View Poll Results: What is your VAM?
Greater than 1067
7
9.33%
915 to 1066
12
16.00%
763 to 914
17
22.67%
610 to 762
22
29.33%
457 to 609
8
10.67%
305 to 456
1
1.33%
Other
8
10.67%
Voters: 75. You may not vote on this poll
How fast do you climb?
#76
Senior Member
I'm assuming the VAM poll is in meters not feet? Please clarify as my Garmin is set to feet. Is everyone responding to this quoting meters? Thanks
#77
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#78
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The purpose of VAM is to estimate how fast a rider will climb an unknown hill, based on information from a well-known hill.
So pro riders can tell how much time they'll gain or lose over a competitor on a climb for instance.
And it's not valid for climbs less than 6% or so, because it assumes essentially all the power is going into elevation rather than wind and rolling resistance.
So pro riders can tell how much time they'll gain or lose over a competitor on a climb for instance.
And it's not valid for climbs less than 6% or so, because it assumes essentially all the power is going into elevation rather than wind and rolling resistance.
#79
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An oldie but goodie. Depends on the bike and the ride.
Tandem this past Sunday, 460. On long climbs last summer, shorter rides of only ~70 miles, with my single, ~840. Very long event rides, more like 500.
Tandem this past Sunday, 460. On long climbs last summer, shorter rides of only ~70 miles, with my single, ~840. Very long event rides, more like 500.
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Results matter
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Best ever was getting a 1-hr T-shirt for the Mt. Diablo Challenge. That was 992 VAM. That was my best climbing shape ever. (All it took was 8 weeks of intervals and no desserts, no fried foods, no candy, no soda, no nothin' fun to eat)
That was a few years ago. Recently I did the North Side at a much more relaxed pace: 628.
That was a few years ago. Recently I did the North Side at a much more relaxed pace: 628.
#83
Non omnino gravis
Best single effort on an HC climb, 696VAM (998M of gain in 16.4km.) I can manage high 800s / low 900s on Cat 2 and 3. I can't dig a decent number out of Veloviewer for a Cat 1, as it has an errored starting elevation on my top segment (so it thinks I climbed from sea level, and gives me a 1,440VAM) Overall, day in and day out, typical pacing will put me 625-650VAM.
To decide the category of a climb Strava multiplies the length of the climb (in meters) with the grade of the climb. If that number is greater than 8000 then it is a categorized climb.
To decide the category of a climb Strava multiplies the length of the climb (in meters) with the grade of the climb. If that number is greater than 8000 then it is a categorized climb.
- Cat 4 > 8000
- Cat 3 > 16000
- Cat 2 > 32000
- Cat 1 > 48000
- HC (Hors Categorie) > 64000
#84
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if the measurement were described as something like "VAM is a measurement of meters per hour taken under the following conditions: x% average grade with a variance of +/- y% ridden for a total of z minutes" then i would find VAM a useful measurement. this puts everyone on the same page, kind of like my car can go from 0 to 60 in xyz seconds.
i drive an older model CRV by the way, probably in the 15 second range on a good day, down hill.
-scott
i might want to add the riders current elevation. i live in reno NV. not much air up here compared to our friends in FL.
#85
Non omnino gravis
It's absolutely relevant, as Strava won't show a VAM unless the climb is categorized. So if the segment is very short, it's going to be very steep. As a score of 8,000 is the minimum for a Cat 4, if it's 1,000m long, it has to average over 8%. I've averaged ~1,200VAM on climbs like that, but the entire Cat 1 or HC effort is usually around 700VAM.
I'm usually below the halfway point on the leaderboards on big climbs, in the neighborhood of 1,400/2,500 or 1,600/2,700. Until I sort by weight, anyway. Then it's like 200/500 or even 40/170. It's not lost on me that the 200-224 category makes up less than 10% of efforts on local HC climbs.
I'm usually below the halfway point on the leaderboards on big climbs, in the neighborhood of 1,400/2,500 or 1,600/2,700. Until I sort by weight, anyway. Then it's like 200/500 or even 40/170. It's not lost on me that the 200-224 category makes up less than 10% of efforts on local HC climbs.
