Your best speed on ascent?

[Shut Up Legs]

Yes, you aren't imagining things: this is my counterpart to the thread titled "Your best speed on descent?"

Mine's very much a work in progress. One example: there's a hill about 15km from where I live with a very consistent 4.4% grade** over 6.75km, and my best time up it so far is 20 minutes, a speed of about 20km/h. Once up the top, I repeatedly coughed, and waited for the burning sensation in my throat to subside . Oh well, at least I have better times to aim for.

I'm a hill-climbing tragic, who actually enjoys the climbs more than the descents, so I'd love to hear your accounts of hill-climbing efforts .

** Actually, that's a bit inaccurate. It's generally about 5% grade all the way up, except there's a false flat in the middle that briefly drops down to about 1% grade, thus lowering the overall average grade to about 4.4%.

 

[Keith Oates]

Yes, you aren't imagining things: this is my counterpart to the thread titled "Your best speed on descent?"

Mine's very much a work in progress. One example: there's a hill about 15km from where I live with a very consistent 4.4% grade over 6.75km, and my best time up it so far is 20 minutes, a speed of about 20km/h. Once up the top, I repeatedly coughed, and waited for the burning sensation in my throat to subside . Oh well, at least I have better times to aim for.

I'm a hill-climbing tragic, who actually enjoys the climbs more than the descents, so I'd love to hear your accounts of hill-climbing efforts .

Is your real name 'Sir Bradley'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

I'm a hill-climbing tragic, who actually enjoys the climbs more than the descents, so I'd love to hear your accounts of hill-climbing efforts .

You're not alone... The sense of achievement of getting to the top of a climb far outweighs the 'lets do that again' feeling at the bottom of a decent.

As for speed going up, couldn't quote numbers off the top of my head, normally as quick as I can manage.

 

[Mickthemove]

Ranging from 1.5 mile and hour to 7.5 mph! Any faster than that by me and it must be flat!!!!!

Always have a nightmare on the climbs but I truly love them!

 

[rovers1875]

Slow, Slower and almost stationary, But this summer some of the larger / steeper hills have been conquered eg Pendle hill. But I agree that the feeling of getting to the top unbeaten (no matter how slow) beats the thrill of flying down the other side,

 

[HLaB]

Lol, Its quite easy to get a good speed up a gradient here as the hills bumps are that short

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Think of the worst climber in your club and I am worse than him or her. Beacon Hill, is the "big" hill around here and my best average speed up it is 10mph

 

[PK99]

so I'd love to hear your accounts of hill-climbing efforts .

When I started road riding around 6 years ago, Box Hill had me struggling in bottom gear on the granny ring of my triple, heart rate around 170 against a max of around 180 at 5/6 mph with at least one stop.

On Sunday I cruised up, 50 miles into a 70 mile Charity sportive, 5/6 mph, middle ring, heat rate 130/133

 

[tmesis]

An average of 20km/h up a 6.75km 4.4% slope is pretty good going. When my legs are feeling good, I average around 18-19km/h on similar hills round here. If you want to compare yourself with other cyclists on the same hill, check out Strava

 

[BigonaBianchi]

IRO 4mph

 

[User16625]

I have 3 bikes. The answer to OPs question is probably just over 100mph going for a quick overtake.
On the ones I pedal then more like about 8mph depending on the ascent.
OT but why does my text take forever to appear when typing out a quick reply on this website? it doesnt happen on other forums.

 

[ColinJ]

This climb is just down the road from me, so I tackle it pretty frequently ...

If you work it out, it is an average gradient of 3.3%, so it is more of a long drag than a tough climb. The gradient does vary though, and there is often a cross-headwind for the exposed top section.

I have had a long-standing ambition to do the climb in 20 minutes, from that sign to the boundary sign at Blackstone Edge reservoir. There is an annual TT on the climb, but they use a shorter length of it. I think the extra distance that I do takes 45 seconds or so.

The numbers:

• Target: 20 minutes, average climbing speed 16.5 mph.
• PB about 7 years ago when I was reasonably fit: 23.5 minutes, average climbing speed 14.0 mph.
• Recent best (29th Oct 2013), recovering from serious illness: 34 m 1 s, average climbing speed 9.7 mph.

OT but why does my text take forever to appear when typing out a quick reply on this website? it doesnt happen on other forums.

I am having problems like that too, since the forum software's recent update. See this thread

 

[oldfatfool]

Alpe d'huez took me 1hr 31min for 14.1k so approx 9kmh or 5.5mph or bloody slow!!

 

[Rob3rt]

Varies drastically depending on the hill (not just the length and average gradient, but other factors too), but generally speaking, quite a lot quicker than most people!

I could probably go sub-19 minutes up Cragg Vale that Colin refers to above.

This year I have done ~21 mins (18.4 mph) on the Cat and Fiddle, which is a mile longer and a similar average gradient to Cragg Vale, although it does have some dips in it, but the uphill bits are steeper and longer. Done Blackstone Edge (which is a smidge over 2 miles @ ~6%) in 9 mins (~14 mph). Peaslows Official Hill Climb course, (half of the actual climb) which is 0.5 miles @ 11% in 3 mins (~10 mph) into a brutal block headwind, may be able to post some video footage of me blowing up big time racing up there later on, just waiting for a mate to send it to me! Did Long Hill in just under 16 minutes (~17 mph) with a considerable head wind a month or so back.

Times for Monsal Head, The Rake and The Stang to come!

 

[ColinJ]

I could probably go sub-19 minutes up Cragg Vale that Colin refers to above.

Are you going to have a go on 20th Oct then Rob?

I have been having a close look at the details on that page and I think the map is slightly out. If the start is at Thornber Oils rather than the bus stop (which seems likely!) then it is a bit further up the road.

I've checked where I time myself from/to and I am doing about 1 km more than the official HC course. Given that the extra is about 600 metres almost flat at the bottom, out of the wind, and about 400 metres at the exposed top bit, I would be doing (say) 30 kph on those bits so 1 km would correspond to about 2 minutes. That means I would have to do about 18 minutes on the official course. Given that the record is 15-52.6 (not Matt Clinton's old 16+ minutes as shown on the CTT site), I think that would be pretty good for someone of my age, with my health history. I'll update my post above as I nibble away at it!