"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Can only climb 9-12 mph.

well I live in the Ozarks and just got an Allez. Whenever I reach a hill I tend to power right up to the base of it then try and keep my cadence at 90.

I shift down whenever it starts to drop. Anything between 5-9 percent grade I seem to be able to keep about 12 mph for about 3 min. We have a few crazy hills from 10-20 percent grade and I seem to usually be able to keep 8-9 mph.

I stay in the saddle a lot as well.

I just want to know if that is decent climbing speed or if not how much I should try and improve it by April when races get going.

And what's wrong with that???

There are all sorts of snarky answers awaiting, but I will give this a go.

First, enjoy the Allez. Second, if you like to power up to the base and you feel (or better yet, have tested) that your optimal climbing cadence is 90, then good for you. Keep it up and always strive to improve. I will bite on the climbing speed and say "yes." Why not? Of course, I am answering the question as posed. Should you want to know if it will be enough for racing, you won't find your answer here. Find it in the races.

Finally, please try to move away from average speeds and gross generalizations. 8-9mph on a 10% grade requires much less power than would the same speed on a 20% grade, and for you to generalize that you can hold that speed for 3 minutes tells very little. What happens after 3 minutes? Do you continue at 7.9 mph, or do you have to stop and rest for 2 hours? You leave a lot out.

However, I may be wasting my time answering because in reality, if your end goal is to race, then go race, and tell us if is a decent climbing speed. And if/when you are ready to talk power/weight ratio, then maybe we can discuss expected improvements with training.

There are all sorts of snarky answers awaiting, but I will give this a go.

Number one being, that this is a perfect example of a thread that doesn't really belong in the racing forum...


well I live in the Ozarks and just got an Allez. Whenever I reach a hill I tend to power right up to the base of it then try and keep my cadence at 90.

I shift down whenever it starts to drop. Anything between 5-9 percent grade I seem to be able to keep about 12 mph for about 3 min. We have a few crazy hills from 10-20 percent grade and I seem to usually be able to keep 8-9 mph.

These numbers are all fairly meaningless. If you want a number to try to compare yourself to, ascent rate would be much better than average speed. Calculate how many feet you climb per minute and that will give you a rough idea of your power output. Still won't tell you if it is a "decent climbing speed" with respect to any concept of racing. That depends entirely on your competition.

And what's wrong with that???


I think he is too fast..

i'd love to see you go 8-9 mph up a 20% grade

Ok, so this thread is a perfect example of the "41 leakage." On one hand it's really not a racing question, but on the other hand it does at least mention racing as the OP wants to know if he is "good enough." If we say that ok this is a legitimate racing question, then the lame posts by Doohickie and 10 Wheels are also proof of the leakage. Either way, it's stupid road forum crap leaking in.

Edit: Maybe I'm a little too uptight right now but I'm waiting for my wife to get off the phone with her brother right now :notamused:

I jumped in. Get a life. Quit coasting.

i'd love to see you go 8-9 mph up a 20% grade

Using analytic cycling, it's about 7.3 W/kg to go 8mph up a 20% grade, and about 8.1 W/kg for 9mph. My best ever 1 minute power was about 8.7 W/kg.

I jumped in. Get a life. Quit coasting.

STFU old man

Mr Old Man... Sonny

I think it's not such a bad racing-oriented question.

umd already gave some good numbers.

From my own experience, climbing a local 7.x% climb at around 9mph is just over 4 w/kg, as measured by my powermeter.

If you can really maintain the speeds you're quoting, you're definitely ready for racing.

I am, however, a little suspicious of your numbers (they sound very high for someone who's asking such a basic question) - you might want to make sure both your speed measurements and the grades you're quoting are accurate.

i think it's not such a bad racing-oriented question.

Umd already gave some good numbers.

From my own experience, climbing a local 7.x% climb at around 9mph is just over 4 w/kg, as measured by my powermeter.

if you can really maintain the speeds you're quoting, you're definitely ready for racing.

i am, however, a little suspicious of your numbers (they sound very high for someone who's asking such a basic question) - you might want to make sure both your speed measurements and the grades you're quoting are accurate.


