Author Topic: "Honking technique"  (Read 8061 times)

Re: "Honking technique"
« Reply #25 on: 11 September, 2008, 08:49:34 pm »
I think the hardest bit in all this is getting the right gear for the gradient.
You don't want to be bouncing up the hill as the pedal stroke while either on or out of the saddle is then disjointed.
Too slow a gear and you are grinding and your legs fill with lactic if you try and really push it hard.

The right gear for the right gradient and I find I'm climbing easily and then can mix up a bit my out or on the saddle riding.

That's why I enjoy riding fixed so much. Never have the problem then.

More to the point, getting into the right gear to attack the hill is what I feel is important.

I rock the bike too and as Grub wrote, I need to have my body weight forward.
Frenchie - Train à Grande Vitesse

Re: "Honking technique"
« Reply #26 on: 17 September, 2008, 05:08:59 pm »
I was advised to keep my shoulders still, and let the rest do what it wants to do.

This seems to produce a motion that feels fairly smooth.

There are also different positions for honking:

Weight forward over the handlebars (sprinting and steep hills, 16% or more)

Weight more over the BB (climbing gentle hills)
<i>Marmite slave</i>

LEE

Re: "Honking technique"
« Reply #27 on: 20 September, 2008, 09:32:37 pm »
Watch this fella do it, he's pretty good at honking out of the saddle.

Apart from falling off when he gets entangled with a spectator you'll notice that neither his bike nor shoulders rock more than a few inches side-to side.  Most of the energy is used to go in a straight line.  If your torso is moving up and down or side to side then it's wasting energy (but obviously you need to rock slightly in order to get your legs around but that's hips rather than shoulders).

Look and learn


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/27SFeKk2LpY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/27SFeKk2LpY&rel=1</a>