terrymorse 

Because then you can go faster.

PeteHski

I thought the aim of this thread was to design a bike to climb the steepest of hills. Making it harder would seem counter-intuitive to me.

rosefarts

10 seconds on google revealed this 6lb bike.

https://www.redbull.com/in-en/check-...stom-road-bike

Pretty hard to argue with that up a hill.

I wonder how it descends? Since most hills also go back down.

JohnnyRingo

Great question!

Maelochs

As usual, BF regulars commandeer the thread, the OP's actual intent is never clarified, and OP runs screaming into the distance to escape from the horror he has created.

There are no radically different designs for bicycle hill-climbing ... because of limited human power output, the basic diamond frame is still the best---ultra-long chain stays like ultra-long motorcycle swing arms offer no advantage .... humans cannot climb the near-vertical walls bikes with dozens of time the power can manage.

At some point, the ultra-tiny front/ultra-huge rear gearing becomes pointless because you cannot balance and pedal much below about 2 mph, even on the flats (yeah, it is possible on the flats ... but not too much fun and not while using big power (in my experience---anyone who has video of some person riding up a 35% grade at 1.5 mph, please post.)

Even the World-Tour pros, when riding up the occasional ~30% grade, are using 34x34 or so .....

prj71

It's always the rider. Not the bike.

terrymorse 

See this guy climbing Fargo (32%) on a tricked out bike with a 7.5" gear. He's going slower than walking speed:

curbtender

Nothing wrong with running a triple. Pretty much why they were made.

big john

The L.A. Wheelmen ran a yearly event there since the 80s, I think. Our club sometimes went to spectate and some would try it. One of my friends rode straight up it on a 42x23 gear. I never tried it. Back then everyone did it on their regular road bikes.

These days people build bikes just for that event, like the one in the video with a jackshaft. I've even seen ElliptiGO things go up.

Last time I went there I was with a friend who mentors juniors at the velodrome and brings them on club rides sometimes. One of the young trackies went straight up 5 times on a 39x25 gear. Probably the most impressive I've seen. He did it 4 times and we were getting ready to leave and he wanted to climb it one more time.

I did climb Balcom Canyon 3 times over the years. 2 of those climbs were when the ATOC was climbing it as part of the race route. It has a bit of 23% in the 1K climb. I did it on triples with 30x25. One time the crowd was waiting for the race to come and a friend came out of the crowd and pushed me for a ways. When he stopped pushing it was like I had thrown out an anchor.

A pic from the ATOC above the 23% section.

livedarklions

Because the OP wants what the OP wants, and not what you want?

You can work just as hard on a high performance bike, you just go faster. That's true at all fitness levels.

Maelochs

That seems to be exactly what the OP asked for.

And also ... . absolute proof that Old Guys Rule! (If they know good welders.)

Amazed he went that straight, that slowly .... with narrow little bars.

Eric F 

Personally, I look at hill climbing as an exercise, and (frequently, but not always) try to do it as fast as I can. Not only is it productive aerobic work to improve my fitness level, but going fast is fun. Riding a bike that helps me go a little faster is funnerer.

EDIT: Intentionally making a bike harder to ride up hill as a method of increasing the exercise benefit sounds like a terrible idea (IMO, YMMV).

genejockey 

Isn't it about time for another "Doesn't a heavier bike give you a better workout?" thread? Do we have no recent noobs who think they've figured out something everyone else is missing?

genejockey 

Mind you, if you lived in Florida and wanted to compete someplace that has more than one line on a topo map, you might do something like that. It's either that or ride everywhere in 53x11.

Eric F 

Fake miles on a smart trainer, FTW!

PeteHski

Fake miles that often need several days of IRL recovery!

genejockey 

My sister lives in Florida. She's got a beach cruiser bike. Her husband wanted her to get something with gears. She asked, "Why?"

He didn't have an answer.

Eric F 

LOL - Perfect.

genejockey 

I mentioned how much climbing I do on an average ride, and said that if I did that in Florida, I'd be about 1000 feet in the air above the highest point in the state.

wolfchild

Harder doesn't mean slower...When i attack a hill on my SS or FG I try to get as much momentum as I can and go up as fast as I can. ..Aren't you the guy who also rides a SS mountain bike ?. You're not making it easier on yourself....IME climbing hills on a SS can be pretty damn hard.

PeteHski

Well it is slower for whatever effort you choose to put in. You can make climbing hills pretty damn hard on any bike.

livedarklions

You're the one who's advocating making it "harder". What the hell does that actually mean? Everyone needs to climb on a SS? The point is what you said actually made no sense. No matter what you are riding, there's always a way to make it more difficult. That's true no matter how many gears you have.

ofajen

This would be like my own, personal Hell. I haven’t the slightest patience for riding that slow up a hill in the saddle. But clearly he is having a great time!

Otto

Eric F 

I ride a lot of different bikes. One of them is a SS MTB. Another one is a geared MTB. I like riding the SS because it’s different, and helps me keep a fresh mindset about all my bikes. The SS demands a different effort for climbing (usually a slower cadence, more pedal force). I guess you could consider that “harder”. I have made efforts to make that bike light, efficient, and fast, within the SS framework, because fast is fun. That said, riding challenging terrain with the limitations of a SS has made me a better rider on all my bikes.

wolfchild

You said it not me.