41

Ok, so this thread is a perfect example of the "41 leakage." On one hand it's really not a racing question, but on the other hand it does at least mention racing as the OP wants to know if he is "good enough." If we say that ok this is a legitimate racing question, then the lame posts by Doohickie and 10 Wheels are also proof of the leakage. Either way, it's stupid road forum crap leaking in.

Edit: Maybe I'm a little too uptight right now but I'm waiting for my wife to get off the phone with her brother right now :notam used:

correct.

http://www.susangould.co.uk/41-you-are-one-step-away-fr.gif..

The main problem with this kind of question is that, a) Few people are able to estimate with any precision the steepness of the grades they climb, and b) few people are able to estimate with any precision their actual ability to sustain a given speed over a given period of time without at least some experience. And that's on FLAT ground. So, for that and many other reasons, "I can go at X speed" doesn't mean much when it comes to assessing your actual racing ability. You generally need to race to find out.

Big picture: you just got a road bike and you can climb 20% grades without walking? You're going to be OK, you don't have to be SuperMan (or even Bicycle Repair Man ;)) to handle entry-level racing. Keep on training, and focus on your group-riding skills if you haven't got those down already. After you have a few races under your belt, you'll probably be able to identify which areas need work the most.

Bigger picture, what noobs think are 20% grades are usually closer to 5% :innocent:

Bigger picture, what noobs think are 20% grades are usually closer to 5% :innocent:

They should get inclinometers so they can quantify their suffering :D

Actually, we have an infamous climb here that is mostly 12% with peaks of 16-17%, and I'm usually down around 5-6mph on that one, so my hat's off to anyone who can go 9mph up anything that steep.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff237/mechBgon/fast.jpg

Don't get up on 10 Wheels!

Using analytic cycling, it's about 7.3 W/kg to go 8mph up a 20% grade, and about 8.1 W/kg for 9mph. My best ever 1 minute power was about 8.7 W/kg.

i was referring to the op, not a well trained rider like yourself.

i was referring to the op, not a well trained rider like yourself.

Oh I knew what you meant, I was illustrating your point. ;)

Wow, nice dude. You're totally gonna clean up, man.

(That's fast if true.)

Ok, so this thread is a perfect example of the "41 leakage." On one hand it's really not a racing question, but on the other hand it does at least mention racing as the OP wants to know if he is "good enough." If we say that ok this is a legitimate racing question, then the lame posts by Doohickie and 10 Wheels are also proof of the leakage. Either way, it's stupid road forum crap leaking in.

Edit: Maybe I'm a little too uptight right now but I'm waiting for my wife to get off the phone with her brother right now :notamused:
Oh, just chill. My answer was serious. Sounds like he's doin' pretty good up those hills. Sorry, can't help with your wife and her brother.

But I'm not wrong.

the problem with these threads is verifying the grade of the road. I dont doubt the OP is doing 9 - 12mph. I do doubt that he is on roads up to 20% for 3 minutes.

Also, in a race you have the motivation factor ... lol I'm always faster in a race than when I'm training.

speed < power/weight.

I am, however, a little suspicious of your numbers (they sound very high for someone who's asking such a basic question) - you might want to make sure both your speed measurements and the grades you're quoting are accurate.[/QUOTE]

Almost all the hills over 8 percent grade around me have average grade signs only over 14 percent am I just guessing at the hills' gradient. after about 3 min of 90 cadence while climbing I start to burn out and slow to about 6-70 rpm and drop to about 5-6 mph at best. also I have lived here my entire life so hills are all I really know if that makes any difference.

Almost all the hills over 8 percent grade around me have average grade signs only over 14 percent am I just guessing at the hills' gradient. after about 3 min of 90 cadence while climbing I start to burn out and slow to about 6-70 rpm and drop to about 5-6 mph at best. also I have lived here my entire life so hills are all I really know if that makes any difference.

No, that doesn't really make any difference. People still way overestimate grades. Also the signs that say the grade are maximum not average grade. Really the only reasonable way to get the average grade is to get the elevation and the start and end of the climb and the distance traveled. I think you will find that the hills are not as steep or as long as you think they are.

And still, if the question is ultimately is that good enough to race, then there is no answer but to try it and see. Alternatively, find a group of people who race and ride up a climb with them and see if you can keep up.

it would be simpler if you just posted one of your rides on mapmyride or some other mapping program.

