Hill Grades?
10-02-06 | 07:17 PM
#2
Out fishing with Annie on his lap, a cigar in one hand and a ginger ale in the other, watching the sunset.
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From: South Florida
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Smple slope formula rise/run ex: 100 feet rise an 250 feet distance is steep!
100ft/250ft=0.4 or a 40% Grade, a cliff with a vertical drop is undefined grade because you can't divide by 0, and a 7% grade = 7ft rise in 100 feet traveled
100ft/250ft=0.4 or a 40% Grade, a cliff with a vertical drop is undefined grade because you can't divide by 0, and a 7% grade = 7ft rise in 100 feet traveled
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. “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”- Fredrick Nietzsche
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - Immanuel Kant
10-03-06 | 12:54 PM
#3
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From: Northern California
You need to know both the grade and the length of the grade. Some people brag about 30% grades, but if they are only 10 feet long, they are over in just 1 or 2 pedal strokes. On a long climb, the average grade over 1 mile or more is much more interesting. Few paved roads (anywhere in the world) are steeper than 10% for more than 2 miles. In the USA, I believe the interstate highways and railroad tracks are never steeper than 6% for any distance.
On the other hand, sometimes you see stuff like this on state highways:
State Highway 108 in eastern California.
On the other hand, sometimes you see stuff like this on state highways:
State Highway 108 in eastern California.
10-03-06 | 01:59 PM
#4
Making a kilometer blurry
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From: Austin (near TX)
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Originally Posted by Tom Stormcrowe
Smple slope formula rise/run ex: 100 feet rise an 250 feet distance is steep!
100ft/250ft=0.4 or a 40% Grade, a cliff with a vertical drop is undefined grade because you can't divide by 0, and a 7% grade = 7ft rise in 100 feet traveled
100ft/250ft=0.4 or a 40% Grade, a cliff with a vertical drop is undefined grade because you can't divide by 0, and a 7% grade = 7ft rise in 100 feet traveled
10-03-06 | 02:03 PM
#5
You got Madoned!
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From: Rio Rancho, NM
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Grades are like "fun ratings". If a hill has a 1% grade, it is going to be very little fun. If a hill has a 10% grade, well, that hill will be like 10 X more fun.
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10-03-06 | 09:26 PM
#7
As a general guide:
5% is a hill (as opposed to a roller, or a slight upgrade)
10% is a steep hill. Most riders will drop down to their lowest gears.
15% is a really steep hill. Even with low gearing (say, 30-25), some/many riders will need to tack back and forth and/or stand
20% is super steep. Almost everybody will have to tack.
Some riders who would be riding their first century might need to walk on a 10%
5% is a hill (as opposed to a roller, or a slight upgrade)
10% is a steep hill. Most riders will drop down to their lowest gears.
15% is a really steep hill. Even with low gearing (say, 30-25), some/many riders will need to tack back and forth and/or stand
20% is super steep. Almost everybody will have to tack.
Some riders who would be riding their first century might need to walk on a 10%
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Eric
2005 Trek 5.2 Madone, Red with Yellow Flames (Beauty)
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Eric
2005 Trek 5.2 Madone, Red with Yellow Flames (Beauty)
199x Lemond Tourmalet, Yellow with fenders (Beast)
Read my cycling blog at https://riderx.info/blogs/riderx
Like climbing? Goto https://www.bicycleclimbs.com
10-03-06 | 10:27 PM
#10
Legs of Steel
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Originally Posted by voltman
I give all hills an F. All of them.
i love hills...too bad I'm not good at climbing them (i'm 245lbs)
come to florida and you will quickly miss the hills...i can ride 50 miles and only gain 250 ft in elevation...it is freaking boring.
10-03-06 | 10:32 PM
#11
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Originally Posted by munkyv22
Grades are like "fun ratings". If a hill has a 1% grade, it is going to be very little fun. If a hill has a 10% grade, well, that hill will be like 10 X more fun.
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10-03-06 | 11:05 PM
#12
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From: In the middle of horse country, in The Garden State
Originally Posted by Viceroy
Only if you are going down said hill.
10-04-06 | 12:14 AM
#14
climber has-been
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From: Palo Alto, CA
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Originally Posted by dauphin
I've had a heck of a time climbing a two mile hill that averages 13.5%
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10-04-06 | 09:32 AM
#17
You got Madoned!
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From: Rio Rancho, NM
Bikes: 2006 Trek Madone 5.2 SL
Climbing hills is fun. Who among us has the little voice at the start of a descent that says "It's too steep, you can't get down it."? I don't think so. But how many have found a climb that your little voice tells you you can't do? Then you get out of the saddle, and build up your cadence, and you pump and you gasp for air, and the bike rocks under you and finally, as you start to develop tunnel vision, you crest it and can relax a little. You look back at the hill and say to your little voice "Don't tell me what I can't do. I am unstoppable."
