How steep is too steep?

[TRB]

OK, I'll admit it - I got OFF my bike on the ride to work. I cycled a couple of times round Rockingham over the weekend, but before that you probably need to go back 15 years or so to find anything in my life vaguely resembling exercise. I am properly out of shape! I imagined myself getting a bit fitter and then trying the commute to work, but last night I thought I'd just go for it. Almost changed my mind this morning, but I made it .... kind of.



Looking at the elevation (going home later should be fun) you can probably see the bit on the way in that caused me issues. 18.8% 'grade' according to Strava. I will also admit that I'm not really 'smooth' with the gear changes yet, so probably exerted some extra effort.

I feel bad enough getting off, but thought I'd share for extra embarrassment.

[Fourmotion]

Too steep for one person is fine for another. I did a race a couple of weeks ago where people were walking the 18% incline that I was able to get up.

18.8% is steep, there is no question of that, but it's purely subjective whether it's too steep.

Think of it as a good thing - you've got yourself a goal.

[MysteryLemon]

^ that.

What's too steep now, might not be in a few weeks when you've been tackling it every day.

18% is really, really steep though. Just checking out some inclines I do quite regularly and think are steep and they only seem to be topping out around 11-12%. Wouldn't say Strava is that accurate though. If you follow the curve, the % is all over the place. One hill near me jumps around from 15% to 50% at one point..

Edited by MysteryLemon on Wednesday 18th September 15:53

[donfisher]

I completely conked out on the approach to Coldharbour/Leith hill on the weekend. Ended up pushing it up the road for a while. It was quite humiliating.

Considering earlier in the year I made it all the way up Ditchling beacon pedalling (OK I paused 5 times and at one point had a nice little retch) I was pretty shocked.

I couldn't engage 1st as the cage was interfering with the spokes but I don't think it was entirely that. It's more like the two months off with a lot of food & drink. As above, it's given me something to work towards even if it's just to get to a point I was at before.

[GaryGlitter]

11% average but peaks at over 25% several times:

http://www.strava.com/segments/2500416

Got it mid-way through an audax this weekend.

Edited by GaryGlitter on Wednesday 18th September 16:05

[S10GTA]

This one is actually 25% http://www.strava.com/segments/1623144

[IntegraTypeR]

S10GTA said:

This one is actually 25% http://www.strava.com/segments/1623144

I just about managed to get up that one at the end of the New Forest Rattler sportive a few weeks back. It's laughably steep, but thankfully quite short. I'd say it was 50/50 between folks pushing vs riding.

[Vladimir]

I regularly ride a 0.6 mile long 25% hill on my MTB in the middle ring and used to do a 25% but shorter hill on my road bike but only just.

Our trail centre has a hill that very few can make in one go; incredibly steep but also slippery; you ride it on the absolute limit of grip. I've made it several times but only just; it's a killer!

[shouldbworking]

The last one that properly defeated me was prospect place in bath.. bikehike says its 30-35%. That was when I was properly unfit. I reckon I would still fail, but it'd be lack of traction rather than fitness now.

[yellowjack]

Growing up in South Wales, there was never a time when I needed to get off and walk, and that was on a 'standard' chainset.

Scroll forward nearly 30 years, and I go back and ride the same hills on my lighter, lower geared 'compact' chainset and I find I'm closer to getting off and walking than I ever thought I'd be.

Like someone said above, there comes a point where you'd be better off walking than riding, and if we weren't all wearing these silly cleated shoes, I reckon more of us might shoulder our bikes and jog up, but "not in these shoes, dear" has never been more appropriate

[TwistingMyMelon]

Theres never a time when it is better walking than riding a hill, this is a cycling forum not Mumsnet!!!!!

Kudos, to the guy track standing up the beacon!

[Gizmoish]

There is a point where it's impossible to get up, no matter what the gearing - I think XKCD's "what if" column did the maths.

However, hills are just about practice. Don't walk. Just stop, get your breath back, and go again. Next time, go further before stopping. Soon you'll be looking for bigger hills to play on.

[yellowjack]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Theres never a time when it is better walking than riding a hill, this is a cycling forum not Mumsnet!!!!!

Kudos, to the guy track standing up the beacon!

I never said it WAS better, I said "better off", meaning "faster", as in you get to a point where you are turning your lowest gear at a low cadence, and it would be faster for you (given 'normal' shoes/trainers, or even SPDs) to jog up with the bike shouldered. I don't imagine that many Mumsnet contributors would consider running up a hill with a bike over one shoulder. It tends to happen in Cross races a fair bit, when 'gurning and churning' plays second fiddle to being quicker up to the summit so you can get back on and chew up the descent sooner.

There's a gravel hill parallel with the B3013 (Beacon Hill Road) which I regularly try to get up, but seldom make it anywhere near the top. It's so steep and such a loose surface that I can barely walk up the bh let alone push a bike up it. If that makes me some kind of girl, that's fine with me.

[okgo]

There is no such thing as too steep.

[Vladimir]

okgo said:

There is no such thing as too steep.

There is when your back tyre just can't get enough traction.

[DrMekon]

Then you tack. Had 514km in my legs at this point. Road was running with water. It's 33% in places. It wasn't that hard - riding fixed up Greenhow recently was a much closer thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kikCCWIq9Lw&fea...

First thing a mate said was "what, you didn't do it 39x23?"

There isn't "too steep". You never walk. Ever.

[Vladimir]

DrMekon said:

Then you tack. Had 514km in my legs at this point. Road was running with water. It's 33% in places. It wasn't that hard - riding fixed up Greenhow recently was a much closer thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kikCCWIq9Lw&fea...

First thing a mate said was "what, you didn't do it 39x23?"

There isn't a too steep. You never get walk. Ever.

There is when it's single track and you can't "tack"

Climbing has always been "my thing" and I'd say if I find a hill tricky (usually because it's technical, not because I ever run out of puff) then it's tricky. I fell run too and in that, there's isn't a "too steep."

But LOL at the comical PH "ardcore lads who can ride direct up Everest without a pause.

[TRB]

DrMekon said:

There isn't "too steep". You never walk. Ever.

Having ridden 12 miles today compared to a grand total of zero over the last decade or more, sadly today it was too steep. Not trying to justify it (I was expecting ridicule rather than encouragement), but to be honest it has spurred me on to try it again.

I was planning to get a bit more fit before trying the commute, but thought I'd just do it and see how I got on (& partially failed of course).

Nobody that knows me (wife, boss, friends etc) can believe I cycled (mostly) to work and back.

[anonymous-user]

25% in the winter with road tyres is challenging, low traction is a pain. Thankfully the roads will bow to the CX bike this year

[47p2]

Too steep is when your out the saddle stomping on the pedals and getting nowhere while the front wheel is lifting off the road surface