing a lot of standing while climbing this year because of a sore back that hurts more while I climb seated. I've become a more versatile climber, I think, and I've certainly come to appreciate a new ability to climb longer out of the saddle. Also, my back hurts much less--there's much less stress on the back standing, but I believe it does also help to strengthen some crucial muscles.

Onno

[mflaherty37]

There is a guy who does the whole TOMROV (Tour of the Mississippi River Valey) every year standing on a single speed with no seat. The first day I believe is 109 miles and the second day is 86 miles.

[Argos]

I'm with Weisan in that I also do drills standing on climbs, as well as occaisonally on flats. It's not necessary if you don't race, but if you do it definitely helps in strengthening peripheral muscles. That is, you don't want to have to sit down on a climb in a race if there is an acceleration just because your hands or shoulders are tired.

Too each his own.... Except for those "no saddle" people. Sheesh.

Back in the day whan I was managing a shop we'd have a guy come out and rent a bike and want us to take the saddle off. We said "no way, lower it. It won't be in your way lowered and if you do not want to use it, do not, but it has to stay on." He turned the seatpost around, as if to make a point. This pointed the nose back and down and the back up and forward. I told him he can put it back to normal or return the rental. If anything, what he did was make his saddle MORE in the way. Whatever.

This was the same guy the wore his bib shorts over his jersey. Someone tried explaining that it's hard to et into your pockets when they are tucked-in to your shorts like that. He said everyone else had it wrong. :crap:

I'm glad I'm not there anymore, and this guy is a small part of that.

[Bud]

I'll stand for a minute or two on long, steep climbs, but I prefer to stay seated. We rode Grand Mesa in western CO a couple of weeks ago (20 miles, +5200ft., continuous climb) and I probably only stood two or three times. I'm a lot more efficient seated, and I'm not trying to race anybody. I basically do it to give the backside a rest.

[KevinK]

I have a tendency to stand too much when climbing. I consider myself a good climber, and I can stand and grind away at some long climbs. I found that I would lose speed and momentum if I sat for any length of time on a climb. This is starting to change (for the good, I might add) as my wife and I have been taking our Co-Motion tandem out on longer and more challenging rides on the weekends. We have done 40-60 miles each of the past 5 Sundays, including some pretty long but not extremely steep climbs. Tandeming is forcing me to sit more during climbs and I am learning how to generate more power while seated. This is helping me on my single bike both in the hills and on the flats, and I believe I am becoming a more versatile rider in preparation for next racing season. My wife is enjoying the physical challenges and rewards of riding longer distances, and she gets off on being able to blow by other riders when the mood strikes us. And we both enjoy being able to do this together. Riding a tandem is like swinging a lead bat in the on-deck circle. After spending a few hours on the tandem, the single bike responds like a crotch rocket. :)

Kevin

[spiderman]

on my noon ride...
i climb out of the saddle every hill
in the big ring
and shift to harder gears in the rear cog
one at a time to the top.
on days like today
climbing long hills into the wind
at 20 - 30 mph
and a 10 degree wind chill
are a great!
they make any other climb
in the summer seem easy!

[RichMc]

2 to 5 minutes --- depends on how steep and long the hill is and how strong the legs are. If, on those very rare times, I'm sprinting out of the saddle then I can only last a pathetic 15 to seconds, if that.

[andy mac]

Dutch rider to attempt hour record...without saddle

In the Masochistic Cycling Feats Dept., news has filtered through to us that a 50 year-old Dutchman will attempt to break the World Hour Record for riding without a saddle (or a seatpost). Maas van Beek, a former tandem pilot of Jan Mulder, will attempt to better the mark of 45.848 km set by none other than Fausto Coppi on the track in Alkmaar, The Netherlands, on Saturday, October 8. He's doing it for a good cause: to raise money for the Polar van de Donck foundation, which helps children in Africa who have AIDS.

Van Beek has been averaging 43 km/h during training, and says that it's quite possible to hold a position out of the saddle for three hours, provided the muscles are used to it. He'll be using a bike with a massive 68 x 11 gear and 205 mm cranks, but no particular aerodynamic equipment.

More information: www.goedkoopsteskelter.nl/recordpoging.htm

[Cadence230]

On rolling terrain, 45 minutes. I built up to doing this. It's good fer ya! Great muscle tension. I do it in the lower to mid aerobic zones to keep from getting spams and such. When you start doing these you can really feel the power increase during your rides. You'll feel real solid.

[Sandy]

On rolling terrain, 45 minutes. I built up to doing this. It's good fer ya! Great muscle tension. I do it in the lower to mid aerobic zones to keep from getting spams and such. When you start doing these you can really feel the power increase during your rides. You'll feel real solid.

Yeah, real solid. Like dead solid, in the morgue. :)


Sandy

[jerk]

far too often for someone as big and fat and lazy as the jerk.

[csb]

as long as the saddle is in the shop

[george]

There is no such thing as a hill in Chicago. I will stand a few times per hour of riding for about one minute or so to stretch out and change position.