Road Cycling: Tips for a lightweight (hills)

At about 140lbs I can relate to being a lightweight. However I find the opposite affect, having a lower mass means that wind resistance has an increased affect. Therefore being lighter is a disadvantage on a standard flat road. On hills however gravity has a greater force on heavier riders.

Being light is generally a huge advantage when climbing, as for out of the saddle or in the saddle climbing it comes down to a few points. For short, steep climbs standing works really well, on sustained efforts though sitting is more efficient as it utilizes more muscle groups and there is increased stability.

Sometimes it just comes to personal preference. My best tip is to vary positions a lot when climbing. This can include sitting further forward on the seat, sitting at the back and pulling with calves or a favourite of mine is to alternate between 20 strokes sitting down and 20 standing on tougher climbs. It is also possible to achieve this whilst standing, with variations on hand positioning to shift weight either further back or further forward with knees almost hitting the drops.

Over the last few months I've really worked a lot on climbing, with 4 hour climbing repeats and have found these techniques really helpful. I've found that the best way to train for climbing is to do it as much as possible, to the point you will actually enjoy climbing a lot. I hope this helps, at 120lbs you should be rocketing uphill soon.

Im a bout 140, and you should be great in the hills...if you train enough. Hills are gonna be hard for everyone, but they should be relatively easier for you because you have less weight to lug up them. The flats will be relatively more difficult for you than others because they can supply more power than you can and the majority of resistance on flats come from wind resistance. Granted, your wind resistance (or drag) will be lower than a bigger persons, but not so much to over come the gap in power (unless you are very well trained). In summary, your body type will be good for climbing but you must work at becoming a strong cyclist first. As far as tips for climbing, stay seated if it's a longer climb (more than a minute or so) otherwise you are just wasting energy. Also, in longer climbs, do not go all out at the base and peeter off at the top, take a conservative pace at the bottom and adjsut how you feel as you go. Also, as opposed to the prior poster, it may be easier if you "spin" up the hill in an easier gear and higher cadence (rpm).Good Luck and have fun!!!

Cameron