Not really being able to stand up on the climbs takes its toll on your arse
It does! It's worth getting the hand of standing up. It took me a little while to get used to it but we got the hang of it last year, with practice. Before we did, my stoker would sneak little stands in on fast descents, and I would suddenly lose ability to steer the bike.
The easiest way to start is when you are freewheeling on the flat or a very gentle downhill. But once you have got the hang of that, standing for a short climb is not much harder, and is a great way to keep momentum on undulating roads.
What I'm still not comfortable with is standing for very steep climbs, basically in case my stoker collapses from exhaustion and stops pedalling! Also we don't stand on long climbs. This might work for some but when my stoker stands, he ups his effort a lot, then gets knackered after 30 seconds. If I let him sit down, we'd grind to a halt, but he can't sustain the effort, so I just don't go there.
The other thing is that the pilot has to call it, what you can't have is the pilot sitting and the stoker standing (other way round is fine).
Sounds like great advice, thank you. We’re both keen to do more so will try this on the next ride.
We were managing to lift ourselves off the saddle on the descents which helped a bit with the sore arse. We had the tires pumped up to the moon so maybe letting out a little pressure would also help.
It does! It's worth getting the hand of standing up. It took me a little while to get used to it but we got the hang of it last year, with practice. Before we did, my stoker would sneak little stands in on fast descents, and I would suddenly lose ability to steer the bike.
The easiest way to start is when you are freewheeling on the flat or a very gentle downhill. But once you have got the hang of that, standing for a short climb is not much harder, and is a great way to keep momentum on undulating roads.
What I'm still not comfortable with is standing for very steep climbs, basically in case my stoker collapses from exhaustion and stops pedalling! Also we don't stand on long climbs. This might work for some but when my stoker stands, he ups his effort a lot, then gets knackered after 30 seconds. If I let him sit down, we'd grind to a halt, but he can't sustain the effort, so I just don't go there.
The other thing is that the pilot has to call it, what you can't have is the pilot sitting and the stoker standing (other way round is fine).