bikecommuter13

I have been using strava to record my commute. On one of the segments, on the top left of the screen it shows: 0.7 mi 69ft 1.4%. I am guessing it's 69ft elevation and 1.4 degree gradient. Is that right?

1.4 degree doesn't sound much. But I think I am using 34/24 gear when I get to the top of the hill. And I will be panting. My best speed so far is 18.9 mph (I must have hit all the lights at that time).

Should I train myself to use bigger gear? What gear do you guys use in a similar climb?

ThermionicScott 

Use whatever gear that makes you want to repeat the experience.

superdex

first things first: CONGRATS on the commute. Keep it up

Now, 1.4% is NOT the same as 1.4 degrees. Percent grade is rise/run: if you rise 2 feet after going 100ft down the road, that's a 2% grade. That section is interpreted as, "you rose 69 ft over the last .7 mile"


+1 above, whatever keeps you coming back for more

MichaelW

1.4% is not very steep, but 18.9mph is very quick.

TenSpeedV2

Worry less about Strava and more about just pedaling. I used to use Strava to track all that stuff and I found myself so wrapped up in it and constantly thinking about it that I had to just delete it from my phone. I use a Cateye GPS computer to track my miles and it will show overall max speed, but that is it. The ride becomes more enjoyable if you can just ride.

GovernorSilver

Are you referring to that graph that is below the segment summary (avg and max speed, elevation gain, etc.) and above the map that shows the segment?

When you hover your mouse over the graph, it tells you want the grade was at that exact point of the segment.

The gear I use depends on the length of the climb. For little rises on the MUP I ride on, I stay in my higher gears and just stand to power through. If the incline is more than a quarter of a mile (no I don't go by exact measurement) I tend to shift down and stay seated, using cadence to climb.

My commute ride is the only "training" I do regularly on my bike. I've been getting a little stronger just by continuing to ride to work regularly. I only commute by bike 1-2 times a week, so my lower body gets enough recovery time to build up. I see cyclists pedaling hard on the MUPs I ride on all the time, but it's not my style. The scenery in the morning is too beautiful to waste. I'd rather get up earlier and plan for a longer ride than be in a rush.

I guess if you want to improve your climbing times, maybe you should hook up with cyclists who are more into racing, so they can coach you on this kind of stuff. Try meetup.com, cycling forums for your region, etc. to find these cyclists.

andr0id

If it's indicating percent, that's the grade which is much more commonly used than degrees when it comes to roads.

It means you gaing 1.4 ft/meters/parsecs of altitude for every 100 feet/meters/parsecs of horizontal distance.

Neither 1.4% or 1.4 degrees should be particularly difficult for the average person.

Roads start to feel "uphill" around 4 or 5% and start to feel steep around 8%. Really steep stand out of the pedals is probably 10% and up depending on the rider.

Here's a handy converter.

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/sl...de-d_1562.html

alan s 

I use the gear that allows me to spin at a cadence of around 90.

zabaran

I have to say the same as alan s. I always spin at ~90 cadence (Your pedals go around 90 times a minute)

If you have the inclination to buy a cadence sensor that's great especially for steeper hills so you can make sure you're spinning properly.
If not, try to get a feel for what is 90 cadence. You might need a stop watch or try it on a bike in the gym. Then after that try to replicate that outdoors.

bikecommuter13

OK. Thanks for the tips. When I hover on the graph on strava.com website, I see that there are about 0.4 miles of 4% grade hill there. I once contemplated on getting a single speed bike, but was afraid it would be too hard for hills like this.


P.S.:
I pedaled very hard this morning and chose a bigger gear. My speed was only 14.9 mph. I don't know why I did so fast before. I think it must be the lights. I broke many personal records on the other segments this morning...

Matariki

Red lights can certainly effect one's average speed.

ShortLegCyclist

GPS tracking can lose your signal and the pick it up again and give you credit for moving that distance in a very, very short time period, so don't believe every speed reading you see.

GovernorSilver

You did better than I did last night on a comparable segment: 0.4 miles, initial grade 2.4%, final grade 4.3%, max grade 5.3%. Avg. speed was about 8 mph with a max of 14. I didn't pedal hard though because, as always, I save my legs for the climb to my house, which starts at 9% grade and levels off to around 7%.

I have less than 3 months lifetime cycling experience, so no way I was going to get a fixie anyway. But I'm glad I didn't get a single speed either.

I say to try getting some tips from racers because maybe there's something you could improve technique-wise, like timing your gear shifts, pedaling technique, starting technique, acceleration, etc. You may not want to get into racing yourself, but you seem to have a great desire to improve your commuting speed and this is where those guys/gals can help.

HardyWeinberg

I am glad mytracks doesn't estimate grades, I don't want to know.

kickstart

Strava, the club ride for introverts.

ThermionicScott 

grolby

People sure love turning their subjective experiences into prescriptions for everyone else to follow.

TenSpeedV2

No one has to follow it. Instead of getting wrapped up in the app and the tech and this and that, get on the damn bike and just ride it. Ride it up the hill, like they have done for how many years now?

DiabloScott

I only have one gear.

Well, technically I guess two... but they're both the same and I never use the other one.

TenSpeedV2

One gear rider here most of the time, and it is usually the wrong one for what I am riding.

Riveting

Isn't one side a freewheel and the other side is a fixed gear? If so, then not the same.

tjspiel

I think he meant that the number of teeth are the same. I also have a fixie with flip flop hub that's never been flip-flopped. Mine isn't nearly as clean as his but the cogs are the same size (as each other). There's enough room on my dropouts that one could possibly be 1 tooth bigger without needing more chain... Maybe.

Funny how people adapt. I'll drop quite a few gears on the few hills there are on my commute when riding my geared bikes. Yet on the fixie I just ride up. Definitely spend more time out of the saddle though.

grolby

You say "the ride becomes more enjoyable," like that's some fact of nature for everyone. It's not.

HardyWeinberg

I rode a fixed century once with a LOT of climbing and everybody flew past me on the descents but then I passed them all again climbing up the next roller. On the one hand I couldn't shift up to chase them down the hills, on the other I couldn't shift down to climb back up.

snow_echo_NY

+1 on alan s and zabaran - i aim for cadence 85-100. when i started doing this i ended up shaving 2 minutes off a 19 minute 5-mile ride to 17 min. that's crazy fast to me, i have been cycling for months without any time improvement.

a local cyclist wrote this: Bike Shifting and Cadence 101 | ACTIVE and that's how i learned a bit about it.