As you probably know I have some different views on mountain biking compared to most “experts”. From the value of flat pedals to the ridiculousness of spending hours on a road bike to improve your mountain bike conditioning I try to get riders to stop and think about things, if only for a second.

Funny things happen when riders stop and think about things. Some of them start to realize that there may be more to the story than what they were told. The world of mountain biking is littered with myths, half-truths and outright lies and I’m here to help shed some light on what it really takes to improve your riding.

One area that I’ve talked about before but I think needs some special attention is Standing Pedaling. Most riders view Standing Pedaling as something to be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

They are told that they’ll tire themselves out too quickly and they think they need to sit down in order to weight the rear tire on climbs.

They end up shackling themselves to their seats, which really impedes their growth as a rider.

In this new podcast I go over all things standing pedaling. I’ll dispel the myths surrounding it and reveal…

– Why it can actually be easier on your knees to stand up while climbing.

– Why you have to stand up to execute skills properly.

– Why clipless pedals can make it harder to stand up.

– How to use standing and seated pedaling together over the course of a ride.

Use the link below to download this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast

Download this episode (right click and save)

Once you understand that standing pedaling is better than seated pedaling in many ways and how you can incorporate it more into your riding you’ll never look at the trail the same way again. More riders are held back by this one myth than anything else on the trail. Break free of the seat shackle and you’ll have way more fun on the trail.

-James Wilson-

3 thoughts on “Why standing pedaling is better than seated pedaling…once you know how.

  1. Richard Nagel says:

    I actually have intuited that Stand-Up pedaling is best . I sit less and less. Now, I want to become elite at it .
    I would like to hear your comments and suggestion on Stand – Up Training .

    • bikejames says:

      Honestly, the best thing to do is simply keep doing as much as possible during your rides. Nothing will can compare to the actual thing. In addition, if you do off-trail cardio training using a trainer or bike trainer then stand more there as well. Basically, the more you do it the better you will get at.

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