Skill: Climbing on a Mountain Bike

After a trip to the local trails this weekend and some struggling on my end, I decided this was a worthwhile post.

When Approaching a steep climb on your mountain bike here are a few tips for how to get to the top with the least amount of efforts.

1. Choose your line avoiding as many obstacles as possible but not so many that you are waisting energy swerving all over the trail.
2. Resist the urge to stand up.
3. Choose the gear that will get you up the hill before you get there and get your cadence up before it gets hard.
4. Bend at the waist and get your nose over your stem and handlebars. This puts weight over the front tire.
5. Keep your butt to the back of the saddle or off the the saddle low over the back tire to make sure your rear tire is gripping the dirt.

These tips will help in conquering the hardest of climbs, but what is even more important is practice. If this is an area that remains hard to you find a hill and climb it, ride down, and do it again. I do this weekly on my road bike.