Incline % calculation

Quoted post said:

How does one calculate the % incline during a ride.

Go buy a Heat rate moitor with altituds sensor eg(Polar S710 ) and buy me on too 😉

Quoted post said:

During the Tour you heard that they were doing a 10% climb over 2km, etc. How does this work?

It means the average gradient of that 2k climb was 10%.

Got a S720. It does not give you the average climbed. How do you calculate the 10% avg. Do I take the mtrs. climbed/distance or distance/mtrs climbed?

Good question.............. ???

Climb length = 12km
alt gained = 800m

Would this be a 6.6% gradient?

Steve - quite right.

Gradient is calculated: height gained (vertical) / distance ridden (horizontal). It's a percentage so don't forget to multiply by 100...

Ewep: 10% for 2km would be a 200m gain in vertical height (doesn't sound like a lot but 10% is an evil gradient).

10% = 200m/2000m

I have also wondered this for quite a while........i understand the "altitude gained" part of the equation, but is the "distance covered"=distance on the road, or horizontal distance?

Quoted post said:

I have also wondered this for quite a while........i understand the "altitude gained" part of the equation, but is the "distance covered"=distance on the road, or horizontal distance?

Formula for gradient = dy/dx ; which are perpendicular measurements,
therefore:
gradient equals (change in vertical height) divided by (change in horizontal distance).

But it doesn't really make that much difference for small angles like 10%. See what I mean by drawing a 90° triangle with a 10cm horizontal base and 1cm vertical height. Measure the hypotenuese (diagonal) and compare it to the 10cm base.  😉

To figure grade percentages:

http://www.computrainer.com/images/grade.jpg