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well, the reason why i see it as useless is because of the wide open interpretation, at least that is how i read the thread opener. the units are meters per hour. i can always ride a steep short hill and use maximum power. compare that with an equally steep but much longer hill i highly doubt my mph will be the same. my local favorite is about 8 miles long.
#87
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#88
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Best ever was getting a 1-hr T-shirt for the Mt. Diablo Challenge. That was 992 VAM. That was my best climbing shape ever. (All it took was 8 weeks of intervals and no desserts, no fried foods, no candy, no soda, no nothin' fun to eat)
That was a few years ago. Recently I did the North Side at a much more relaxed pace: 628.
That was a few years ago. Recently I did the North Side at a much more relaxed pace: 628.
#89
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VAM may not be relevant to our area since our longest "climbs" are maybe 2 miles long at most, averaging only 1%-2% with undulating brief peaks near low double digits. But the Elevate extension for Strava adds some info that helps confirm I'm making some progress.
I try not to obsess over the data or think about it during a ride, so I don't bias my rides with extra effort to "prove" I'm getting stronger when I'm actually just redlining at an effort I couldn't sustain for more than a minute. But after some recent bike tweaks -- sealed bearing pulleys to replace the draggy old sintered bushing bearing pulleys; raising the seat post/saddle a bit to encourage myself to spin rather than mash -- Elevate's data, including VAM, shows some improvement -- from 690 to 720.
But I'd need to find some real sustained climbs that last longer than a couplafew minutes. Best I can do locally is repeats. The brief eased effort between climbs is like interval training, which doesn't really test how I'd do on a sustained climb. I already know I can recovery fairly well with 30-60 seconds of recovery between efforts.
I try not to obsess over the data or think about it during a ride, so I don't bias my rides with extra effort to "prove" I'm getting stronger when I'm actually just redlining at an effort I couldn't sustain for more than a minute. But after some recent bike tweaks -- sealed bearing pulleys to replace the draggy old sintered bushing bearing pulleys; raising the seat post/saddle a bit to encourage myself to spin rather than mash -- Elevate's data, including VAM, shows some improvement -- from 690 to 720.
But I'd need to find some real sustained climbs that last longer than a couplafew minutes. Best I can do locally is repeats. The brief eased effort between climbs is like interval training, which doesn't really test how I'd do on a sustained climb. I already know I can recovery fairly well with 30-60 seconds of recovery between efforts.
#90
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I'm proud to say that I have always been fast enough up every hill to arrive at the top at the same time as my bike.
...OK. I'll admit that it always beats me by about a wheel length.
As for VAM, I never knew what it was before I saw this thread. Looking at my Strava logs for the last year it's all over the board; averaging around 1500 for 3-minute climbs, 600 to 750 for twenty-minute climbs, and around 350 for most MTB climbs. I'm not sure it's a very valuable metric to me except if I were foolish enough to go back into my Strava records for several years to see my loss of strength as I creep towards my Seventies, and I think I'd rather not know that!
Brent
...OK. I'll admit that it always beats me by about a wheel length.
As for VAM, I never knew what it was before I saw this thread. Looking at my Strava logs for the last year it's all over the board; averaging around 1500 for 3-minute climbs, 600 to 750 for twenty-minute climbs, and around 350 for most MTB climbs. I'm not sure it's a very valuable metric to me except if I were foolish enough to go back into my Strava records for several years to see my loss of strength as I creep towards my Seventies, and I think I'd rather not know that!
Brent
Last edited by obrentharris; 02-06-19 at 06:05 PM. Reason: spelling
#91
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I like the 992 for the Diablo Challenge a lot. I have ridden the south side and as I remember it is climbing from the start. I have raced the north side a couple of times as a 10K ITT and therefore not all the way to the top. The north starts out flat to rolling and then pitches up. A couple of races have used TT bikes with a disc / fast front wheel to do the 10k due to the flatter start. So I would suspect a lower VAM for that climb. I do not recall my VAM from the north side.
