txags92

I think you have answered your own question. With the mountains of data available to them, you don't see various teams settling on one thing or the other. What you see is each rider has a different style that suits them. If any team or teams had figured out a "broadly accepted agreement" that one way was better than another, you would see every rider on that team doing it the same way. The fact that you don't see that is strong evidence that the answer you are rejecting (it depends on the individual) is in actuality the "broadly accepted agreement" that you are seeking. If you had a database of rider heights, weights, leg length measurements, power numbers, heart rate numbers, etc. you could probably work out some pattern in why certain methods work for certain riders, but the fact is that a lot of that data is such a closely held secret to the point that you could never build a large enough database for a meaningful comparison.

woodcraft

I don't really stand while climbing on the mountain bike,

but it's got an 18" low gear.

Wait, what was the question?

waters60

Unless you weigh as little as Contador the comparison is not valid. It is amazing how he can stand for miles. His effort in the Dauphine this year was one of the most amazing I have seen. That said, Nibali's seemingly effortless climbing in the Tour this year looked much less exhausting. From a survival standpoint, if you are on a long hilly ride and uncertain of your ability to finish without bonking, sit as much as possible. If you resemble Contador and are confident of your climbing abilities, stand as much as you like. I tend to do both, as they use different muscles, but I have evolved into sitting mostly.

Nick94804

Ony any grade of a decent distance, I sit and spin, then every half mile I go up a couple or three gears and stand for 100 full revs...and yeah I count, its kind of a mantra. Then I sit and spin, gradually shifting down for the next half mile until its time to stand again...ad infinitum. On reaally steep pitches...I just stand until its done, blowing through my LT and suffering. Its what works for me. YMMV.

Cyclosaurus

I think the right answer is to sit while cycling, except those times when you stand. You can never be wrong if you follow this simple rule.

bbbean 

Idiot. As Saint Eddy has taught us, you are to stand when climbing, except when you sit.

He added: Should you feel pain or desperation, HTFU and push harder.

Sheesh...

StanSeven

One thing to keep in mind with the pro comparisons is they are racing. They want to go as fast as they can but within personal limits of the race. They might be much more efficient sitting but they want to do well.

I know in a race situation I'm much better than most standing and faster than those sitting. So I stand as much as I can because it generated more power and I am conspiracies faster.

palesaint

If my cadence drops below ~ 50-60RPM I tend to get out of the saddle. I must be one of those "uses 25% more energy standing vs. sitting" though, because I cannot seem to stand on the peddles for long before HR is through the roof.

Also I tend to stand a bit more when towards the end of a ride, as the back starts to complain. Standing is a good way to stretch things out.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

I don't think it's the physiological difference so much as a) they're not riding at their max so they don't fade and b) they train that way and are used to it.

Bandera

It do indeed!

I've been riding the same Hill Country routes for 30 years, what gear ratio will be used whether standing or sitting couldn't be predicted for any pitch up any hill in advance.
I do what feels right, some of this & some of that as required.

Riding a fixed gear on the road does promote a powerful high cadence pedaling style w/ grunt & spin on demand and a calm purposeful out of saddle style if one wishes to improve technique. Old School and very effective.

There is an enormous difference even in amateur racing in attacking/holding-on-desperately on a challenging climb and riding it solo, one does what one must.
To climb well one must climb a lot, there is no substitute. Cycling is not an academic pursuit.



-Bandera

bbattle

Do what you gotta do to get up and over. Better yet, emulate your favorite pro cyclist. You should hear the things I say to myself when climbing.

Lazyass

I climb like Pantani did. Usually standing, hands always in the drops. But at a small fraction of his speed.

DaveLeeNC

Re: THE BOLD PART

That is the information that I really did expect to find (and didn't). I was surprised at that. But then again I am an engineer by training, so data and analysis is what I 'run on' (whether it is important or not).

FWIW, despite not being anything near a lightweight (5'10" and 160 to 165 pounds) I seem to just a naturally pop out of the saddle on a regular basis when climbing. And I'll sometimes peddle 10 to 20 straight minutes out of the saddle on my personal spinner bike (where I do a good bit of 'riding') just because.

Maybe I'll design and do a personal experiment someday - I can imagine such an experiment being a great climbing training session. Now that I have typed this - seems like a REALLY good idea.

dave

ovoleg

When I do my FTP tests, I never stand. Always preserve every ounce of energy!

When I am climbing for speed, I mostly sit and stand on the short steepish sections to maintain momentum and reduce the burn. Then sit back down.

If I'm climbing with a club of slower people, I stand more than I sit.

I train standing on the full climb. At first it was awkward but then I got better and better at it.

Bacciagalupe

Your Google-Fu needs... improvement.

Nice basic overview:
Should You Sit or Stand When Riding Uphill? | ACTIVE

Neither one is preferable. Switching can give you a little relief, as you're using different muscles. Your body will give you a good idea of what to do, and when.

Other random articles/papers. Please note there may be some overlap with the above, but I'm too lazy to hunt 'em down.
Cycling Kinematics (this one is pretty wonky, but unless I'm reading it wrong, it's not peer-reviewed)
Cutting-Edge Cycling: When to use standing versus seated pedaling
Sit or Stand: Tradeoffs in Efficiency? - The Bike Blog
Cycling uphill
Effect of cadence on the economy of uphill cycling. - Abstract - Europe PubMed Central (probably the 1st paper on the topic)

DaveLeeNC

Thanks for the concise list.

My take on this (the Norwegian study is the one that I hadn't seen) is

1) The French would claim it doesn't matter (their study is the one that you run into most frequently)
2) The Canadians would say that seated is better for lower inclines and stand/sit is equivalent on higher inclines
3) The Norwegians say that they are equivalent up to around 94% of max power (for a 6 min effort) and then stand for higher efforts.

I think that I will do an experiment at some point, just because this whole thing has made me curious. Of course this would be unique to me, but that is good enough for me.

Thanks.

dave