Ok, so this thread is a perfect example of the "41 leakage." On one hand it's really not a racing question, but on the other hand it does at least mention racing as the OP wants to know if he is "good enough." If we say that ok this is a legitimate racing question, then the lame posts by Doohickie and 10 Wheels are also proof of the leakage. Either way, it's stupid road forum crap leaking in.

Edit: Maybe I'm a little too uptight right now but I'm waiting for my wife to get off the phone with her brother right now :notamused:

It is just a message board.

just to give an example:

The Whiteface hill climb race is 8 miles at 8 percent average grade. Completing the race at 9 mph would yield a time of 53:20, good for 19th place out of over 200. 10 mph would yield 48:00, good for third place. 11 mph win the race at 43:39 and put you in "strong cat 1" territory. Based on 2009 results.

did you do it?

It is just a message board.

What's your point? I was giving an example of the "leakage" that the doc was referring to in his recent post/rant.

I was thinking about it. It's a long ass drive for me to pay 60 bucks for a time trial and I bailed. I figured I could have broken the hour, but not by all that much. Maybe 56-ish. Hopefully this year I'll have more w/kg.

If you go you're welcome to stay with me. The spring event always seems to conflict with something better, but the autumn one is usually a free weekend.

I might take you up on it :)

It is just a message board.


If you go you're welcome to stay with me. The spring event always seems to conflict with something better, but the autumn one is usually a free weekend.


I might take you up on it :)

clearly there's something more going on here.

But I'm not wrong.

But it's not about you.

But it's not about you.

Do you have a point, or anything useful to add to the topic? Why are you bothering to spend time in the racing forum? I don't hang out in the recumbent forum and make smart-ass comments.

well I live in the Ozarks and just got an Allez. Whenever I reach a hill I tend to power right up to the base of it then try and keep my cadence at 90.

I shift down whenever it starts to drop. Anything between 5-9 percent grade I seem to be able to keep about 12 mph for about 3 min. We have a few crazy hills from 10-20 percent grade and I seem to usually be able to keep 8-9 mph.

I stay in the saddle a lot as well.

I just want to know if that is decent climbing speed or if not how much I should try and improve it by April when races get going.

If you can't average 17 mph on 5+ mile 10% average grade climbs there is no future for you in this sport, hang it up.

If you can't average 17 mph on 5+ mile 10% average grade climbs there is no future for you in this sport, hang it up.

OK, did he buy it? Is he still here?

No. He decided to leave because a mortal cannot look upon the face of a god, such as you pcad, and survive.

Seriously, just post a mapmyride of your route.

No. He decided to leave because a mortal cannot look upon the face of a god, such as you pcad, and survive.

At least you used god with a lower case 'g', so maybe I won't get struck by lightning tomorrow.

Do you have a point, or anything useful to add to the topic? Why are you bothering to spend time in the racing forum? I don't hang out in the recumbent forum and make smart-ass comments.

Look, I had a point in response to the first post. And you got all "41 LEAKAGE"!!!!1!!!!11!! OMG. You're the one that started trolling. You're the one that's stirring up trouble. I started out just commenting on the OP until you got here and started whining. So you can't keep "the wrong king of people" out of your little club, huh? Well guess what? It's NOT your little club. It's a public forum.

So stuff it.

Look, I had a point in response to the first post. And you got all "41 LEAKAGE"!!!!1!!!!11!! OMG. You're the one that started trolling. You're the one that's stirring up trouble. I started out just commenting on the OP until you got here and started whining. So you can't keep "the wrong king of people" out of your little club, huh? Well guess what? It's NOT your little club. It's a public forum.

So stuff it.

You're not actually saying anything. I've actually provided useful information in this thread, what have you done? Seriously, what are you still doing here?

Seriously, just post a mapmyride of your route.

At least in my area, mapmyride is not always accurate. I have been on numerous rides where the mapmyride total elevation gain is x, yet some of the riders on the rides w/ garmins end up with 1.5x or even 2x. Maybe that is just around here though...

You're not actually saying anything. I've actually provided useful information in this thread, what have you done? Seriously, what are you still doing here?

Dude, if you would just let it go, I might drop it. But every time you whine, I'll be ready to respond. You're posting just as much noise in the thread as I am. Want it to stop? IGNORE ME.