[Damien];24209509 said:
I stand purely to get up the hills quicker. My lungs are the weak point of my climbing, not leg power so blasting up quickly lets me get to the top and recover before my asthma plays up. I can also breathe better stood up. It's the long steady spinny hills that do me over.
If I can get my weight down some more (193lb and dropping) that'll probably help me no end.
I find it hard to pace myself properly if I stand up, so I find that I overdo it at the start of the climb. Then the burn sets in, and I find myself slowing right down as I concede defeat and take a seat. When I "sit and spin" I find it a lot easier to maintain a regular pace, especially up those long hills.
Despite what I have said, I do actually get out of the saddle from time to time, usually to blast over the short hills on my commute. My CX bike is a bit of a beast with the rack fitted, and my bag attached, so it's the only way to get up to speed quickly enough. I don't hate it, it's just not what I'm used to.
I didnt say that you're weak to need the smaller chainring, just that i dont think it's worth the hassle for the little bit of extra ratios that you get.
If you can spin up a hill as fast as your friends can get up it in whatever gear they choose, then thats all that matters.
I know you didn't say I was weak - I said that because it seems to be the case, as I simply don't have the strength to blast up the sort of inclines you guys mention. It's something I've been working on for a while, but progress is slow on that front. I guess I need to take a leaf out of the Berger playbook, and just MTFU