Total Climb or % - how do you calculate it?

[Greenbank]

A hill without a chevron should be climbable with the OEM gears on your bike.

Exactly, I'd go with that, albeit with relatively fresh legs (under 100km or so).

I can regularly get up climbs over 15% but I struggled with the Cross Foxes climb on the A470 in Snowdonia (coming from Dolgellau) but then I did have 400km in my legs (and my gears number just 1 at 67").

 

[jimboalee]

Exactly, I'd go with that, albeit with relatively fresh legs (under 100km or so).

I can regularly get up climbs over 15% but I struggled with the Cross Foxes climb on the A470 in Snowdonia (coming from Dolgellau) but then I did have 400km in my legs (and my gears number just 1 at 67").

Oh, I know it well.

Decided to take that route once on a return from Tywyn. Mistake. Should have gone round through Aberdovey like a sensible person.
That pass is so lonely. After the decent, its still a long way to the cafe at the Island.

And the Winchcombe climb. It was on the Beacon 'Cotswold Expedition' about three years ago. My excuse was to stop and take a photo.

 

[buggi]

ask for a Garmin for your birthday

 

[buggi]

my nickname for steep hills "1, 2ers" because i have to count "1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2..." as the pedals go round as i'm going up them. These hills i know are 10+%

 

[jimboalee]

my nickname for steep hills "1, 2ers" because i have to count "1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2..." as the pedals go round as i'm going up them. These hills i know are 10+%

Try this technique:-

"Bas tad, bas tad, bas tad...."

 

[buggi]

Try this technique:-

"Bas tad, bas tad, bas tad...."

 

[yello]

For around where I live (it's rolling hills and valleys rather than mountainous) mapmyride underestimates by some way. For example, the 175km sportive I did last month is officially 1950m of climbing, logged to MotionBased from my GPS it was 1964m... mapmyride says 812m!!

Gradients too; for the ride I did on Friday, it said that the maximum gradient I would encounter was 2% (which is complete bollocks within a 100 yards of here!) but according to my Edge 305 I hit 19% at one point... I remember it well.

If you look at their forums, a number of people have remarked on their methods of calculating the ascent value they display but they rigorously defend their algorithms.

 

[jimboalee]

For around where I live (it's rolling hills and valleys rather than mountainous) mapmyride underestimates by some way. For example, the 175km sportive I did last month is officially 1950m of climbing, logged to MotionBased from my GPS it was 1964m... mapmyride says 812m!!

Gradients too; for the ride I did on Friday, it said that the maximum gradient I would encounter was 2% (which is complete bollocks within a 100 yards of here!) but according to my Edge 305 I hit 19% at one point... I remember it well.

If you look at their forums, a number of people have remarked on their methods of calculating the ascent value they display but they rigorously defend their algorithms.

Garmin Edge can be a bit 'errorsome'. I ride up the same 9% and 10% every day, but my Edge 605 has them at anything between 5 and 18%.

I had a Legend. I could plot speed vs gradient for a 100km ride and see a definite curve on the graph. Do the same thing with the Edge and its just a big mess of points with no discernable trend.

For plotting gradients on a route, I found TOPO to be fairly reliable. Where the contours get a bit crowded, I plot for that hill to see what it looks like.

The 'Get a map' on OS's website is a handy tool for checking the chevrons.

 

[Greenbank]

The 'Get a map' on OS's website is a handy tool for checking the chevrons.

www.streetmap.co.uk has full OS maps at one of the zoom levels that you can scroll around.

www.bikehike.co.uk also has full OS maps (both 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 depending on zoom level) alongside the google maps version that you can drag/scroll.

Both are much easier to use than the OS website.

 

[jimboalee]

www.streetmap.co.uk has full OS maps at one of the zoom levels that you can scroll around.

www.bikehike.co.uk also has full OS maps (both 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 depending on zoom level) alongside the google maps version that you can drag/scroll.

Both are much easier to use than the OS website.

Bikehike, Ha.

I have an acid test for any so-called BICYCLE route generator.

A route between Solihull and Knowle in the West Midlands.

Does the route generator direct the cyclist along the Solihull Bypass slip road and around the island at A41 / M42, or does it direct the cyclist along the prescribed bike route using the footbridge over the M42?

Bikehike goes with the mad tossers zooming their way from the office in Solihull and the M42 to get to their next meeting.

Can someone find me a CYCLIST router that uses the footbridge?

There must be thousands of instances like this up and down the country, so until a website for CYCLISTS uses the 'safe option', I'll create my own routes on Mapsource and the OS 'get a map'.