mrsbaggins
New Member
- Location
- West Midlands
have noticed a few people showing gradients of their rides and wondered how you do it? does it need special software and if so is it a shareware type? thanks
How to get a gradient profile
- Thread starter mrsbaggins
- Start date
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I use a website called Bike Hike and you can enter your planned route or even the route you've just done and it calculates the distance, elevation and gradients for you using graphs. It's very good and quick and easy to pick up and play with.
Ticktockmy
Guru
- Location
- Crawley, West Sussex
Memory map software here.
OP
OP
mrsbaggins
New Member
- Location
- West Midlands
great! thank you I will have a look
tincaman
Guru
- Location
- Chudleigh, South Devon
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
I didn't like Veloroutes, it was slow and cumbersome and dramatically overestimated gradients. For gradient accuracy my favourite is the afforementioned Bike Hike, its just a pity you cant save the route now :-( I have to use Bikely, Mapyride or RidewithGPS to do that.
I'm another who likes bikehike.
Remember if you want a detailed gradient profile of any hill, remember not to just let the software map the hill for you (i.e. click on the bottom and the top). You don't have control over how far apart the sample points are then. If they are far apart larger gradients are averaged out with surrounding lower gradients.
Remember if you want a detailed gradient profile of any hill, remember not to just let the software map the hill for you (i.e. click on the bottom and the top). You don't have control over how far apart the sample points are then. If they are far apart larger gradients are averaged out with surrounding lower gradients.
None are 'deadly accurate'.
Bike Hike gets the 10% of Chesterton bank OK because the rise covers more than two contours on the OS map.
Hatton Hill however, has its little length of 10% between contours in a 'S' shaped curve, ie the 10% bit is for less than 5m and comes at the end of a 500m long 5%.
This effect happens numerous times where there might be a NASTY xx% rise that lasts LESS than the contour resolution.
For a strong seasoned cyclist, these pose little problems, but for a newbie, a 14ft tall bit of >20% is like hitting a brick wall, and they stop dead and jump off to walk ( or have a clipless moment
).
OS doesn't always catch them as they do a measure of the contour and distance after they've surveyed.
Canal bridges are a prime example. Short, sharp and do not appear as gradients on the OS map. So they don't appear on the mapping sites.
There is an area of Leicestershire where this thing proliferates. Novice cyclists are to be seen dismounting and walking their bikes over the canal bridges, or draped on the bridge wall with both feet still in the pedals....
Bike Hike gets the 10% of Chesterton bank OK because the rise covers more than two contours on the OS map.
Hatton Hill however, has its little length of 10% between contours in a 'S' shaped curve, ie the 10% bit is for less than 5m and comes at the end of a 500m long 5%.
This effect happens numerous times where there might be a NASTY xx% rise that lasts LESS than the contour resolution.
For a strong seasoned cyclist, these pose little problems, but for a newbie, a 14ft tall bit of >20% is like hitting a brick wall, and they stop dead and jump off to walk ( or have a clipless moment
).OS doesn't always catch them as they do a measure of the contour and distance after they've surveyed.
Canal bridges are a prime example. Short, sharp and do not appear as gradients on the OS map. So they don't appear on the mapping sites.
There is an area of Leicestershire where this thing proliferates. Novice cyclists are to be seen dismounting and walking their bikes over the canal bridges, or draped on the bridge wall with both feet still in the pedals....
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
None are 'deadly accurate'.
Canal bridges are a prime example. Short, sharp and do not appear as gradients on the OS map. So they don't appear on the mapping sites.
There is an area of Leicestershire where this thing proliferates. Novice cyclists are to be seen dismounting and walking their bikes over the canal bridges, or draped on the bridge wall with both feet still in the pedals....
Or if the bridge is long enough mapping software records them as a fall to sea level but in fact its an uphill gradient
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Memory Map only does altitude profiles. At least, I can't see any way of doing a gradient profile, but if there is, please tell me how to do it!
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
I don't think there is; I've occasionally used the distance up by distance across formula but that isn't all that useful or practical for a entire route. To get gradient I've either used the Garmin Training centre for a point gradient or Bikehike. 'RidewithGPS' looks good but I don't think its too accurate.
Or if the bridge is long enough mapping software records them as a fall to sea level but in fact its an uphill gradient
Or when the road goes through a cutting. The map data follows the hill's terrain because no-one at Navteq can be arsed to do a sensible approximation.
Although I hear a rumour that their GPS positioning and evevation data is now being collected by chappies driving round in small dark blue vans with a big dome on the roof.
Maybe sometime in the future, Navteq will have position and elevation data down to 1m accuracy.....
HJ
Cycling in Scotland
- Location
- Auld Reekie
I use bikemap.net which find has lots of user friendly tools.
