KXsteve

Member
Apr 10, 2001
22
0
I went riding with a mate today, and there were some really steep hills, (well, to me anyway!)with some loose rocks and stuff on 'em.

All I want to know is, is there any easy way of riding up 'em? I can't work it out, sit, stand, gas it, or cruise??
If I gassed it, it felt like it was going to loop out on me once near the top, so i thought try and lean forward, but then the bike would just spin the rear wheel and get no traction, and basically go no-where!!
Hmmmmmm??? Can someone help me?
Is it just a matter of me practising, or is there a technique i don't know of here?

Steve
 

wardy

2005 Lori Nyland Award Winner
Nov 12, 1999
2,681
9
CLUTCH IT! LOL, use your clutch to minnimize your wheel spin, lean forward to keep from looping out and \use body positioning to keep the rear wheel wieghted.
and yes practice will make perfect .......or a close to it.
 

MikeT

~SPONSOR~
Jan 17, 2001
4,112
11
Take a good look at the path you will take before you ride up it. As posted before stay standing up and move your body forward to keep the front wheel down. You will need tho fan the clutch to keep the rpms up because once they drop it will be hard to bring them back up smoothly. You'd be surprised what you can go up when you put a little time into it. Remember to be loose on the bike so you can reposition to counteract wheelspin and or wheeling. I'd be more concerned with keeping the front wheel where it needs to be than the wheelspin.
 

Hucker

~SPONSOR~
Sep 15, 2000
999
0
Make sure you get enough speed before you actually start up the hill. My buddy has the same prob, wants to speed up while going up hill. Well trying to deny the law of physic's rarely works. Keep on the gas, get your speed up and give 'er :) You'll figure it out, and once you do, you'll never forget :)

Good Luck ....
 

cr125_king

Member
Apr 2, 2001
343
0
Why stand and not sit.? I sit when i do hillclimbs, and i can climb some pretty steep hills.A new tire helps alot to when climbing hills.I practice climbing really steep hills with trees and roots & whoops on them>so come race time(harescramble), the hills are easy.
 

KXsteve

Member
Apr 10, 2001
22
0
Thanks for all the replies guys, i'll give it a go next time i'm out. I can hardly wait to go riding again..

I think maybe a new tyre is due too :silly:

Steve
 

roostinbe

Member
Mar 22, 2001
142
0
does the hill have a clean run at it? hills with no run are a lot harder! but you can't always stand. i have been on hills so steep, that if you stood, you would loop! (unless you kept your head up by your fender.) sitting helps to keep your center of gravity down, which allows you to keep on it more, without having to worry about going over. also, a gripper seat cover helps.;) what mike t said is definately a must, although your bike may disagree with you :p don't fight it if you get forced into a different line, just roll with it, be smooth, and controlled with your throttle, but don't let off!:scream:
 
Oct 22, 2000
197
0
Ahh, Ha!

I see the problem here, you're not riding an open class bike with gobs and gobs of excess, hilleating power:scream: . With one of these manly machines, you almost don't need a proper technique;) .
 

Luv2Ride

Member
Nov 21, 2000
32
0
Momentum for most nasty hills helps too, within reason of course. You will find out, if you don't already know that hills are easier to climb when you get a running start. Starting off at the foot of a steep one can prove challenging, especially if the ground is loose. I hope this helps and be sure to practice on a variety of hills to build your confidence.
 

KXsteve

Member
Apr 10, 2001
22
0
Cheers Guys, I can't wait 'till my next ride....still haven't had a chance to get out there yet :(

and Rattletrap, I wish i was on an open class :D , but seriously, this bike i have now has enough power for my liking, it really is a handfull when on the gas!

Steve
 

FMX_novice

Member
Jan 5, 2001
161
0
Ive got the best technique. Get the most momentum possible, taking the outside line around the last corner. Ride where the power its tractable, but not too weak or too much as to spin the tires. Power/clutch, downshift if you are starting to bog. Put your butt on the back of the seat and lean forward to get a mix of balance and tire bite.
 

bbbom

~SPONSOR~
Aug 13, 1999
2,094
0
Re: Ahh, Ha!

