8 Climbing Mistakes That Are Slowing You Down

🚴 FREE 6-Week Training Plan - raise your FTP and build the engine to hold it, on just 4 hours a week. Includes ready-to-ride Zwift workouts: https://cyclingnutshell.kit.com/freeplan How should you actually ride up a hill? Most cyclists go out too hard and grind too big a gear, and on a real climb that costs you speed, energy, and your knees. Climbing well is mostly free technique, and almost everyone gets it wrong before someone shows them how. In this video we break down how to climb properly on a road bike: how to pace a climb so you don't blow up in the first two minutes, why spinning a low gear isn't as slow as you've been told, the cadence range that actually protects your knees, the gearing that keeps you turning the pedals on steep pitches, how to shift before the gradient bites instead of grinding your chain to a halt, when standing beats staying seated and when it just wastes energy, why standing on the tops is asking for a crash, the line to take through a switchback so the bend doesn't break your rhythm, and how to fuel without choking halfway up. Plus how to put it all together from your own gearing, your body position, and the gradient in front of you. The takeaway in one line: start easier than feels right, spin a lower gear than your pride wants, and let the gradient set your effort instead of a fixed number on the screen. Further reading and sources: → Why trained cyclists prefer a higher cadence than the most economical one (Lucía et al.): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11474... → How pedalling cadence changes the load on your knees (Bini & Hume): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23898... → Seated vs standing on a climb, oxygen cost and leg effort (Tanaka et al.): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8727477/ Join the Cycling Nutshell Zwift Club: https://www.zwift.com/clubs/7080ea55-... #cycling #cyclingtraining #cyclingperformance