Based on... what?

Yeah, my closest route is a 24 mile out-back with almost 2,900 feet of climbing. Cadence? I try to just keep moving- getting close to breaking the 2 hrs mark but it is one painful climb. I'm trying to build my legs though so I never go to 27 at the back and keep it 2-3 down. Maybe that's the wrong approach to becoming stronger.

I just did hill repeats on a 9-14% hill (almost half a mile). Cadence be damned, I was just trying to make it to the top each time without stopping.

That is the case for me too. I wonder at what point it becomes "This low of a cadence is bad for your knees son! Get off the saddle and pretend you had a flat!" type of a situation.

Just looked back @ a recent ride in WKO+ and 3 minute hill that gains 180 feet in .4 miles (8.2% grade according to WKO). With my 34x25, cadence @ 72 rpm @ 8.5mhp and 280 watt average (I weigh 175 pounds). To "spin" up this type of hill @ 90+ rpm (though I am not much of a spinner), I would need significantly lower gearing or need to put out a lot more power.

Only on bf.net is the average rec. cyclist averaging 10+mph up 10% grades. :rolleyes:

My Garmin says I averaged 65rpm for my last ride of 46 miles, with 5100 ft. of climbing. Anything 10% or over, and the rpms slow waaay down, sometimes into the 40's when it gets really steep.

I'm not a spinner. ;)

Well maybe that's because, like me, you aren't one of those average recreational cyclists that invests money into fancy light wheels that make you faster on the climbs. :D

Anything 10%, I'm just tyring to make it up without falling over!:p

on the flip side, reality has a tendency to smack the self-delusional the hardest

Wow, during my last mountain ride, my cadence ranged from about 40 rpm to 70 rpm, with a 53/39 up front and 11-26 on the back.

I think most of the climbs were in the 6 percent range - it was in the Blue Ridge Mountains in southern Virginia - with one half-kilometer at 19 percent (I didn't make it all the way up that one).

My goal was to keep my power at a reasonable level, 200-250 watts, for the entire climb, though by the fourth climb I was pretty worn out and was struggling, which is when I was turning the pedals at 40 rpm and going about 4 mph.

I probably could have spun faster during the first two climbs, pushing 80+ rpm, but that would have worn me out.

Hm well i can name 2, they are actually the same road...based on the name.

The road/street is Gellert Boulevard. I used Google Earth to find the elevation gain. On one side of the road, the elevation gain was 251 ft and the horizontal dist. was 2217.6 feet, and i plugged it into the gradient percentage to get a grade of 11.2%.

The other side of the road has an elevation gain of 349 feet, with a horizontal dist. of 2270 feet, and i got 15.4% from that.

I still haven't been able to confirm my speeds. But on the 11% one, i've sprinted up 3/4 of the climb in my 39/21. I just don't remember the speed or cadence.

So... 3/4 of 251 feet is about 190 feet. At the speeds you are claiming that would have been less than 2 minutes... hardly "sustaining" as you claimed earler.

He's world class:rolleyes: