crow rd ( lennoxtown,glasgow)

[jim55]

iv never done it and didnt even know where it was ,,so i looked it up on google and thought id take a drive up to see what it was like ,,,fark me !!!,,no way i could do that,,id need a really spinny gear to even think about it ,,my geared bike is def not suited for it the lowest on that is 39*18,,,id need about 39*30 or something ,,i passed a few bikes on the way up but (unsurprisingly)it was all geared bikes i seen ,,does any body do this on fixed ,,massive respect if you do
(btw loadsa snow and a fair bit of ice up there by the beyond the car park

 

[GlasgowGaryH]

Usually end up doing it in a kind of fixed gear sort of way,30x25 basement gear on my bike. I have normally run out of gears by the zig zag corner at the bottom.

 

[zizou]

Its one of the 'classic' climbs for those in Glasgow (or more generally west / central Scotland) i dont think i've ever been over it at a weekend without seeing some other cyclists.

I dont think i could do it in 39*18 but with the right gearing its not too bad after the first corner as it is the sort of gradient that allows you to get into a rhythm. However once you get to the car park you think thats it (and indeed the worst of it is over) but it still goes on for a fair bit yet and on a hot summers day that is usually where i start getting stinging eyes with the sweat running into them

Good loop to be done going up the Crow along the Carron Valley then over the Tak me Doon - easiest doing it clockwise because the Tak from the Kilsyth side is pretty hard. On a clear day you can see the Forth Bridge from the carpark at the top of the Tak

 

[HLaB]

I thought it was overrated tbh, the Tak Ma Doon road along from it is more interesting; the last time I was up that, a couple of weeks ago in below zero temps halfway up we passed a group of bare chested neds pushing a shopping trolley. The first time I did the Crow Road (albeit from the Fintry side) I did it into a strong head wind and went to change up to the big ring for the descent, I was already in it so a 52/26 can get up it. On the steeper side I'm guessing I'm in the 39/24or25 at the steeper bits. I like zizou's loop and have done similar a few times although only anti clockwise, I've never been doon the Tak Ma Doon just up

 

[boydj]

Preparing for the 2009 Trossachs Ton, I drove over to Fintry and parked up in the rugby club and did the Crow Road in both directions - with about a two mile cool-down in Lennoxtown . It's harder coming over from Lennoxtown, and probably a safer ride coming over from Fintry. I did it on a triple - 30 x 25 or 26 (bit of a softy, I know) - though coming from Lennoxtown I was on the 42 not too long after the car park.

On the subject of fixed gears, there's an old boy in my golf club who was a fairly serious racer back in the 50's and 60's. One of the standard club runs was to cycle from Greenock up to Aberfoyle and over the Duke's Pass. Most of them were on fixed. He once told me about he and his brother being stopped by the police while training on a racing tandem in Newton Mearns having been clocked at 49 mph.

 

[SoloCyclist]

I did this climb today and found it OK for 53/39, I think my smallest gear is 39-25,but there wasn't any wind today. I did find the road by Carron Valley reservoir a bit of a wreck, luckily enough I had to go slow as there was loads of ice on stretches. The road was pure white. Missed the turning for Tak Me Doon and kept on going to Denny.

 

[jim55]

i done a wee loop around the campsies and (shamefully )i had to get off and push at the devils elbow out of strathblane heading to milngavie way ,,so there is no way i could manage the crow just now (in my defence its 39*20 is my "easiest climbing gear",when i change my cassette im gona try it and see how far i manage
ps anybody have a gradient for the bit i was on tdy ,,clipped in and on that gearing i just gave up

 

[SoloCyclist]

I'm going to try that the next time then. I'll go over Crow Rd keep going to Fintry-Killearn-Strathblane-Milngavie. At least I shouldn't get lost that way :-)

 

[big vally]

I've done the Crow a couple of times on my single speed bike, 42/17 ratio.

But even more respect to one of the guys who went over it on our ride out last week, he was on a single speed 48/18. Out the saddle all the way, but he still beat some of the geared road bikes up

 

[tug benson]

I done the Tak Me Doon road yesterday and i struggled a wee bit, it`s a bitch of a climb..

I was in 2 minds wheather to stay on road and just go onto lennoxtown to do the crows road, how does the crows road to the Tak Me Doon road?

 

[HLaB]

IMO the Tak is harder, as it varies more and has steeper sections whereas the Crow is more consistent.

 

[tug benson]

cheers for that, think my next longer ride i think i`ll do crow road.... the tak me doon road was a bit of a killer, sadly i had to stop and get of the bike, shockingly i was only one turn away from the top and i felt like a really mug


HLaB on my strava i see your name on a lot of my local routes, you seem to be at the top of most charts, that must be some going

on the Tak-Ma-Doon road (full) i am 124th of 129 with a time of 27:46, some people must do that hill like it`s a breeze, can`t believe some of the times...

 

[HLaB]

My KOM's are falling everyday, the lbs owner found strava and climbs where I might have been 15-30secs ahead of other's, he's nearly a minute or more faster than me, you'll see his name crop up a lot on the climbs in Fife. I'm only 65th on the Tak Ma Doon, I reckon I could do it faster but it was covered in ice on my pr and iirc I stopped when my mate came off, but I couldn't do it 5 minutes faster.

 

[gavintc]

i,my geared bike is def not suited for it the lowest on that is 39*18,

I realise this is an old thread, but just spotted the gearing in your OP. This is remarkably high and I would suggest unusual. Even pro racers have a bottom gear of 39/21. Personally, I would change the cassette for a 12-25 if I were you.

Crow Road is a good workout. I spent some months in Glasgow and this was one of my evening rides - up to the car pak and then back to the city centre - a good climb.

 

[HLaB]

I realise this is an old thread, but just spotted the gearing in your OP. This is remarkably high and I would suggest unusual. Even pro racers have a bottom gear of 39/21. Personally, I would change the cassette for a 12-25 if I were you.

Crow Road is a good workout. I spent some months in Glasgow and this was one of my evening rides - up to the car pak and then back to the city centre - a good climb.

I cant remember if Jim did or not but I've been telling him that for a while now