Why and when you should ride out of the saddle

True, the bicycle saddle is there to sit on. But that doesn't mean you always have to be seated.

Riding out of the saddle: more power on the bike

It doesn't matter if you ride a mountain bike or a road bike, because there are times when getting up, standing up on the bike, makes a huge difference. The important thing here is to know when to do it, why, and how to do it correctly.

If you're a beginner, you'll have a hard time finding the right effect, the right time and the right way to do it. But the handlebars, especially on a road bike, are not shaped like that because of a designer's taste or whim.

Because standing up means a change in cadence but above all in the power you put into your pedaling. For example, look at sprinters or cyclocross or mountain bike riders. Cyclists ride standing up because they need to put as much power as possible into those specific moments of the race.

When to ride out of the saddle and stand up on the bike

You're sure to see images that will shock you. Climbers who climb major mountain passes while sitting in the saddle; riders who get off the bike at the slightest steep climb. Everyone has their own technique, but in general there are situations where standing up is almost an obligation.

Standing up does not mean using your own body weight to drop it like a pillar on the cranks of your bike or mountain bike, as is commonly said. In fact, lifting that weight a couple of times per second is a drag. Therefore, focus on not moving your body up and down, but always let your legs drop below your pelvis.

That's why it's the most common when the road goes uphill. It's a mechanical advantage as well as an energetic one: you save energy consumption, although it may seem the opposite. In fact, it's not a question of weight, as we say, because if you look at the cyclists who stand up the most, the climbers, they are precisely the lightest.

This is a typical situation, because in large cyclists the opposite tends to happen, something that is compensated for by the great power they are capable of producing.

Once you stand up on the bike, your mission is to play with your weights but also with your balance to improve pedaling efficiency. So use it only for a sprint or a climb, and do it efficiently, taking care of your balance, because you lose more energy than sitting (unless we are talking about sitting in the office).

And one last tip when standing up on the bike: if it's for a long time, if the climb is long, just alter your body position. The best example of this was Marco Pantani, who held on to the lower part of the handlebars while pedaling standing up, so that he was practically lying on the frame. This way, you use other muscles, in this case more hamstrings, and lying forward, you propel with your knees diagonally, so you can increase the cadence. Of course, it is more uncomfortable.