Mountain Bike Standing Tips

Video Transcript

" When you're transitioning from seated to standing/climbing, if it's a condition where you have good traction ideally you would want to shift up 2 gears to harder gears to compensate for the fact that you're going to make more power and get the most efficiency out of it. Then, when you are climbing standing you have to focus on keeping your weight shifts appropriately. As we climb this section of trail, I will demonstrate both appropriate and inappropriate weight shifting and weight distribution as well as pedaling technique and you'll see what the marked differences are and style. So, I'll start off trying to ride rather sloppy and we'll see if that nets the desired negative result. So I'm starting off on real upright, you know, standing and just you know it's like riding a bucking bronco. Things just aren't working out well. I was in a really low gear, really standing up. It's hard for me to mess up sometimes, but I think you understand what the desired... what's going to happen is you're going to spin out. I'll grab the two gears that I should grab, lower my weight, get nice and low and it enables me to get up this climb which is a lot more difficult than the section I was just on with a lot less wasted energy and climbing is partially about conserving energy so you can have more fun on the downhill. Grab those two extra gears which you want to make sure you are getting the most out of your efficiency. I lowered my center of gravity and really pulled back on the wheel and tried to pedal a little bit smoother and it kept me on the bike doing what I need to do."