observation about hill climbing

madams · 2011-05-17, 12:42 AM

When climbing a hill on my bicycle I usually stand alot while leaning heavily on my handle bars. I find this to be a real obstacle while riding my unicycle. It seems that on a unicycle that you lean the unicycle forward but keep your body upright with very little lean.

tholub · 2011-05-17, 12:54 AM

'taint necessarily so...

Stephen climbing on Slickrock

Good climbers lean forward a lot, especially if they're speed climbing. Although we're more upright than you'd be on a bike, because we don't have the problem of having to shift our weight forward to keep the front wheel on the ground.

johnfoss · 2011-05-17, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tholub

'taint necessarily so...

Your picture of Stephen reminded me of this one; Brett Bymaster, at Moab in 2001. In this picture he was doing a little 'workshop' for Kyle Thompson on uphill cranking. That's "Krazy Karl", before he was famous...

vookash · 2011-05-17, 07:45 AM

I tend to lean forward much if it is on the road. If I do the same offroad then any rock on my way stops me.
And in the last race I found it much less tiring to sit on my saddle as long as it is possible while climbing. Even then it was possible to be faster than bike riders

madams · 2011-05-17, 11:29 AM

thanks for all the tips and photos... Just need more practice I guess...

madams · 2011-05-17, 11:18 PM

I have very short legs and a very long trunk. I wonder if that has any effect when going up a hill...just a thought. I was thinking this as I was trying to climb hills today. I have always loved the challenge of a hill...whether I was running/ biking or now unicycling it. That hill in San Francisco seems amazing. I watched the video of MuniAddict conquering it and was thinking....boy I would love to try that some day.

Mike Adams

MuniAddict · 2011-05-17, 12:55 AM

Depends on the grade. At Fargo's 33% grade street, if you don't lean way forward on your bike, the front wheel comes off the ground and you'll fall backward! On my uni I was leaning just as far forward to counteract the tremendous gravity that was pulling me back.

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GizmoDuck · 2011-05-17, 01:08 AM

I think it depends what you mean by lean. You still need to keep it in proportion to your centre of gravity, usually slightly ahead of it if you were going forwards.

I stand on my pedals all the time when I'm climbing- whether I'm on a bike or a unicycle.

http://www.adventureunicyclist.com/?page_id=214

2011-05-17, 12:42 AM	#1
madams Registered User Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 156	observation about hill climbing When climbing a hill on my bicycle I usually stand alot while leaning heavily on my handle bars. I find this to be a real obstacle while riding my unicycle. It seems that on a unicycle that you lean the unicycle forward but keep your body upright with very little lean.

2011-05-17, 12:54 AM	#2
tholub Totally Doable Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Berkeley, CA Age: 44 Posts: 3,245	'taint necessarily so... Stephen climbing on Slickrock Good climbers lean forward a lot, especially if they're speed climbing. Although we're more upright than you'd be on a bike, because we don't have the problem of having to shift our weight forward to keep the front wheel on the ground. Last edited by tholub; 2011-05-17 at 12:55 AM.

2011-05-17, 11:18 PM	#6
madams Registered User Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 156	one other thought on subject of hill climbing I have very short legs and a very long trunk. I wonder if that has any effect when going up a hill...just a thought. I was thinking this as I was trying to climb hills today. I have always loved the challenge of a hill...whether I was running/ biking or now unicycling it. That hill in San Francisco seems amazing. I watched the video of MuniAddict conquering it and was thinking....boy I would love to try that some day. Mike Adams

2011-05-17, 12:55 AM	#7
MuniAddict Not "2" Tired Join Date: Aug 2006 Age: 57 Posts: 13,541	Depends on the grade. At Fargo's 33% grade street, if you don't lean way forward on your bike, the front wheel comes off the ground and you'll fall backward! On my uni I was leaning just as far forward to counteract the tremendous gravity that was pulling me back. __________________ My latest TV segment UniGeezer.com My videos

2011-05-17, 01:08 AM	#8
GizmoDuck Uni Hour Record Holder 29.993km Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Wellington, New Zealand/ Middle of NSW, Australia Posts: 3,409	I think it depends what you mean by lean. You still need to keep it in proportion to your centre of gravity, usually slightly ahead of it if you were going forwards. I stand on my pedals all the time when I'm climbing- whether I'm on a bike or a unicycle. http://www.adventureunicyclist.com/?page_id=214 __________________ Adventure Unicyclist Unitour Slideshows: SINZ: The South Island, New Zealand Unitour Induni: The India Unicycle Tour Monguni: The Mongolia Unicycle Tour

2011-05-17, 07:45 AM	#4
vookash ('')( :)(..)(: )('') Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Krakow, Poland Age: 31 Posts: 868	I tend to lean forward much if it is on the road. If I do the same offroad then any rock on my way stops me. And in the last race I found it much less tiring to sit on my saddle as long as it is possible while climbing. Even then it was possible to be faster than bike riders

2011-05-17, 11:29 AM	#5
madams Registered User Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 156	thanks for all the tips and photos... Just need more practice I guess...

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