Climb THIS!

Some real leg breaker there for sure.

I like the look of the climb in Cumbria, England and where it is set.

Climbing gradients over 30% is insane though.

Yeah, Lim, the Cumbria looks beautiful.

The Dirty Dozen ride around Pittsburg, Pennsylvania hits 13 of the steepest climbs in the area. It's not a long ride and it's mainly urban so some of the riders have a beer or six to go with the festivities. Hilarity ensues when stalls occur on those walls!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Dozen_(bicycle_competition)

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http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/12/the-steepest-road-on-earth-takes-no-prisoners/

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The climb on Hawaii looks pretty nice.

You'd be better using the old shoe straps rather than the clipless variety on those climbs. Quicker release and all that.

Those climbs are insane.

My area of the country has no 'long' climbs. I have to look around a ways to find a 1-mile climb. 2 miles in length is about the max without driving some distance.

However, what we lack in length we make for is steepness!

Playing 'Pick-A-Gear' when approaching some unfamiliar wall is a part of the fun and when in doubt it's a 39x25 and lots of deep breathing.

Good advice on the toe clips/straps. When you're already in the bail-out gear and you just can't quite get that pedal over TDC one more time...

Many a collar bone have been sacrificed on such climbs.

...and egos!

I just remembered...

I won a $20 bet by climbing the baddest local hill in a 50 x 16 on my first track bike. I used TWO pairs of straps pulled tight...I was going up or going 'down' hard.

I left my spare sew-up and frame pump off at the top of the hill before walking the bike down to the bottom. I was so excited at having made the climb that I rode off with my witness and left them in the ditch. We got back to our cars and I had to drive back to pick them out of the weeds!

Huhhh huhhh .. you said weed.

That may or may not have had some influence on the bet being placed in the first place...while half drunk...in a strip club...with some big titty stripper smearing up my eyeglasses with her [censored].

limerickman said:

Some real leg breaker there for sure. I like the look of the climb in Cumbria, England and where it is set. Climbing gradients over 30% is insane though.

Hardknott is a [censored]. Just for a warm up, the almost as difficult Wrynose Pass is right next to it on the same road. I always thought that Rosedale Chimney Bank was steeper and harder. It's just 'tother side of t' hill in Yorkshire. Shame they're probably not going to include it in the Tour this year. Half the "caravan" would kill their clutches going up the damn thing... [VIDEO]

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Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB

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My bottom bracket just developed a nervous tick looking at this!

That's really your knees you're hearing!

The trick to climbing the local walls is to use a high quality Climbing Mantra...and a Low RPM Climbing Mantra is key to conquering Pittsburg's walls.

Feel free to use mine:

Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler
Uwe Ampler...

I'd get up that in the big dog any day [IMG]files.cyclingforums.comsmug.pngOpen ↗[/IMG]

You're not kidding! I used to live there, commuting to work from the north side to south side by the jail trail and hot metal bridge.

SF gets all the press, but pitt has hills plus ice plus cobblestones.

I grew up with VanHorns for neighbors.

I used to go to the Thrift Drug Classic and watched the pros go up the backside of Mt. Washington...pain. Lots of pain.

The Belgians can brag about their 2.4 km stretches of Roman Road. It's [censored]! We can brag about endless miles of lazy union labor 'maintained [censored] roads this side of an African animal migration track through the Zambezi.

One of my friends' kid just got a job in Pittsburg. He's also commuting 3-4 miles to work from a near burb to downtown. At least there's a lot of side streets to stay mostly away from traffic.

dbvanhorn said:

You're not kidding!  I used to live there, commuting to work from the north side to south side by the jail trail and hot metal bridge. SF gets all the press, but pitt has hills plus ice plus cobblestones.

SF gets press for a reason: http://m.7x7.com/arts-culture/real-top-10-list-steepest-streets-san-francisco#bmb=1 "Everything I once thought to be true about the grades of streets in SF came tumbling down. Truth shattered once again. I checked with a few friends later to see if they knew if anyone had done this research. I hoped they had, or else I would probably end up doing it, and Lord knows I have enough going on already. One of them pointed me in the direction of a man named Stephen Von Worley, who combined the National Elevation Dataset’s data with an Open Street Maps grid, and indeed had come up with a new list. " The Steepest Streets In San Francisco 1. Bradford above Tompkins (41% grade) 2. Romolo between Vallejo and Fresno (37.5% grade) 3. Prentiss between Chapman and Powhattan (37% grade) 4. Nevada above Chapman (35% grade) 5. Baden above Mangels (34% grade) 6. Ripley between Peralta and Alabama (31.5% grade) 7. 24th between De Haro and Rhode Island (31.5% grade) 8. Filbert between Hyde and Leavenworth (31.5% grade) 9. 22nd between Vicksburg and Church (31.5% grade) 10. Broadway above Taylor (31% grade) Read more at http://m.7x7.com/arts-culture/real-top-10-list-steepest-streets-san-francisco#cJsASIKQFysKrgQE.99

41%!!!!!!

For 41% you need 42 teef! In the back!

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Grab an extra-large pizza pan and a round file, and start making your bailout gear...