Sometimes climbing sucks. There, I said it. It’s controversial; I usually love climbing and embracing the challenge of a 2000-3000m vert day in the saddle, but there are definitely times when it sucks. Usually it’s because we are unprepared for the challenge ahead, whether it be the first long, mountainous training ride of your training program that season, or heading into an XCO ‘training’ race without having done much intensity.
Improving your climbing is one of the best ways to improve performance outcomes in many mountain bike disciplines. But while we aren’t all born natural mountain goats, the good news is that we can train for the uncomfortable effects of gravity. First, let’s look at some other considerations for climbing mastery.
Gearing
Mountain bike gearing is obviously of a wider range and features smaller gear ratios from the road in order to make it up
