Sutton Bank
- Thread starter grellboy
- Start date
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steve50
Disenchanted Member
- Location
- West Yorkshire
Sutton bank is a hell of a climb, your bike has to up for it never mind you. I would attempt it on a hybrid or mountain bike but on a road bike I wouldn't even try unless it has Hg and even then i think the average cyclist will struggle.
Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
Sit back, & spin your 2nd to lowest sprocket, leaving a bail-out
It's not the worst around there, as there's a lane that skirts the back of the White Horse (leaves Kilburn village) & passes the Gliding Club
A few years ago, I towed a twin-axle caravan up it
Mindst you, that was with a Land Rover 90 (V8)
It's not the worst around there, as there's a lane that skirts the back of the White Horse (leaves Kilburn village) & passes the Gliding Club
A few years ago, I towed a twin-axle caravan up it
Mindst you, that was with a Land Rover 90 (V8)
swansonj
Guru
No, it depends how low a gear you have.Challenging, but not impossible imho. Depends how much pain you can put up with
OP
OP
grellboy
Veteran
I know this will sound pretty stupid, but I always thought mountain bike was just a name..... the earlier post suggests that mountain bikes are better up hills than road bikes....so they are actually called mountain bikes because they are the best for hills then, right? (apologies for my ignorance lol!)
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
It's mostly a matter of gearing.
Mountain bikes tend to have a very low first gear - lower than a lot of road bikes.
Against that is mountain bikes are a few kgs heavier.
Some road bikes - particularly those designed for touring - also have a low first gear.
swansonj
Guru
The most important factor by far for suitability for climbing hills is how low the gear ratio is. The weight is also a factor, but a much more minor one.
If the lowest gear is the same, there's not much in it as to whether a mountain bike (fatter tyres, front and possibly rear suspension, straight bars, stronger frame) or a "road bike" ( thinner tyres, lighter frame, drop bars) would be better - probably the road bike would actually be better because it's lighter and the tyres produce less resistance.
BUT: the lowest gear is unlikely to be the same. Mountain bikes are designed for going up, err, mountains, so have low gears. Road bikes are designed for people who fancy themselves as mega fit and eschew low gears, so tend not to have sensibly low gears. Any off the peg road bike will almost certainly not have terribly low gears, which is why a mountain bike would be better for comfortable cycling up hills on roads than a road bike.
You can, of course, have a "road bike" - lightweight frame, low resistance tyres, no suspension, drop bars - with sensibly low gears. It's called a touring bike.
[apologies for edit - I hit "post" by mistake too soon]
[edited again to say, Pale Rider beat me to it, rather more succinctly]
If the lowest gear is the same, there's not much in it as to whether a mountain bike (fatter tyres, front and possibly rear suspension, straight bars, stronger frame) or a "road bike" ( thinner tyres, lighter frame, drop bars) would be better - probably the road bike would actually be better because it's lighter and the tyres produce less resistance.
BUT: the lowest gear is unlikely to be the same. Mountain bikes are designed for going up, err, mountains, so have low gears. Road bikes are designed for people who fancy themselves as mega fit and eschew low gears, so tend not to have sensibly low gears. Any off the peg road bike will almost certainly not have terribly low gears, which is why a mountain bike would be better for comfortable cycling up hills on roads than a road bike.
You can, of course, have a "road bike" - lightweight frame, low resistance tyres, no suspension, drop bars - with sensibly low gears. It's called a touring bike.
[apologies for edit - I hit "post" by mistake too soon]
[edited again to say, Pale Rider beat me to it, rather more succinctly]
Last edited:
Possibly but not always the case. I find it easier to get up a hill on the road with the road bike than using the MTB, substantially easier, despite the MTB having a 26 front tooth and 11-28 on the back versus the 42 - 25 on the road bike. But that could just be me.
Edit:
Thinking about it, with compact gearing I'd expect the road to be better still, forgetting the possibility of a triple on the front.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
I spoke to a touring cyclist about climbing as we both ground up one of the climbs in the Lake District.
He often parks his bike half way up a fell - or whatever you call it - to walk up to the top.
As a strong walker, he said it was often just as quick for him to push the bike up a steep road climb, even though he could manage to pedal it.
He often parks his bike half way up a fell - or whatever you call it - to walk up to the top.
As a strong walker, he said it was often just as quick for him to push the bike up a steep road climb, even though he could manage to pedal it.
swansonj
Guru
I wonder if that is because even his gearing wasn't low enough? You really do need mega low gears to climb steep hills at average fitness levels whilst maintaining a reasonably high cadence, lower gears even than most touring bikes have. I would agree that when it becomes a struggle to keep the pedals turning each revolution, walking may be easier. But I stick with my view that, if you are twiddling and if you can keep the front wheel on the ground, pedalling will always be more efficient than pushing.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
I agree about remaining on the bike for as long as possible.
However, a strong walker could bound along at 2-3mph, which is about the same speed as a cyclist struggling in the granny gear.
D
Deleted member 26715
Guest
I also know somebody who tried to tow a twin axle caravan up it with a 1.3 Focus, shouldn't have even been towing it in the first place, it was well over the Focus max weight. He brought the whole road to a complete stop, eventually they managed to squeeze a HGV passed him, tied a rope on & the HGV pulled him up to the top.
Too much traffic on Sutton Bank for a comfortable climb, IMHO, if you want a challenge try White Horse Bank much quieter.
https://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/white-horse-bank/
https://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/white-horse-bank/