I have a 98 GT Ricochet and it's a Large frame (I'm 6 ft). Anyway, everytime I come up to a steep incline and start going up, my front wheel comes off the ground and I have to stop or jump off. This is so frustrating since I'm getting much better on flats/downhills. What am I doing wrong? Is my bike's frame too big for me or am I just not positioning myself right? What can I do- I'm getting so frustrated, I hardly feel like riding when there are a lot of steep inclines. HELP!
Why can't I climb?
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Be sure to stay seated and lean forward this will help get your body weight towards the front. Or you may want to move your seat slightly forward until you find the right spot that gets your body weight ajusted.
Are you standing up while pedaling? That's sort of a no-no until you've learned how to move your weight around in the cockpit. I hear a lot of "put your forehead on the headset" type stuff but the real deal is just to keep your weight forward enough to maintain contact with the ground in both wheels, but not lean forward enough to take weight off of your rear (drive) wheel. If you're consistently wheelie-ing out on climbs your weight is too far back. Get forward, get a good wide grip on the bars and keep pedaling, you'll be surprised what you can get up. Also keep tabs on momentum and if necessary, downshifting. Shifting is a lot easier to do BEFORE you start mashing away.
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Are you using a long travel fork? In some cases that will make the front end nervous making the front wheel pop up.
Also, slide your behind forward, lean your upper body towards the handlebar and make sure that your elbows are pointing down.
Hope this helps.
Also, slide your behind forward, lean your upper body towards the handlebar and make sure that your elbows are pointing down.
Hope this helps.
Funny stuff- but good advice. I'm going to go to the other forum but you all are right on the money- I kinda get off the saddle to pedal and I need to stay seated and move forward. Thanks for the tips and if there are any more, please post them- I'll keep checking this every day.Capt_phun said:
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Saddle position
I had some climbing issues also with steep climbs, where the front wheel gets so light or lifts it becomes impossible.
One thing that made a HUGE difference was that I discovered my saddle was about 1 inch too far back. With the standard seat tube angles, this puts a tremendous leverage on the rear and will easily lift the front wheel.
When I simply moved the saddle 1 inch forward, I was amazed at how much more weight stayed on the front end.
I had some climbing issues also with steep climbs, where the front wheel gets so light or lifts it becomes impossible.
One thing that made a HUGE difference was that I discovered my saddle was about 1 inch too far back. With the standard seat tube angles, this puts a tremendous leverage on the rear and will easily lift the front wheel.
When I simply moved the saddle 1 inch forward, I was amazed at how much more weight stayed on the front end.
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Forgot to mention to SPIN away. I used to be a masher (damn singlespeed) and climb out of the saddle. I've gotten back to my endurance roots and prefer the old high cadence seated spin. Climbing out of the saddle has its benefits at times, but the power of Spin is real.
If you don't already have them, bar ends are a cheap addition that can really help keep the front wheel down, also making it easier to slide forward on the seat (and they are great for standing up too). I like the full length ones since they also act as "tree guards" and allow me to bounce off, the shortys can hook on trees I hear...Flyer said:
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Buobs to the bar and spin to win but if you do loads of VVV type of riding raise the seat and drop the nose of the saddle or your posterior interior might pup some pallips. Your prostate is down there to so adust your cockpit to suit your terrain.
Barends do help- no doubt about it, but I'd try all of the aforementioned techniques before investing in a set. I rode with them for years and swore by them, but last year I switched to a wider, higher rise handlebar and found that I no longer hook things, gained some much needed space to keep my shifters, brakes, and grips from butting up against each other, and can climb just about the same as I used to. I find the overall position much more comfortable without barends- not to say you should rule them out, but I'd try all of the other things before cutting your grips, dropping some $$, and potentially crowding your controls.
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Tree huggers help with climbing, but they're unnecessary and dangerous on some trails. I used to run bar ends on my bike, until I hooked a sapling and dumped while rolling a big log pile. It was the fastest trip to the ground I ever took. The result was a severe type II ankle sprain- would have been better to break the damn thing. If you ride tight northeastern singletrack, I'd explore many other options before letting bar ends get anywhere near your bike.Archdukeferdinand said:
A slightly longer/lower stem may help.
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http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=40738Flyer said:
good info on climbing help. More reads and advice.
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You're never too old! I'm 49 and frequently joined by Ziggy, a 72-year-old Greek that rounds year-round in the Chicago area, like me. I do the marathon thing, he does 55-60. Sometimes, he takes his tandem out, by himself, just to use the thing. (Can't seem to get his wife to join him - pity.) I'm always impressed with his WWII stories...
Either take care of your life, or it will take care of you!
Either take care of your life, or it will take care of you!
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longer stem
Another thing to try after you have tried adjusting your riding position is a longer stem. I ended up with a longer stem ( a little lower also) on my hard tail and it helped quite alot. I did that instead of moving my seat to far forward. Remember though that this put your weight a little bit more forward on the down hills though. You can get a good stem cheep.Flyer said:
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