Nathan English: NG to Junction - 24m56s, VAM=1339
Nathan English: SG to Junction - 20m01s, VAM=1288
Nathan English: NG to Summit - 46m24s, VAM=1375
Nathan English: SG to Summit - 41m24s, VAM=1366
#92
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North Gate has an easy start, South Gate has an easy middle. Not for argument, but just because it's interesting:
Nathan English: NG to Junction - 24m56s, VAM=1339
Nathan English: SG to Junction - 20m01s, VAM=1288
Nathan English: NG to Summit - 46m24s, VAM=1375
Nathan English: SG to Summit - 41m24s, VAM=1366
Nathan English: NG to Junction - 24m56s, VAM=1339
Nathan English: SG to Junction - 20m01s, VAM=1288
Nathan English: NG to Summit - 46m24s, VAM=1375
Nathan English: SG to Summit - 41m24s, VAM=1366
Also, my first year of racing I was in the Cat 5 race with Nate English at Cherry Pie in Napa. He lapped the field and went from Cat 5 to Cat 1 in a single season, then signed a pro contract the next season. I was still a Cat 5.
#93
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North Gate has an easy start, South Gate has an easy middle. Not for argument, but just because it's interesting:
Nathan English: NG to Junction - 24m56s, VAM=1339
Nathan English: SG to Junction - 20m01s, VAM=1288
Nathan English: NG to Summit - 46m24s, VAM=1375
Nathan English: SG to Summit - 41m24s, VAM=1366
Nathan English: NG to Junction - 24m56s, VAM=1339
Nathan English: SG to Junction - 20m01s, VAM=1288
Nathan English: NG to Summit - 46m24s, VAM=1375
Nathan English: SG to Summit - 41m24s, VAM=1366
Last edited by Hermes; 02-07-19 at 06:52 PM.
#94
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When I went back and analyzed it, I think the only way I was able to break an hour was because I was hanging on to a fast group that stayed on the gas through the flat part at Rock City.
Also, my first year of racing I was in the Cat 5 race with Nate English at Cherry Pie in Napa. He lapped the field and went from Cat 5 to Cat 1 in a single season, then signed a pro contract the next season. I was still a Cat 5.
Also, my first year of racing I was in the Cat 5 race with Nate English at Cherry Pie in Napa. He lapped the field and went from Cat 5 to Cat 1 in a single season, then signed a pro contract the next season. I was still a Cat 5.
#95
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https://diabloscott.blogspot.com/201...ime-trial.html
#96
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Well, Hermes provides realistic advice, it is possible to improve your VAM. I reviewed my Garmin and Strava data from this month I have the following results. Keep in mind this is on a 26 lb flatbar fully rigid touring bike.
I have three different climbs this month with >1000 VAM numbers. For example: 290 ft climb over 0.29 miles, a 18% grade taken at 6.0mph for a 1167 VAM.
The Strava data can be found here: https://www.strava.com/activities/2363955957
My VAM as posted by Strava is usually in the 500-600 range, I'm a little suspicious of a result better than this.
I have an event in June that features several difficult climbs. I'll be using a Ridley Helium SLX with a 46 & 30 Absolute Black chainring set. I'll check back after this event.
I have three different climbs this month with >1000 VAM numbers. For example: 290 ft climb over 0.29 miles, a 18% grade taken at 6.0mph for a 1167 VAM.
The Strava data can be found here: https://www.strava.com/activities/2363955957
My VAM as posted by Strava is usually in the 500-600 range, I'm a little suspicious of a result better than this.
I have an event in June that features several difficult climbs. I'll be using a Ridley Helium SLX with a 46 & 30 Absolute Black chainring set. I'll check back after this event.
Last edited by Barrettscv; 05-20-19 at 09:26 AM.
#97
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My climbing style strongly resembles peanut butter flowing uphill.
When I look at my numbers...I don't look at my numbers.
When I look at my numbers...I don't look at my numbers.
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just fast enough not to fall over. sorry, couldn't resist