Originally posted by Rattletrap'83CR480
With one of these manly machines, you almost don't need a proper technique;) .

Don't you mean one of them girly machines? ;)

Good topic KXSteve, wish I'd seen it before I went riding yesterday. All we did was climb (okay, I attempted to climb) hill after hill on some old overgrown trails. Momentum or actually lack of it is my biggest obstacle on the steeper hills. I'll have to try some of these suggestions next time. All except getting my butt on the back of the seat, I end up there without trying so I'd be off the bike completely if I started out back there. Standing seems to work the best for me, until I get spooked then I sit as far forward as possible.
 

Hondaxrguy

Member
May 17, 2001
573
0
I've found this technique to work well on hills where traction is a problem:
I try to force the rear wheel into the ground by pulling up on the bars, and pushing down on the pegs. Almost like trying to wheelie up the hill, but just keeping the front tire "floating" on the ground. Also, I find it much easier to climb a hill if I can hit it in second instead of first (even going the same speed). In first I usually just get a lot of wheelspin, but the bike hooks up much better in 2nd.:eek:
 

Yamamoto

Uhhh...
Apr 3, 2001
349
0
Speed.

12



I don't know what kinda hills you climb but you better 5th gear this one
 

Montana300

Member
May 4, 2000
123
0
IMO, there are two keys to properly climbing a technical hill. First, pick the right line [which comes with experience], and second, don't let off the gas just because you can't stay on the line you wanted. You will make it up lots of hills if you stay on the gas until some obstacle actually stops you or you crash. I see lots of beginners let off the throttle on hills when they get offline then try to re-gas, but this rarely works. Stay in the gas even when you are off the trail busting through the brush!
 

FMX_novice

Member
Jan 5, 2001
161
0
Power Downshift, this is a great secret which will smoothly distribute power unlike clutch fanning, which, if not expertly done, will add to wheel spin and kill your momentum.
 

Yamamoto

Uhhh...
Apr 3, 2001
349
0
Focus on where you want the bike to be, do not look elsewhere or thats where you will go.

estimate speed, some hill you just cannot fly over because you may have a drop on the other side and or rocks,trees, ect.

If you are sure that there is no drop or rocks then you can whale it over.

You must stand ...If you are sitting and you hit a bump on the way up its over.

Start small and work your way up to bigger hills.

after that it all just comes to you.
 

KXsteve

Member
Apr 10, 2001
22
0
Thats it Yamamoto, It was steep enough to make it hard to walk up, and covered in loose rocks. There was ample room for a decent run up, but at the top there is about 1 metre flat, then straight back down again. So I figured, I will have to just attack it from the bottom, and thats where the problem was. you could go up it with a slight left angle (ie : not straight up, but to the left slightly) and the flat got wider, so you could then ride along the top, and not have to go straight down another steep hill.

I will have to go back to those trails again so i can have a good stab at it, till then, Thanks to everyones input! This is why i love DRN :cool:

Steve
 

bud

Member
Jun 29, 1999
433
0
Re body position, the advice of Ty Davis in the Gary Semics book usually works for me:

"Unless tackling an obstacle that will disrupt your suspension, usually you should be in the seated position, but exactly where depends on a lot of factors. The idea is to maintain traction by sitting over the rear wheel, however this can cause the bike to wheelie. Most of the time, the best body position for climbing steep hills is to be seated with your body weight forward to keep from wheelying. It's basically the attack position... On more gradual hills, sometimes standing is preferred, especially if there are a lot of acceleration bumps."
 

A KDX BUZZ

Member
Jun 10, 2001
34
0
climbing hills

if your tall enough(5"11+) you can climb steep hills efectively if you keep your wieght on the pegs and as far forward as possible,(sitting on the gas tank).REMEMBER the bike should be pussing, not pulling you up the hills.
 
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