hills questions

Eden said:

I have a triple and I need the low gears for the steepest hills. I am a girl though so it is more acceptable I guess :p.

Wait a minute.....!
What's my excuse then???! 🙂

Actually I am a big fan of the "Granny Gear".
If you are totally wiped out, and you have a 15% staring you in the face (a lot of those out here) I'd rather spin at 4mph then push the bike, walking at 2mph.

roger89 said:

Can someone tell me how do u guess or know a hill's height(m)?

N how do we know the grade(%)?

The grade is an equation of rise divided by run ( altitude gained divided by length traveled). for example if you climb 2000 feet in a mile, you averaged a 3.8% grade (2000 feet divided by 5280 feet).

You know a hills height by using an altimeter, gps or topo maps.

OCRoadie said:

The grade is an equation of rise divided by run ( altitude gained divided by length traveled). for example if you climb 2000 feet in a mile, you averaged a 3.8% grade (2000 feet divided by 5280 feet).

You know a hills height by using an altimeter, gps or topo maps.

ummm... I think your decimal is off there. that would be 38% no?

If you climb at a 45 degree angle (1:1) the grade would be 100%.

2000/5280 = .378 or 37.8%

Mansmind said:

ummm... I think your decimal is off there. that would be 38% no?

If you climb at a 45 degree angle (1:1) the grade would be 100%.

2000/5280 = .378 or 37.8%

Good catch, my bad. I should've useda more realistic example, like 500 feet over a mile.

frenchyge said:

You can measure the height with an altimeter or GPS elevation readings. Some people have these instruments as part of their bike computer suite.

The grade is the amount of rise divided by the length of the road, multiplied by 100 to read as a percentage. A 10% grade rises 1 meter for every 10m of distance travelled.

In addition to the altimeter and GPS, you can use topo maps or software like Delorme Topo. It's particularly useful because you can lay out a route, and then click "Profile" to get the total elevation gain/loss and % grades along the way.

Of course, every method has it's accuracy limits and variability, whether topo software, the baro altimeter or GPS readings.

frenchyge said:

I can't believe that would be a 4 minute climb for anyone. That's less than 1 m/s (2.23mph)!

Short, steep hills are about gaining momentum at the bottom, and then standing and cranking early to keep as much of it as you can. Downshift as your legs start to bog down, but you should run out of hill before you run out of gears. Sit and catch your breath at the top.

There's a short, steep hill like that near my house. Our group typically sprint/races to the top and then regroups on the flat.

Youre right. People who make it to the top already have momentum, (they start farther back from me), I start from the base at slow pace so its more difficult.

but steep hills are difficult for me, and this one is too long for me to stand.

frenchyge said:

To Lonnie: Well, now that you mention it I guess I'm not positive either. The OP did call it a "short, 4-minute rise." I guess that could mean that it's 2km in length and someone's riding it at 30km/h, but that seems pretty quick for a 10% grade.

Its not 4 minute , I dont know how long.

[quote="sam218"]I have 3 questions, 1) I see people climb up a 200 meter 10% grade fast
near my house (I cant finish it). Does this imply some sort of ability?
(strength? high lactate threshold)?

Sorry i dont know the length but its 12-15% grade. short (15+ minutes climb).

sam218 said:

I have 3 questions, 1) I see people climb up a 200 meter 10% grade fast near my house (I cant finish it). Does this imply some sort of ability? (strength? high lactate threshold)?

sam218 said:

Well its steep, so my rpm drops- I guess I need a triple, or to develop lots of power. But this short 4 minute rise is totally different from long climbs. People who are good on this short rise may not be good on the longer ones, I think.

sam218 said:

Youre right. People who make it to the top already have momentum, (they start farther back from me), I start from the base at slow pace so its more difficult.

but steep hills are difficult for me, and this one is too long for me to stand.

sam218 said:

Sorry i dont know the length but its 12-15% grade. short (15+ minutes climb).

Sam,

It's very difficult to answer a question where the information keep changing. If you want some specifics on what to do here, I would suggest getting us a distance and elevation gain data as suggested by an earlier poster. I think then you'll get a better answer to your question and we won't have to guess at what you are tying to tell us.

L

[quote="sam218"]

sam218 said:

I have 3 questions, 1) I see people climb up a 200 meter 10% grade fast
near my house (I cant finish it). Does this imply some sort of ability?
(strength? high lactate threshold)?

Sorry i dont know the length but its 12-15% grade. short (15+ minutes climb).

frenchyge said:

Well ok, thanks. I'd think they'd ride a triple chainring or something before they got off and walked. Do they stay in a paceline while walking? :p

They have to! If they loose the draft, they'll be right off the back and will have to use the cars to get back to the walking pack! [img]cyclingforums.combiggrin.gifOpen ↗[/img]

sam218 said:

Youre right. People who make it to the top already have momentum, (they start farther back from me), I start from the base at slow pace so its more difficult.

but steep hills are difficult for me, and this one is too long for me to stand.

Use that to your advantage. I learned to get farther back in the pack and let people pull me as far as they want uphill until it gets too slow. There's typically an "accordinan" effect on climbs and descents. You'll see the paceline bunch up as the front slows up and the rear is still moving at the same pace...then at the top of the climb, the accordinan lengthens again as the front of the pack accelerates back down the hill while the back of the pack is still finishing the climb at a slower pace. When it starts to slow down, pull off and attack to get up with some of the guys who are moving faster. If the guys in front of you don't do the same, you'll put a few seconds on them - just might be enough to stick on someone's wheel for the duration of the climb 🙂