I'm blessed with a riding area that has a ton of gnarly single-track hills. I take being able to climb them for granted but it's seems not everyone I meet has the same skill or knowhow when it comes to hill climbing (given by the number of people I find stuck on them). The KX500 is such a nice hill weapon that I take great delight in riding down the same hills (to help out of course) turning around mid-hill and then riding back up. When coaching riders up some of the worst hill there are a few key points that I try to emphasise:
1. Momentum is the key. The slower you go the harder it is. Some riders aproach the base of a hill slowly then try to accelerate up it. The best way is the opposite, approaching with some speed then trying to preserve your speed (momentum) as much as possible on the way up. If you can hit the bottom of a gnarly hill in 3rd and then only need to downshift to second on the way up you are lookin good.
2. Almost never use first gear. Torque multiplies by the gear ratio. The lower the gear you are in multiplies the torque at the rear wheel tremendously making the tendence of the bike to want to wheelie over backwards increase. It is far easier to climb in a higher gear at a low rpm than in a low gear at a high rpm. Of course sometimes you can get slowed down in the middle of a climb and end up in first gear. When this happens to me I attempt to get back into 2nd as quickly as possible. Unless the hill is especially gnarly and you want to preserve the gains already gotten, if you end up in first it is often best to do a quick 180 and try the hill again with more speed.
3. Keep the CG low. Keeping the front end down is a matter of center of gravity. The CG of you and your bike changes radically from sitting to standing. When standing, the CG is almost 2 feet lower. When climbing a steep hill most riders sit forwards on the front of the seat/tank but forget about the pegs. It is far more effective to sit forward on the tank but focus all your body weight onto the pegs. You will be amazed at the difference it can make it traction and keeping the front end down.
4. Tackling rock steps or root ledges mid-climb. These can be really tricky. I use a specific technique to maintain my momentum. Essentially what you want to do is loft the front wheel over the ledge and then quickly pull your body weight forward onto the front wheel to unload the back suspension, while briefly chopping the throttle as the rear wheel hits the ledge. This method keeps the rear wheel tracking. What you are avoiding is the rear wheel spinning wildly on the ledge then grabbing sudden traction on the other side.
5. Errosion Grooves. Many steep single-track hills have large ditches or creeks worn down the middle. The bottom of the groove is invarably rocky and rough but this is where many riders end up. The key here is to stay out of the groove as much as possible. Often the flatter areas on each side of the groove are sloped and difficult to stay on, yet this is where you need to ride. What I like to do is loft the front wheel to climb up onto the flatter area as quickly as I can and then as you tend to slide down the slope into the goove, loft the front end and jump across the groove to the other side. And so on. By essentiall zig-zagging your way up alternate sides of the groove, you have the ability to make your own smoother line and choose where best to go. And pass everyone in the groove.
6. Lines. This probably should have been number one. Make sure you go where you need to go and not where the hill takes you. Look for alternate lines over and around things that may be off the trail. Sometime the gnarlies obstacles can be bypassed by a simple detour through the bush.
7. The loop-out 180. An advanced but fun way to turn around on a hill is the loop-out 180. After you are stopped on a hill, wheelie your bike over backwards while twisting/pulling the handlbars so that the front of the bike pivots 180 around the stationary rear wheel. On a hill it often to begin to turn the bike right before you launch. To practise this it is best to start on flat ground with a bicycle to get the idea and motion correct, then graduate to your dirtbike on flat ground or small hills.
8. Traction control. On greasy hills dragging the back brake can be used to control wheelspin. This is effective on steep hills. You can keep the throttle at a fixed setting and modulate speed and traction with the clutch and rear brake.
Hope this helps somebody. Cam.
