One of the most effective climbing weapons is the standing cadence change transition.
In this video we show you how to use cadence as a way to create a massive acceleration without increasing your power much. This is an important technique to learn because if you go over your threshold zone too much on a climb to accelerate it ofter can hurt your effort after the acceleration. With this technique you are able to stay close to your threshold so after you accelerate you can keep climbing strongly! Working on this is a way you can take your climbing to a new level.
I demonstrate the effectiveness of this riding on the steep sections of one of my favorite climbs, Flagstaff.
During this effort I begin by riding just below my threshold, standing in a low cadence. The terrain is steep, and at this pace I can hear the rider breathing behind me (coach @lechnertravis ).
I decide to try and drop him by using a sharp cadence transition from low to high. I choose my effort in the middle of a switchback because the gradient lowers just for a second.
By matching the transition to the high cadence with the change in terrain from steep to shallow, I am able to produce a sharp attack by ONLY going up 1 PowerTrain Zone (approx 20 watts).
You will see the effort is so well executed it creates a large gap instantly.
What you don’t see is that the rider behind has increased his power the same amount as mine, however is unable to follow the acceleration because he did not stand or transition to high cadence at the exact moment I did.
Guys, this skill is HUGE for all Rider Types and abilities. Learn it, and practice it. I promise you it will take your cycling to a new level