Climbing grade
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Originaly Liverpool, currently Greensboro, NC
Posts: 337
Bikes: LeMond-Nevada City
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Climbing grade
I have Google map and I found the hill I ride. How do I work out the % grade
#3
Carpe Diem
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: MABRA
Posts: 13,149
Bikes: 2007 CAAD9; 2014 CAADX; PedalForce CG1
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Short version: Grade = (Change in vertical)/(Change in Horizontal)
Long version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_%28slope%29
Long version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_%28slope%29
__________________
"When you are chewing the bars at the business end of a 90 mile road race you really dont care what gear you have hanging from your bike so long as it works."
ΛΧΑ ΔΞ179 - 15% off your first Hammer Nutrition order!
"When you are chewing the bars at the business end of a 90 mile road race you really dont care what gear you have hanging from your bike so long as it works."
ΛΧΑ ΔΞ179 - 15% off your first Hammer Nutrition order!
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Originaly Liverpool, currently Greensboro, NC
Posts: 337
Bikes: LeMond-Nevada City
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Sorry, Google earth. So I found my hill. Bottom of hill is 775ft and the top is 807. The distance is 935 ft. How do I work out the %
Thanks
Thanks
#5
Calamari to go
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Falls Church, VA
Posts: 3,113
Bikes: Trek 750
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
vert: 807 - 775 = 32 feet
horz: 935 ft
grade = vert/horz: 32 / 935 = .034 = 3.4% grade
edited - to change architectural terms to something more conventional.
horz: 935 ft
grade = vert/horz: 32 / 935 = .034 = 3.4% grade
edited - to change architectural terms to something more conventional.
#6
----
Originally Posted by cc_rider
rise: 807 - 775 = 32 feet
run: 935 ft
grade = rise/run: 32 / 935 = .034 = 3.4% grade
run: 935 ft
grade = rise/run: 32 / 935 = .034 = 3.4% grade
bingo!
#7
Making a kilometer blurry
Easy way out: find the hill at https://www.toporoute.com and map just the hill. Click "Elevation" and read the stats at the top.
Be careful with short (<100ft) sections, as it seems the data are not suitable for accuracy at that level.
One note on Google Earth is that the distance measured is path distance, not horizontal distance. So, it's measuring the hypotenuse, and you want the base of the triangle. If you change the exaggeration, you will see the distance change. At 3.4%, the difference is small, but as you get steeper, this starts to have a bigger impact.
Be careful with short (<100ft) sections, as it seems the data are not suitable for accuracy at that level.
One note on Google Earth is that the distance measured is path distance, not horizontal distance. So, it's measuring the hypotenuse, and you want the base of the triangle. If you change the exaggeration, you will see the distance change. At 3.4%, the difference is small, but as you get steeper, this starts to have a bigger impact.
#8
Carpe Diem
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: MABRA
Posts: 13,149
Bikes: 2007 CAAD9; 2014 CAADX; PedalForce CG1
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Originally Posted by waterrockets
One note on Google Earth is that the distance measured is path distance, not horizontal distance. So, it's measuring the hypotenuse, and you want the base of the triangle. If you change the exaggeration, you will see the distance change. At 3.4%, the difference is small, but as you get steeper, this starts to have a bigger impact.
__________________
"When you are chewing the bars at the business end of a 90 mile road race you really dont care what gear you have hanging from your bike so long as it works."
ΛΧΑ ΔΞ179 - 15% off your first Hammer Nutrition order!
"When you are chewing the bars at the business end of a 90 mile road race you really dont care what gear you have hanging from your bike so long as it works."
ΛΧΑ ΔΞ179 - 15% off your first Hammer Nutrition order!
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Northern California
Posts: 10,879
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 104 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times
in
5 Posts
Originally Posted by bdcheung
A point also covered in my cited Wiki article. Indeed, there is a difference between the tangent angle measurement and the cosine.