Climbing Tips

* To learn how to balance on the edge between power and loss of traction on a climb, find a relatively steep hill with a moderately loose surface. This should be a climb you could handle quite easily if not for the lack of traction. Shift into your lowest gear and aggressively attack it. Get out of the saddle and force the rear wheel to begin breaking free. Do this a few times, then try it while sitting. Learn how much pedaling force you can apply before losing traction.

Now change tactics. Ride into the hill as slowly as you can in your lowest gear. Creep up so you're constantly on the verge of stalling. Pretend you're in an airplane, the stall warning buzzer keeps going off and you have to make the minimum adjustment to shut it up. Try this standing, then sitting.

Now pick the smallest cog you can ride up the slope in. Repeat the previous exercises. Pay attention to your stalling point. Work on sensing the loss of traction before it happens. Do it in and out of the saddle. Play with it. Have fun balancing on the point of power.

* Ride in the climber's position. Just as there is a standard stance for descending (pedals level, weight slightly off the saddle, and elbows and knees loose to absorb shock), a certain climbing position is most effective for most situations. Flex your elbows and bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight. You should be leaning toward the handlebar and your butt should be pushed back on the saddle a bit. This posture lowers your centre of gravity, distributes your weight to the front and rear, and allows you to easily make the weight shifts and movements you'll need to maintain traction and power.

* Most inexperienced climbers don't bend toward the bar enough, believing that if they sit upright over the rear wheel they'll prevent spinout. Just the opposite. The wayback position unweights the front wheel which either causes the riders to stop, or makes them lose rear traction anyway when they suddenly scoot forward to keep the front down. If you want to go up, you have to get down Lean

* Maintain traction when climbing by modifying your stock position. As the pitch steepens, lean more toward the bar (drop your nose closer). This puts more of your weight over the front and, at the same time, pushes your butt back to keep weight over the rear tire.

Tune yourself until you find the lean angle that keeps both wheels rooted. (Front wheel loose: too little lean. Back wheel loose: too much.) You'll eventually learn what lean matches what pitch.

* On a steep incline simply leaning toward the handlebar won't maintain traction. You need to keep the front wheel down by leaning waaay over - sometimes your nose will be past the handlebar and as little as four inches above it - and by sliding forward onto the tip of the saddle. (This is one reason pros like narrow saddles with long noses.)

But with all your weight forward, what about the back wheel? You can keep it grooved by pulling back on the handlebar. This single move often provides a climbing breakthrough for new riders. It makes the rear wheel dig in.

* When you rise out of the saddle you use about 12 percent more oxygen and raise your heart rate about 11 percent. Or so the lab rats say Regardless, standing is harder on your body. It requires more effort because your legs provide locomotion and support you.

* If you don't stand at least occasionally you're climbing without one of your most valuable skills. Among other things standing lets you deliver more power to the pedals. It can delay fatigue because it uses your muscles differently. And it lets you during extended climbs.

* Here are three tips for making the transition from seated climbing to standing without losing speed, control or traction.

1. As your foot comes around to begin a downstroke, shift to a harder gear (if you don't, you waste energy with choppy pedal strokes), then rise out of the saddle It you have bar-ends, move your hands out to them. You should be as upright as the pitch will allow, with your chest out over the handlebar. Your lower back should be straight.

2. Sway the bike from side to side (but no more than a toot each way). This establishes a rhythm and wakes your downstrokes more direct and powerful. Some riders like to pull up on the bar to do this Pushing is nice because you can do it without clenching your hands.

3. You've nailed the technique when you realise why it's sometimes described as 'running on the pedals.' If you feel jerky and out of control, you're either not pushing a big enough gear or you're completely straightening your leg on the downstroke. Go for a 95 percent bend and concentrate on pushing and pulling through a complete circle. This will eliminate the dead spot.

* As with most things mountain bike, there are no rules dictating how often and how long you should stand during a climb. Just plenty of generalisations. Here arc the helpful ones. Try not to sit back down when the grade is steep. You'll stall. If possible, wait till you have a break in the climbing. And remember to shift back to an easy gear as you return to the saddle. Most heavy riders do better when they climb seated more than they stand. The opposite applies to light riders. Most novices don't stand often enough, and when they do they stand too long.

* Don't try to motor up hills in one speedy gulp. Find your own pace. You can pedal at amazingly slow cadences and stay upright. To make it to the top of a big climb with some oomph left, go a little slower than you might be tempted. Staying just below your pain threshold will give you better endurance.

* Get bonus traction on technical climbs by standing and lifting your front wheel over large rocks and ledges, then jerking the back wheel onto them and using these harder surfaces for more traction.

* On really long climbs stopping to rest is acceptable. During those stops, you might be tempted to turn around or walk. Don't. Recharge your batteries for five minutes, psyche yourself up and pedal to the next rest point.

* Rather than anticipating the top, anticipate the next bend - the one you can't see. Make that a goal. When you reach that one, immediately focus on the following bend

* Because climbing is a repetitive act, it helps to think repetitive things. Really. Try repeating a phase over and over again. Something simple like "I'll make it." Or, "Make mine a double." It gives you rhythm and helps occupy your pain.

* Cross-country pro Sarah Ellis is a hot-shot ascender. Here are four of her secrets for stupendous climbing. Don't tell anyone else.

- "On a long climb I like to get into a rhythm, a pace and pedaling cadence that I relate to. Some riders have inconsistent rhythms-their speeds go straight or straight down. On long, sustained climbs I like to find one rhythm-but I start out easy and ride harder into the rhythm."

- "Anyone can attack a hill fast, but it takes self-discipline to control your pace and climb calmly. It's one of the hardest things to do."

- "A lot of people say how great it is to have someone in front of you on a climb so you can chase instead of being hunted. I like seeing people ahead of me, too, but only it I'm near the front. I think the worst thing is to be so far back you have to work around a lot of people. That can get tiring. I'll get on a wheel on a climb and realise that she's going too strong for me, I don't give up. I hold the pace as long as I can, and then even after she pulls away I concentrate on keeping her in sight as long as I can. You go taster than if you give up right away."

* Ride shallow, On an uphill curve, don't ride too close to the inside. It's shorter but the incline can be much steeper. Take the more gradual outside line.

* "Climbing can be very, very painful. I always think that once I'm over the climb there's usually a fun downhill, so I can really suffer up a climb because I'm anticipating a really awesome downhill. Even though going downhill is strenuous it's really fun, so I concentrate on getting to the top of climb where I know I'll have fun. You can't say that races are won on the uphill, but if you can't suffer on the climb, you won't do well."-Jammy Jacques

* Common steep-climbing mistake: Moving your hips too far forward when you bend forward or scootch up to maintain traction. Keep your hips back, more or less centred over the bike, or else your rear wheel gets skittish.