Feathers

a garmin 305 belonging to a fellow rider says hills we've climbed are at a 26% and now i don't know whether that device provides an accurate measure or not.

Neil_B

Yes, you are right.

Tom Stormcrowe

Because it would be an additional equation?

This way, it's a simple Algebra slope formula with 2 known variables, and to convert to degrees, you'd have to use trig.

rise/run=slope or grade.

Now, it can get more interesting as well an figure out sections of a variable slope as well, with either integral notation (More compact, below), using a combination of formula, IIRC, or a whole combination series of datapoints in a polynomial expression. I may not have the notation exactly right, I acknowlege.....



∫▒〖a⃡b〗( y=mX+b)
m=y₂-y₁/x₂-x₁

deraltekluge

That depends on whether you're a mathematician or a real person.

deraltekluge

The slope is just the tangent of the angle...you can convert back and forth as desired. Use a calculator to find tangents and arctangents. The Windows calculator can be set to "Scientific" in its "View" menu, and then can do those conversions. If you have the slope in %, just divide by 100, check the "Inv" box, then click "tan". It'll give the angle in radians or in degrees.

Zin

A regular ride of mine near my home is the Red Rocks State Park just west of Denver. The roads on the inside of the park are generally steep. Average grade for my normal route is 10%. It does have one short nasty section that is 15% and several 1/4 mile sections of 13%.

Short-n-steep is one thing. How about 6% for 18 miles. Nothing like a good 2 hour climb to get your heart pumping. Juniper Squaw Pass just outside of Evergreen, CO.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. I did "The Hilly Hundred" in southern Indiana in 2006. Several interesting climbs on this ride. The "BIG CLIMB" is a hill they call MT. TABOR which is right at 22% for about 1/8th of a mile.

tomdaniels

+100.

I cut my adult biking teeth getting in and out of the wabash valley. I tended to take the back way into campus under the coal chute, but have done many others. The other side of the valley is just as grueling. In a few months though, I gained a lot of strength by commuting 3 times/week. One climb in the morning and another in the afternoon as we lived across the valley from Purdue.

I pounded so hard on my old navigator that I needed lots of warranty work. The crew at Hodson's Bay in West Lafayette were awesome in this regard.

StephenH

While living in Colorado for several years, I don't think I ever saw a marked grade greater than 12%. That was on a gravel road, seems like I went up it in first or second gear in the Escort.

Things can seem a lot steeper than they are, both in hiking and in riding. The local bike path has one little swoop where it goes through a low-water-crossing that I measured at 20% maximum. But that's only 8 or 10 feet vertically, so it's no problem on a bike, more so on a unicycle.

FZ1Tom

I've decided to resurrect this thread since I had apparently exxagerated a bit asking about balance riding up a short but steep stretch of trail at an RR crossing. Hey, no one's perfect.

Someone mentioned all the steep roads were on the East Coast....uh, no

I can't think of anything here in Missouri right offhand, but in Arkansas, where I lived for 11 years, I can think of 3 good and tough climbs: AR 7 south up Roundtop Mtn south of Jasper (3.5 miles, 7 percent. Driven this many, many times), AR 309 up Mount Magazine, at 2753' the highest point in the state of Arkansas. AR 309 rises up out of the Arkansas River valley, which is about 400 feet at this point at Paris, AR and climbs 2300 feet to the summit.

The nastiest one is probably Mt Nebo State Park, just west of Dardanelle. I found this link searching on Google, and it seems very informative https://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=10995
it has route maps and grade info for a number of climbs. 3.5 miles at an average grade of 18 percent!

Tom