Boxhill

[fossyant]

Hills, ha ha ha ha ha ha.

 

[ianrauk]

Probably, but there is a cafe with cake at the top.

And at the bottom.....

 

[Fab Foodie]

There's a good few other hills in the same area which are far harder then Box Hill.

Pebblecombe hill anybody?

 

[Fab Foodie]

And at the bottom.....

Used to be Burgers at the bottom .....

 

[ianrauk]

Pebblecombe hill anybody?

Ranmore Common

 

[morrisman]

[quote="Banjo, post: 2878301, member: 4704"Boxhill is a piece of pi$$ that anyone who has been cycling more than about 3 months can do with ease.[/quote]

No it isn't, spoken as a second year cyclist who is 61 yo, 223lb in weight, hypertensive, diabetic

 

[Banjo]

[quote="Banjo, post: 2878301, member: 4704"Boxhill is a piece of pi$$ that anyone who has been cycling more than about 3 months can do with ease.

No it isn't, spoken as a second year cyclist who is 61 yo, 223lb in weight, hypertensive, diabetic[/quote]

I think my insensitive post was fuelled by a large quantity of red wine.

Good luck with the cycling, Its bound to have a positive effect on your weight and diabetes. May be Boxhill by the end of the summer

 

[Ladep Rewop]

Pebblecombe hill anybody?

I have ridden up Pebblecombe once and that was enough for me ....... not so much the gradient although there is quite a ramp up at the top, but it is very busy, quite narrow until you get to the top and being the only route over the North Downs between the A24 and A217 takes quite a lot of traffic, I do like box hill via the zig zag but usually turn around at Westons and come back down the same way, since they resurfaced the road for the Olympics its a pleasure to ride.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I have ridden up Pebblecombe once and that was enough for me ....... not so much the gradient although there is quite a ramp up at the top, but it is very busy, quite narrow until you get to the top and being the only route over the North Downs between the A24 and A217 takes quite a lot of traffic, I do like box hill via the zig zag but usually turn around at Westons and come back down the same way, since they resurfaced the road for the Olympics its a pleasure to ride.

Not ridden it ... but once helped push a broken Mini up it ....

 

[swansonj]

Aaaaargh!!! What does that mean?
Ok it's late and I have had a couple of glasses of wine so forgive my directness but, I like to have a browse around and maybe read threads that give me a chuckle or two, this does not.
I see it so often, usually with newbies, but you are not a beginner, or are you? Anyway back to the main point, for anyone thinking about riding up Box Hill who is new to cycling, your post is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard [sorry I did warn you], can you please talk in terms of number of teeth on sprockets and chain rings, eg I was in my 39 x 22 or whatever. For clarity, not everyone has the same gearing, in fact er, I don't usually have any choice .
As you were, carry on.

Because I've finished the ironing and have got nothing else better to do, just for fun* I've worked out some figures.

Box Hill, from the junction with the old London road at the bottom to the fort at the top where the gradient eases, is 1.42 miles and rises 412 feet, an average gradient of 5.5%. Suppose I climb it at a power of 125 W - for me, that's a power level I know I can maintain pretty much for a full day's cycling, and on all-day rides, I prefer to tackle hills at a constant power level rather than knacker myself going all out. For my touring bike, with a relatively upright posture and not frantically aerodynamic or light, that 125 W will take me up 5.5% at 4.7 mph (15 of those watts are going into air and rolling resistance, 111 into gravity). So the climb will take me 18 mins. If I want to maintain a cadence of 80, I will need a gear ratio of 20". One way of getting that would be 24 teeth at the front and 32 at the back with 700 wheels. I'll wager a minority of road bikes that make it up Box Hill have gears anything like that low. And that's fine - climb it on a "road bike" at 250 W, you'll be doing 10 mph, take only 8 or 9 minutes, and if the cadence drops to 60 you'll need only a 53" gear, say a 39 front by 20 rear.

Do it however gives you pleasure, there's room for everyone in cycling, but my point is that if you are a relative beginner to hills, if you are daunted by the prospect, if you don't happen to want to arrive at the top knackered and sweaty, you will almost certainly benefit from lower gears than are often available.

*as understood by physicists...