Accent/descent % calculations...

[Marcellus]

Following off the other topic on climbing but somehting that I've been wondering about for a while is how do you calculate the % climb..

For example; if I ride a distance of 5metres as recorded by teh bike PC and climb vertically 500m as recorded by a Suunto watch......what is the % of the climb??

[littleandy0410]

Marcellus said:

For example; if I ride a distance of 5metres as recorded by teh bike PC and climb vertically 500m as recorded by a Suunto watch......what is the % of the climb??

Bloody steep, that's what that is!! That's like cycling up the side of a skyscraper!!

[Marcellus]

damn bugger blast... started off with 5m and 500m... thought that's not clear so best expand the m and still managed to screw it up...

Meant 5 miles and 500metres!!

[RobDickinson]

1st stop mixing measurements.

If you climb 10 meters in 100metes thats 10% aye? So 100/10 = 10%

5 miles is about 8 k and you climbed 500 meters so thats 1/16th of your distance traveled.

8000/500 = 16%

[HOGEPH]

Plot the route in www.mapmyride.com

It will give you elevations as a percentage if you click on Show Elevation.

[Marcellus]

Good find HOGEPH I'll have a play!!

OK so now I think I understand the % I was confused whether it was worked as distance divided by ascent or the other way round.....

SO what is a hard climb figure??

[MTY4000]

I'd say 1:7 (14%) is when things start to get interesting on a road bike (double chain ring). Looks and feels steep
1:5 (20%) and I'm getting out of the saddle fairly regularily,
1:4 (25%) is pretty much out of the saddle all the time for me and really working now
1:3 (33%) is getting silly. Standing up all the time, but expecting to run out of steam any moment - thinking about unclipping in case I fall over fixed to the bike! Brings back memories of tunnel vision on Hardknot and Wrynose passes in the lake district!

[Parrot of Doom]

1 in 3 is silly territory. That's what you get when you climb up Rawson's Rake in Ramsbottom. I used to do that regularly with a 42 on the front and 21 on the back. I reckon I made it all the way up only half the time